Impact of Buspirone Maintenance on the Reinforcing Effects of Cocaine

Cocaine use disorders are an unrelenting public health concern. Intensive research efforts have yielded behavioral interventions that reduce cocaine use, however, these interventions are not universally effective and treatment effects diminish over time. Development of a pharmacotherapy that enhances the efficacy of these interventions is a priority for the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This study proposes to determine the impact of buspirone maintenance on self-administration of cocaine and alternative reinforcers. These preliminary data will be used to support further research developing buspirone as a pharmacotherapy for cocaine use disorders. We hypothesize that buspirone will attenuate the reinforcing effects of cocaine and increase the reinforcing effects of alternative reinforcers.