# Mechanisms Mediating Cocaine Abuse in Socially Housed Female and Male Monkeys

> **NIH NIH R01** · WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2021 · $99,846

## Abstract

This funded research project, now in its 13th year, is aimed at understanding the neurobiology of cocaine abuse
in a unique nonhuman primate model: intravenous cocaine self-administration (SA) in socially housed
cynomolgus monkeys. The scientific premise is that different mechanisms maintain cocaine SA based on social
rank and sex and thus different drug treatments will be required to produce a positive outcome in these groups.
For this Administrative Supplement, we are proposing to extend the phenotypic characteristics of socially
housed female and male monkeys to include measures of sleep. Cocaine-induced changes in sleep duration,
architecture and quality could impact cognitive processes that would aid someone in refraining from continuing
cocaine use. There is a gap in knowledge related to the relationship between cocaine-induced sleep disruptions
and cognitive performance and how those affect treatment outcomes. We have a unique opportunity to study
cocaine-sleep interactions because we currently have cocaine-naïve socially housed female and male
cynomolgus monkeys (n=4/sex) being trained under various cognitive tasks. We propose to implant them
with telemetry devices to record electroencephalographic (EEG) activity to assess sleep/wake states while
cocaine-naïve and following cocaine SA. In Aim 1, we will examine the relationship between cognition and
sleep/wake architecture in cocaine-naive socially housed male and female cynomolgus macaques. Each monkey
is currently being trained on four cognitive tasks that assess different cognitive domains using the Cambridge
Neuropsychological Test and Battery (CANTAB) apparatus. After implanting telemetry devices to record EEG
from freely-moving monkeys within their home cage, we will examine each animal’s sleep-wake architecture as
it relates to their social rank; these data will serve as a baseline for examining the effects of cocaine SA in Aim
2. We hypothesize sex, menstrual cycle and social rank differences in sleep architecture and that monkeys
(females and males) with a less disrupted sleep cycle will have better cognitive profiles. The studies in Aim 2
will be the first to determine the effects of acquisition of cocaine SA on sleep architecture in socially housed
monkeys. We hypothesize that dominant females and subordinate males will acquire at lower doses than the
other monkeys and that when acquisition occurs, sleep and cognition will be disrupted. In Aim 3, we propose to
examine the effects of cocaine dose (saline, 0.01-0.3 mg/kg/injection) on sleep architecture. We propose to give
monkeys access to high cocaine doses daily, in order to determine if tolerance develops to the effects on sleep.
Finally, we will examine the effects of cocaine abstinence on sleep/wake architecture. We hypothesize that sleep,
as assessed with EEG, will be sensitive to cocaine abstinence, providing evidence of cocaine withdrawal
symptoms in an animal model. Future studies will examine how drug treatments affect...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10265791
- **Project number:** 3R01DA017763-13S1
- **Recipient organization:** WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Michael A Nader
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $99,846
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2004-05-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10265791

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10265791, Mechanisms Mediating Cocaine Abuse in Socially Housed Female and Male Monkeys (3R01DA017763-13S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10265791. Licensed CC0.

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