Residential laboratory research: a multidimensional evaluation of the effects of drugs on behavior

The data presented point to the importance of studying drug effects under conditions similar to those in which drugs are taken outside of the laboratory. Interactions between the reinforcing and other direct effects of these drugs, as well as their interactions with ongoing environmental events can only be evaluated under such conditions. These data support the utility of a residential research facility for the investigation of substance use and its effects under conditions which approximate those in which people live outside of the laboratory. This unique laboratory, designed for continuous observation of human behavior over extended periods of time, provides a controlled environment with the flexibility for establishing a range of subject behaviors, and the ability to simultaneously monitor a wide range of individual and social behavior patterns. We can study regulation of drug intake and its effects, both within a day and over days, assessing the effects of experimental manipulations on the patterning of self-administration behavior as well as the performance of a range of other behaviors as a function of drug self-administration. The design of such studies is a logical extension of basic preclinical research, as well as more traditional human behavioral pharmacology research. Although little data are yet available on drug-related "hangovers" or "morning after" effects, it should be clear that this residential laboratory would provide ideal experimental conditions for such research. We have shown that subjects will exhibit stable patterns of drug self-administration which are sensitive to systematic manipulation of variables. Therefore, we are in the position of being able to evaluate longer term effects on performance of drug-taking behavior as it occurs under conditions approximating the natural ecology. The examples of data collected in the laboratory have demonstrated that drug effects are not a unitary phenomenon, but instead depend on ongoing behaviors as well as pharmacological variables such as drug and dose. If we are going to evaluate drugs and the way in which they affect workplace behavior, we must carry out our evaluation under conditions which approximate those in which people might be using them, while at the same time controlling extraneous variables and protecting the participants from possible deleterious effects. We have shown that drugs, such as marijuana and amphetamine, have divergent effects that are influenced by both situational and behavioral factors. A thorough evaluation of the effects of any drug on behavior is, therefore, dependent on the evaluation of the drug's effects under the conditions in which it is likely to be taken.