Wednesday, February 18, 2026 2/18/2026

Kappa Opioid Receptor Availability, Social Rank, and Cocaine Self-Administration in Female and Male Monkeys

Award Number: F31DA053776
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 02/01/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 03/29/2024

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Kappa Opioid Receptor Availability, Social Rank, and Cocaine Self-Administration in Female and Male Monkeys - Cocaine use disorder (CUD) persists as a worldwide public health problem for which there is no FDA-approved pharmacotherapy. Of clinical significance, in the US, cocaine use is increasing, alongside cocaine overdose deaths, which have more than tripled from 2012 to 2018 [1, 2]. A gap in the literature and the primary focus of this application, is to extend research from the dopamine system, associated with euphoria, to the dynorphin/kappa opioid receptor (KOR) system, implicated in the “dark side” of addiction. This research project utilizes a highly homologous nonhuman primate model, incorporating social behavior with intravenous drug self- administration (SA) and positron emission tomography (PET), in drug-naive female and male monkeys. The proposed longitudinal, within-subject study design will further our understanding of the neurobiology associated with the vulnerability and maintenance of cocaine abuse. The initial Aim 1 of this proposal used PET imaging with a KOR radiotracer, [11C]EKAP, to obtain baseline measures of KOR availability and assess the relationship between KOR availability and social rank in cocaine-naïve male and female monkeys. The studies in that Aim have been completed. Overall, the lowest receptor availability across all regions of interest were observed in dominant females and subordinate males; based on previous studies, the two most vulnerable phenotypes to cocaine reinforcement. The baseline assessment of KOR measures allows the ability to assess the relationship between receptor availability and vulnerability of cocaine abuse (Aim 1), as well as how those measures change following chronic cocaine self-administration (Aim 2). In addition, the studies in Aim 3 will assess clinically relevant factors associated with withdrawal/abstinence and assess the neural plasticity of KOR system following protracted abstinence. The use of PET as a biomarker related to vulnerability and treatment outcome may provide evidence for a personalized medicine approach to treating CUD.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = -$17,096 )
2025	2024	WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES	MEDICAL CENTER BLVD	WINSTON SALEM	NC	27157	FORSYTH	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	3	1/23/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$17,096
														Subtotal = -$17,096

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $22,724 )
2024	2024	WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES	MEDICAL CENTER BLVD	WINSTON SALEM	NC	27157	FORSYTH	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	3	1/8/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$47,694
2024	2024	WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES	MEDICAL CENTER BLVD	WINSTON SALEM	NC	27157	FORSYTH	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	001	3	4/16/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$24,970
														Subtotal = $22,724

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $47,694 )
2023	2023	WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES	MEDICAL CENTER BLVD	WINSTON SALEM	NC	27157	FORSYTH	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	2	2/14/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$47,694
														Subtotal = $47,694

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $46,752 )
2022	2022	WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES	MEDICAL CENTER BLVD	WINSTON SALEM	NC	27157	FORSYTH	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	003	1	5/23/2022	NEW	-$1
2022	2022	WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES	MEDICAL CENTER BLVD	WINSTON SALEM	NC	27157	FORSYTH	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	002	1	4/19/2022	NEW	$717
2022	2022	WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES	MEDICAL CENTER BLVD	WINSTON SALEM	NC	27157	FORSYTH	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	1	1/20/2022	NEW	$46,036
2022	2022	WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES	MEDICAL CENTER BLVD	WINSTON SALEM	NC	27157	FORSYTH	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	001	1	1/20/2022	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $46,752

Grand Total All Awards = $100,074

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Kappa Opioid Receptor Availability, Social Rank, and Cocaine Self-Administration in Female and Male Monkeys

Award Number: F31DA053776

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 02/01/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 03/29/2024

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer