Addiction is a global crisis, with over 3.5 million deaths occurring each year from alcohol misuse and drug overdose.^1,2  Animal models are valuable in understanding neurobiological mechanisms behind compulsion, relapse and prevention, as well as the physiological effects of addiction and treatments. 

Numerous drugs and addictive substances are known to cause disturbances within the cardiovascular system. Overdosing or long-term use can result in abnormal cardiac function or permanent damage. Complications include abnormal heart rate, narrowing of vessels, changes in heart conduction, cardiomyopathy, hypertension, heart failure, and more.
 

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Google Scholar Indexes 105 Publications Citing DSI, Cardiovascular and Addiction

Respiratory

From respiratory complications brought on by the long term use of tobacco products, to opioid induced respiratory depression, researchers are using animal models to evaluate how addictive substances effect lung function. The methods below help researchers gain insight into lung health and disease caused by acute and chronic substance abuse. 

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Google Scholar Indexes 478 Publications Citing DSI's Buxco Respiratory Solutions and Overdose

Behavioral Testing

Animals have the ability to become addicted to alcohol and drugs, similar to humans. This makes in vivo models the most translatable method to reliably study addiction in preclinical studies. Researchers studying addictive behavior use objective and subjective tools to assess self-administration, tolerance, withdrawal, motivation, cognitive function, punishment, and more. 

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Google Scholar Indexes 973 Publications Citing Panlab and Addiction
Google Scholar Indexes 2,140 Publications Citing Coulbourn and Addiction
Google Scholar Indexes 160 Publications Citing DSI, Behavior and Addiction

Electrophysiology

Electrophysiology provides real time information on neural activities based on frequency or voltage changes within the brain or individual neurons. Researchers use electrophysiology to gain insight into neurobiological vulnerabilities that promote substance dependency and relapse, to look at acute and chronic physiological effects caused by substances and for target identification for pharmacological treatments. 

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Google Scholar Indexes 99 Publications Citing DSI, Nervous System and Addiction
Google Scholar Indexes 432 Publications Citing HEKA, Patch-Clamp and Addiction
Google Scholar Indexes 91 Publications Citing Multichannel Systems and Addiction

Metabolism

Alcohol, tobacco and drugs have a direct effect on the central nervous system and in particular the hypothalamus, which is responsible for thermoregulation. Researchers add temperature monitoring to their addiction studies to correlate changes in behavior and physiology with core body temperature. Wireless solutions allow for relevant data collection without the worry of handling side effects, like stress induced temperature changes. 

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Google Scholar Indexes 177 Publications Citing DSI, Temperature and Addiction

Glucose

Drug and alcohol abuse affect blood glucose control and can lead to cellular damage and chronic dysregulation in glucose homeostasis. This increases the risk for diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Researchers are also studying the addictive quality sugar has on behavior and neural networks. Monitoring glucose during addiction studies provides insight into the effects of substances on glucose secretion, insulin resistance, activity, and stress. 

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Google Scholar Indexes 65 Publications Citing DSI, Glucose and Addiction