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A Protocol for Measuring Cue Reactivity in a Rat Model of Cocaine Use Disorder
Published on: June 18, 2018
Deepened extinction of cocaine cues
David N Kearns1, Brendan J Tunstall, Stanley J Weiss
1Psychology Department,American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA. kearns@american.edu
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
|February 24, 2012
Summary
Compounding drug cues during extinction training deepens extinction, reducing cocaine seeking. This enhanced extinction method shows promise for addiction treatment by diminishing the impact of drug-related stimuli.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
- Addiction Research
Background:
- Drug abuse and addiction treatment often involve reducing the power of drug cues.
- Extinction training is a common method, but its success can be variable.
- Compounding cues during extinction has shown promise for non-drug related cues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if compounding stimuli can deepen the extinction of cocaine cues.
- To assess the effectiveness of deepened extinction for drug-related cues.
Main Methods:
- Rats were trained to self-administer cocaine associated with tone, click, and light stimuli.
- Stimuli underwent individual extinction, followed by a phase where one auditory cue was compounded with light.
- Spontaneous recovery of cocaine seeking was tested after a rest period.
Main Results:
- The compounded cue led to less spontaneous recovery of cocaine seeking compared to individually presented cues.
- The number of compound cue extinction sessions did not significantly increase the deepened extinction effect.
Conclusions:
- Simultaneously presenting extinguished cocaine cues enhances extinction, extending the deepened extinction effect to drug cues.
- This finding supports error-correction learning theory and suggests potential for addiction treatment.
- Deepened extinction may improve the efficacy of extinction-based therapies for drug abuse.
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