University of Sussex
Browse
60.full.pdf (2.13 MB)

Are cocaine-seeking “habits” necessary for the development of addiction-like behavior in rats?

Download (2.13 MB)
Version 2 2023-06-07, 08:24
Version 1 2023-06-07, 06:36
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 08:24 authored by Bryan SingerBryan Singer, Monica Fadanelli, Alex B Kawa, Terry E Robinson
Drug self-administration models of addiction typically require animals to make the same response (e.g., a lever-press or nose-poke) over and over to procure and take drugs. By their design, such procedures often produce behavior controlled by stimulus-response (S-R) habits. This has supported the notion of addiction as a “drug habit”, and has led to considerable advances in our understanding of the neurobiological basis of such behavior. However, for addicts to procure drugs, like cocaine, often requires considerable ingenuity and flexibility in seeking behavior, which, by definition, precludes the development of habits. To better model drug-seeking behavior in addicts we first developed a novel cocaine self-administration procedure (the Puzzle Self-Administration Procedure; PSAP) that required rats to solve a new puzzle every day to gain access to cocaine, which they then self-administered on an Intermittent Access (IntA) schedule. Such daily problem-solving precluded the development of S-R seeking habits. We then asked whether prolonged PSAP/IntA experience would nevertheless produce ‘symptoms of addiction’. It did, including escalation of intake, sensitized motivation for drug, continued drug use in the face of adverse consequences and very robust cue-induced reinstatement of drug-seeking, especially in a subset of ‘addiction-prone’ rats. Furthermore, drug-seeking behavior continued to require dopamine neurotransmission in the core of the nucleus accumbens (but not the dorsolateral striatum). We conclude that the development of S-R seeking habits is not necessary for the development of cocaine addiction-like behavior in rats.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Journal of Neuroscience

ISSN

0270-6474

Publisher

Society for Neuroscience

Issue

1

Volume

38

Page range

60-73

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2019-06-24

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2019-06-24

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2019-06-24

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Licence

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC