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Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Reinstatement of Drug-seeking in Mice Using the Conditioned Place Preference Paradigm
Published on: June 7, 2018
Effects of cycloheximide on extinction in an appetitively motivated operant conditioning task depend on re-exposure
Pawel Mierzejewski1, Mieszko Olczak, Artur Rogowski
1Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Sobieskiego 9 St., PL-02957, Warsaw, Poland. mierzeje@ipin.edu.pl
Abstract:
Little is known about the role of new protein synthesis in extinction of operant responding for natural and chemical reinforcers. In the present study, the authors investigated whether the effects of a protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide (CHX) on extinction of operant responding for sweet reward depended on the duration of re-exposure sessions. In addition, the authors investigated whether the effects of CHX on extinction could generalize to relapse of saccharin seeking induced by discrete cues. CHX injected after short re-exposure sessions (5min) accelerated extinction of non-reinforced responding. In contrast, the drug injected after long re-exposure sessions (30min) partially inhibited extinction. Reinstatement of saccharin seeking induced by the saccharin-paired discrete cues was not altered by the previous treatment with CHX. Concluding, the results of the present study indicate that: (i) the protein synthesis inhibitor, CHX can alter extinction of operant responding for sweet reward in rats; (ii) the effects of CHX on extinction critically depend on the duration of re-exposure/extinction sessions and do not generalize to relapse of saccharin seeking induced by discrete cues.
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