| Course | ADC 655 Neurobiology of Addiction |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 4 |
| Paper type | Research methods evaluation |
| Length | About 1,051 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for ADC 655 Module 4
Rats Are Not People, but They Teach Us: Evaluating Animal Models of Addiction
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
ADC 655: Neurobiology of Addiction
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Rats Are Not People, but They Teach Us: Evaluating Animal Models of Addiction
When Nadia, the counselor at the Colorado Springs program whose groups these papers follow, described a study of rats to explain craving, Marcus pushed back: "Rats aren't people. Why should I care what a rat does?" Marcus, Nadia and the program are fictional. His question deserves a careful answer, which this paper develops.
Why Use Animal Models?
Animal models allow research that would be impossible or unethical in people: controlling exactly what drug an animal receives, how much and when; measuring brain activity directly; and testing causes rather than only associations. They also allow researchers to separate drug effects from the many other ways in which drug users and nonusers differ. Their value depends on how well the model captures the human condition it is meant to represent.
Self-Administration and Escalation
In self-administration studies, animals can press a lever to receive an intravenous drug infusion. Animals readily self-administer most drugs that people misuse, which supports the relevance of the method. Ahmed and Koob (1998) compared rats given one hour of daily access to cocaine with rats given six hours. Short-access rats kept their intake stable over weeks. Long-access rats escalated their intake steadily, taking more and more cocaine per hour. The authors proposed that extended access shifted the rats' hedonic set point, their baseline level of reward, so that more drug was needed to reach the same state. The model captured something central to human addiction: the transition from controlled to escalating use.
Addiction-Like Behavior in a Minority
Deroche-Gamonet et al. (2004) asked whether rats could show the features that define addiction in people, not just heavy use. After extended cocaine self-administration, they measured three behaviors: continuing to seek cocaine during periods when it was signaled to be unavailable, high motivation to obtain it as the effort required increased and continued self-administration despite a mild electric shock that accompanied it. Only a minority of rats showed all three behaviors, while most did not, even though all had taken cocaine for the same period. Rats with all three features were also more prone to relapse. The study showed that addiction-like behavior in rats, as in people, develops in some individuals and not others despite similar exposure.
Modeling Relapse
Shaham et al. (2003) reviewed the reinstatement model, the most widely used animal model of relapse. Animals first learn to self-administer a drug. Then the drug is withheld and lever pressing goes unrewarded until it fades, a process called extinction. Researchers then test what revives drug seeking. Three triggers reliably reinstate it: a small dose of the drug, cues previously paired with it and stress, such as mild footshock. These triggers correspond to known precipitants of human relapse. The model has allowed researchers to identify brain circuits and chemicals involved in each kind of relapse and to test potential medications.
Evaluating the Models
| Model | What it captures | What it misses |
|---|---|---|
| Self-administration | Drugs' reinforcing effects; voluntary taking | Social, economic and personal reasons people use |
| Escalation with long access | Transition from controlled to escalating use | The many years and life events of human addiction |
| Addiction-like behavior | Individual vulnerability; use despite punishment | Human meaning, choice and context |
| Reinstatement | Triggers of relapse: drug, cues, stress | Extinction does not resemble human abstinence well; people choose to abstain |
| All models | Mechanisms that can be tested | Treatment, relationships and recovery as people live them |
From Animal Findings to Human Treatment
Animal findings have shaped human treatment. Medications for opioid use disorder and alcohol use disorder were first studied in animals before human trials. The reinstatement model's finding that stress triggers relapse led to research on stress-related medications and on stress management in treatment. The finding that only some individuals develop addiction-like behavior has encouraged research on individual vulnerability in people, including genetics and early life stress. Not every promising animal finding has translated, but many treatments now in use passed through animal research first.
Individual Differences in People
The finding that only some rats develop addiction-like behavior echoes what epidemiology shows in people: most who try drugs, even repeatedly, do not develop addiction. Research has linked human vulnerability to genetics, early adversity, mental health conditions and social circumstances. Animal models of individual differences let researchers study the biology of vulnerability under controlled conditions, while human research shows how it plays out in real lives.
Ethics
Animal research raises ethical questions about causing distress and dependence in animals. Researchers work under oversight committees that require justification, minimizing harm and using the fewest animals necessary. Debates continue about where to draw lines, and readers can reasonably weigh the knowledge gained against the costs.
Answering Marcus
Nadia agreed with Marcus: rats are not people. They do not have jobs to lose, children to worry about or reasons to stay sober. But the research showed things hard to see in people: that extended access alone can drive escalating use, that only some individuals develop addiction-like behavior with the same exposure and that stress and cues can revive drug seeking after it has faded. "The rats didn't tell us what it's like to be you," she said. "They helped show which parts of your brain are working against you, so treatment can work with you on the rest." Marcus said that made sense, and added that the stress part matched his own relapses.
What Marcus Can Take From the Rats
Marcus did not need to accept every animal finding to use one of them. The escalation studies gave him a name for something he had lived through: a period when his use stayed fairly level, followed by months when it climbed out of control once he had longer and easier access (Ahmed & Koob, 1998). Nadia suggested he write down what changed in his life at the point where his use started rising. He named a new job with cash pay and a roommate who sold, two changes that widened his access the way longer sessions widened it for the rats.
Conclusion
Animal models allow controlled study of mechanisms impossible to examine in people. Ahmed and Koob modeled escalation, Deroche-Gamonet and colleagues modeled individual vulnerability to addiction-like behavior and Shaham and colleagues reviewed how reinstatement models relapse. The models miss much of human experience, but their findings, combined with human research, inform treatment.
References
Ahmed, S. H., & Koob, G. F. (1998). Transition from moderate to excessive drug intake: Change in hedonic set point. Science, 282(5387), 298-300. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.282.5387.298
Deroche-Gamonet, V., Belin, D., & Piazza, P. V. (2004). Evidence for addiction-like behavior in the rat. Science, 305(5686), 1014-1017. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1099020
Shaham, Y., Shalev, U., Lu, L., de Wit, H., & Stewart, J. (2003). The reinstatement model of drug relapse: History, methodology and major findings. Psychopharmacology, 168(1-2), 3-20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-002-1224-x
ADC 655 Module 4 instructions, in plain terms
The fourth module of ADC 655 usually asks for a paper on animal models of addiction. The Module 4 instructions in your Aspen course set the scope; the client here is invented. Explain why animal models are used and what kinds of questions they can answer that human studies cannot. Describe several models and their key findings, using primary sources. Evaluate their validity, distinguishing what they model well from what they miss. Consider ethical questions in animal research and how oversight addresses them. Relate the findings to human addiction and treatment, with examples of treatments that began in animal research. Cite in APA 7 throughout, steering clear of both dismissing animal research and overstating it. Describe procedures in enough detail that a reader understands what an animal actually did.
How the ADC 655 Module 4 example is put together
Marcus, the composite client, challenges Nadia's use of animal studies in group. Ahmed and Koob's Science article shows long-access rats escalating cocaine intake. Deroche-Gamonet, Belin and Piazza's Science article shows that only some rats develop three addiction-like behaviors after extended use. The reinstatement review by Shaham and colleagues in Psychopharmacology covers relapse triggered by drug priming, cues and stress. A five-row table lists models, what they capture and their limits. The answer to Marcus acknowledges that rats lack the meaning, relationships and choices of human lives, while showing what the models revealed that would be hard to study in people. A brief section addresses ethics.
Where the marks sit in the ADC 655 Module 4 rubric
Animal model papers earn credit for accurate descriptions, balanced evaluation of validity and thoughtful connection to human experience. This example describes each model's procedure and key finding in enough detail to show what the result means. The validity discussion distinguishes what models capture from what they miss, and the paper notes treatments that passed through animal research first. The finding that only some rats develop addiction-like behavior is used to show that models can capture individual differences, not only processes common to all. The paper addresses the client's objection respectfully and accurately, and it ends with the client connecting a finding to his own experience.
ADC 655 Module 4 help: mistakes that cost marks
Animal model papers often either dismiss animals as irrelevant or treat their findings as direct statements about people. Explain what each model captures and misses, using a table if it helps. Describe procedures accurately, since the details determine what a finding means. Note individual differences, which recent models emphasize, since they help explain why only some people develop addiction. Address ethics briefly. Connect findings to human research where possible, such as imaging and clinical trials. When explaining to clients, respect their skepticism; it is often a sign of engagement rather than resistance. Pair animal findings with human evidence when you can, such as imaging studies or clinical trials of medications first tested in animals.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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- ADC 655 Module 5: Neuroimaging in Addiction
- ADC 655 Module 6: Stress, Withdrawal and Craving
- ADC 655 Module 7: Relapse Research
- ADC 655 Module 8: Genetics and Implications for Treatment
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ADC 655 Module 4 questions, answered
What does ADC 655 Module 4 usually ask for?
Aspen's ADC 655 covers animal models of addiction in this module, so describing and evaluating models and their relevance to human addiction is typical. Check your Module 4 prompt.
What is drug self-administration?
A procedure in which animals can perform an action, such as pressing a lever, to receive a drug, allowing researchers to study what drives drug taking.
Do all rats become addicted to cocaine?
No. Deroche-Gamonet, Belin and Piazza found that after extended self-administration, only a minority of rats showed all three addiction-like behaviors they measured.
Where can I find a free ADC 655 Module 4 sample paper?
This page holds the full paper: self-administration, escalation, addiction-like behavior and reinstatement models evaluated in a table.
What is the reinstatement model of relapse?
A procedure, reviewed by Shaham and colleagues, in which animals' extinguished drug seeking is revived by drug priming, drug cues or stress.