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Updated: Jun 17, 2026

A Protocol for Measuring Cue Reactivity in a Rat Model of Cocaine Use Disorder
Published on: June 18, 2018
D-cycloserine and cocaine cue reactivity: preliminary findings
Kimber L Price1, Aimee L McRae-Clark, Michael E Saladin
1Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Neuroscience Division, 67 President Street, Charleston, SC 29425, USA. pricekl@musc.edu
Background:
D-cycloserine (DCS), a partial glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor agonist, enhances extinction of conditioned fear responding in rodents and facilitates exposure-based learning in humans with anxiety disorders.
Objectives:
This preliminary study investigates DCS pretreatment on response to cocaine cues in cocaine-dependent subjects.
Methods:
Ten cocaine-dependent subjects were randomly assigned to receive either 50 mg DCS or matching placebo two hours before each of two 1-hour cocaine cue exposure sessions one day apart. HR and craving ratings were obtained before and during cue exposure sessions.
Results:
There was a trend towards increased craving to cocaine cues in cocaine-dependent individuals after administration of DCS.
Conclusions:
The administration of DCS prior to cue exposure sessions may facilitate response activation.
Scientific Significance:
While facilitation of extinction-based learning by DCS may have therapeutic potential for cocaine dependence, this drug may exhibit a different profile in cocaine-dependent individuals as compared to those with anxiety disorders.
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