Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Analgesia and Pain Management

Analgesia and Pain Management

Pain is critical to various clinical pathologies, provoking an urgent need for effective management. Pain, whether acute or chronic, is a complex neurochemical process. Its alleviation depends on the type, with nonopioid analgesics effective for mild to moderate pain, such as musculoskeletal or inflammatory pain, while neuropathic pain responds best to anticonvulsants, tricyclic antidepressants, or serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. For severe acute or chronic pain, opioids may be...

Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness

Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness

Avoidance learning and learned helplessness are critical concepts in understanding behavioral responses to negative stimuli.
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...

Opioid Analgesics: Synthetic and Semisynthetic Opioids

Opioid Analgesics: Synthetic and Semisynthetic Opioids

Synthetic and semisynthetic opioids are pivotal in pain management and tackling opioid addiction. Semisynthetic opioids, including morphinans (morphine derivatives), oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone, have improved pharmacokinetic profiles compared to morphine. Additionally, heroin and 6-MAM (6-Monoacetylmorphine) show better CNS penetration than morphine due to heightened lipid solubility. Hydromorphone, a potent opioid, undergoes hepatic metabolism to form the active...

Opioid Receptors: Overview

Opioid Receptors: Overview

Opioid receptors, including the mu (μ, MOR), delta (δ, DOR), and kappa (κ, KOR) types, belong to the rhodopsin family of G protein-coupled receptors. These receptors are located throughout the central and peripheral nervous systems and in non-neuronal tissues such as macrophages and astrocytes. Opioid receptor ligands can be categorized into agonists or antagonists. Highly selective agonists include [d-Ala2, MePhe4, Gly(ol)5]-enkephalin or DAMGO for MOR, [D-Pen2,...

Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena

Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena

Drug dependence, abuse, and addiction are complex phenomena that can precipitate various abnormal states. Physical dependence refers to a state of pharmacological adaptation to a drug. This adaptation often results in tolerance—a reduced response to the drug after repeated administrations. When the drug use is abruptly stopped, withdrawal symptoms occur due to the body's need to readjust from the pharmacologically induced imbalance. However, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms do not...

Desensitization and Tachyphylaxis

Desensitization and Tachyphylaxis

Tachyphylaxis is described as a rapid decrease in response to a drug after repeated or continuous administration of the same drug dose. It is a phenomenon where the body becomes less responsive to a particular substance or intervention over time, requiring higher doses or stronger interventions to achieve the same effect. It results from adaptive changes in the body's receptors, signaling pathways, or physiological processes that occur in response to prolonged exposure to a stimulus.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Uncontrollability of experimental pain decreases pain intensity and relief pleasantness ratings in a between-group design.

Pain reports·2026

Same author

Acute placebo responsiveness predicts longitudinal expectation effects in antidepressant treatment.

Translational psychiatry·2026

Same author

Temporal predictions shape somatosensory perception.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Factors Associated With Self-Medication to Mitigate Vaccine Reactions After COVID-19 Vaccination: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety·2026

Same author

Auditory Hyperresponsivity in Chronic Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Pain Reprocessing Therapy.

Annals of neurology·2026

Same author

Peripheral Expression of Dopamine Genes as a Biomarker for Cocaine Addiction in Humans.

European addiction research·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 12, 2026

Investigating Pain-Related Avoidance Behavior using a Robotic Arm-Reaching Paradigm

Investigating Pain-Related Avoidance Behavior using a Robotic Arm-Reaching Paradigm

Published on: October 3, 2020

Increased Avoidance Learning in Chronic Opioid Users.

Caspar J Geissler¹, Tsen Vei Lim², Herbert A Görne³

¹Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.

JAMA Psychiatry

|November 6, 2025

Summary

Opioid addiction is linked to increased avoidance learning from negative outcomes, a finding previously unobserved in humans. This suggests negative reinforcement plays a role even in early opioid use, offering new treatment possibilities.

More Related Videos

A Conditioned Place Preference Protocol for Measuring Incubation of Craving in Rats

A Conditioned Place Preference Protocol for Measuring Incubation of Craving in Rats

Published on: November 6, 2018

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

Published on: February 20, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 12, 2026

Investigating Pain-Related Avoidance Behavior using a Robotic Arm-Reaching Paradigm

Investigating Pain-Related Avoidance Behavior using a Robotic Arm-Reaching Paradigm

Published on: October 3, 2020

A Conditioned Place Preference Protocol for Measuring Incubation of Craving in Rats

A Conditioned Place Preference Protocol for Measuring Incubation of Craving in Rats

Published on: November 6, 2018

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

Published on: February 20, 2019

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychiatry
Behavioral Science

Background:

The opioid crisis presents significant public health challenges, including poor treatment adherence and dropout rates.
Increased avoidance tendencies may underlie opioid addiction, but this has not been empirically demonstrated in humans.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether opioid addiction is characterized by heightened avoidance learning.
To determine if increased avoidance learning is also present in individuals with chronic nonaddicted opioid use.

Main Methods:

A case-control study in Germany involving individuals with and without opioid addiction using a probabilistic reinforcement learning task.
Computational modeling assessed learning from financial losses and avoidance, alongside self-report measures of compulsivity and avoidance.
Participants were recruited from outpatient clinics, with data analyzed between January 2025 and February 2025.

Main Results:

Both opioid-addicted and chronically nonaddicted opioid users exhibited increased learning from negative reinforcement and reduced choice consistency.
Avoidance learning variations predicted daily life avoidance behaviors and compulsive opioid use severity.
No significant differences were found between the two groups in learning from monetary loss or response repetition tendency.

Conclusions:

This study provides the first human evidence supporting preclinical findings on the role of negative reinforcement in opioid addiction.
Negative reinforcement appears relevant even in the early stages of opioid use.
Findings suggest novel avenues for opioid addiction prevention and treatment strategies.