RECONSIDERATION OF THE CONCEPT OF DRUG-DEPENDENCE

Recent experimental findings show that body weight reduced animals with a catheterized jugular vein self-inject large quantities of a range of psychoactive drugs when placed on a fixed time food delivery schedule. This method, known as schedule-induced self-injection (SiSi), has made it possible to study the interaction of pharmacological and environmental factors in the initiation and maintenance of dependency. In the present paper, it is proposed that the use of this paradigm provides a new model for investigating dependency. Its particular value is that it enables isolation of critical patterns of interaction between pharmacological and environmental factors involved in drug seeking behavior, and thus enables drug seeking behavior and dependency to be reconceptualized in terms of an interaction phenomenon. This reconceptualization may provide a basis for an alternative approach to understanding human drug problems, as identification of an interaction pattern provides an opportunity for intervention. © 1979.