Combining pharmacological and behavioral

Telch MJ, Agras WS, Taylor CB, et al. Combined pharmacological and behavioral treatment of agoraphobia. Behav Res Ther 1985 23 325-335. 

Hubner, Carol B., George T. Bain, and Conan Kometsky. 1987. "The Combined Effects of Morphine and D-Amphetamine on the Threshold for Brain Stimulation Reward." Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 28 311-15. 

Both pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions have proven effective, to various degrees, in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Usually, a combination of both techniques seems to yield the best results. A number of factors (e.g., patient preference, availability of specially trained therapists, cost, and prior results) will determine whether medications, psychotherapy, or both are selected. Among the psychotherapies, the evidence shows cognitive-behavioral techniques as the preferred approach. 

Rush, C. R., Roll, J. M., 8c Higgins, S.T.( 1998). Controlled laboratory studies on the effects of cocaine in combination with other commonly abused drugs in humans. In S. T. Higgins 8c J. L. Katz (Eds.), Cocaine abuse Behavior, pharmacology, and clinical applications 239-264). San Diego Academic Press. 

Performance generated by intermittent schedules of reinforcement has played an important role in behavioral pharmacology and is proving a useful tool in behavioral toxicology. On an intermittent schedule, an animal is not reinforced for every response but for a number of responses according to certain rules . Most intermittent schedules are based on reinforcing the organism as a function of the number of responses emitted, some temporal requirement for emission of responses, or a combination of these. For example, a fixed ratio (FR)... 

Johnson BA, O Malley SS, Ciraulo DA, Roache JD, Chambers RA, Sarid-Segal O, Couper D. Dose-ranging kinetics and behavioral pharmacology of naltrexone and acamprosate, both alone and combined, in alcohol-dependent subjects. J Clin Psychopharmacol (2003) 23, 281-93. 

A number of psychosocial treatments for alcohol and other substance use disorders exist and are widely used. In this chapter, we discuss six of these psychotherapies as they are applied to alcohol, cocaine, and opioid dependence brief interventions, motivational enhancement therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, behavioral treatments (including contingency management and community reinforcement approaches), behavioral marital therapy, and 12-step facilitation. We also describe studies that examined the efficacy of a medication in combination with one or more of the six psychotherapies. In the second section of the chapter, we highlight research that directly studied the interaction between psychosocial and pharmacological treatments. 

Withdrawal from nicotine is treated in the outpatient setting. Symptomatic detoxification from nicotine is achieved with any single or combination of NRTs. Additional nonnicotine medications such as bupropion, nortriptyline, and clonidine may be helpful to reduce craving and various other withdrawal symptoms. Including a behavioral therapy component increases abstinence rates when combined with pharmacologic treatment. 

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