The Behavioral Neuroscience laboratory of Prof. James R. Stellar studies the brain mechanisms of mammalian reward processes as well as drug addiction utilizing Sprague-Dawley as an animal model of the neurochemical, neuroanatomical, and behavioral systems at work in humans. Currently, the effects of cocaine, amphetamine and nicotine are under investigation, with regard to the underlying craving effects that lead to repeated or relapsed drug abuse in the human population.