Extensive research on addiction has given rise to several models and theories. Although there is still much to learn about addiction, we know that factors such as environment, gender, and genetics play a role in the development of an addiction. Cocaine addiction studies commonly use rats to predict human addiction problems. Studies focusing on cocaine have revealed many reasons for how and why cocaine is addictive and have given us insight into the genetic and psychological factors that contribute to cocaine use. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay “Development of a preference for cocaine over food identifies individual rats exhibiting addiction-like behaviors” was conducted under the premise that cocaine addiction is characterized by compulsive drug use drugs that replace recreational, professional and social aspects of life. This study hypothesized that rats' preference for cocaine over food rewards might predict each rat's vulnerability to addiction. This study used licensed self-administration on a fixed schedule with cocaine-only, pellet-only, and choice sessions. Motivation for each reward was given early and late during self-administration using a progressive ratio schedule. Reinstatement of cocaine and pellet seeking was examined after exposure to the given cues. The results of this study showed that cocaine-preferring rats increased their drug intake at the expense of pellets and displayed increased motivation for cocaine. Additionally, women were more likely to develop preferences for cocaine. This study confirms that the self-administration of choice paradigm is a valid model of addiction. Sex-specific vulnerability factors were differentiated from generalized behavioral differences between the sexes of the rat, suggesting that the neurobiology of addiction may be different between the sexes. Cocaine-preferring rats exhibited behavioral changes that mimic many symptoms used in diagnosing addiction in humans, including increased frequency of drug use and decreasing participation in previously enjoyed activities. This experiment was one of the first to show that preferences for cocaine over food rewards may represent an “addicted” phenotype. However, other studies have shown that high doses of cocaine are not preferred over food when longer intervals are used (Kerstetter et al., 2012). and disulfiram” is that despite much research conducted on gender differences in addiction, there are few published reports comparing treatment outcomes for women versus men based on treatments evaluated in clinical trials randomized. The study used a large sample integrating data from five randomized clinical trials of cocaine dependence treatment. This sample was evaluated for gender differences in clinical outcomes. A secondary analysis compared gender differences in outcomes based on drug treatment (disulfiram or no drug) and across multiple behavioral treatment settings. The results showed that compared to..