Drug Addiction and Drug Dependency

Drug abuse and dependency liability assessments are important components of the discovery, development, and evaluation of novel drug entities and are often included in comprehensive drug safety evaluation programs. Many abuserelated effects of drugs have been modeled in laboratory animals using well-established and validated procedures both to study the underlying neurobiological and behavioral phenomena associated with drug abuse and to assess whether new chemical entities have a likelihood of abuse in humans. Although studies in laboratory animals do not fully capture the complexity of drug abuse and substance use disorders in humans, they have proven to be highly predictive of effects in humans. Preclinical abuse and dependence liability studies typically comprise the following approaches and procedures: physical dependence, tolerance, drug discrimination, self-administration, conditioned place preference, and intracranial self-stimulation. This chapter outlines approaches commonly employed in studies of abuse and dependence liability assessments and highlights recent trends and advances in the utilization of each approach over the last decade.