The impact of orbitofrontal dysfunction on cocaine addiction
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026

A Protocol for Measuring Cue Reactivity in a Rat Model of Cocaine Use Disorder
Published on: June 18, 2018
Federica Lucantonio1, Thomas A Stalnaker, Yavin Shaham
1Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Abstract:
Cocaine addiction is characterized by poor judgment and maladaptive decision-making. Here we review evidence implicating the orbitofrontal cortex in such behavior. This evidence suggests that cocaine-induced changes in orbitofrontal cortex disrupt the representation of states and transition functions that form the basis of flexible and adaptive 'model-based' behavioral control. By impairing this function, cocaine exposure leads to an overemphasis on less flexible, maladaptive 'model-free' control systems. We propose that such an effect accounts for the complex pattern of maladaptive behaviors associated with cocaine addiction.
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