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Impact of repeated intravenous cocaine administration on incentive motivation depends on mode of drug delivery
Author(s) -
LeBlanc Kimberly H.,
Maidment Nigel T.,
Ostlund Sean B.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
addiction biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.445
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1369-1600
pISSN - 1355-6215
DOI - 10.1111/adb.12063
Subject(s) - addiction , sensitization , psychology , incentive , self administration , behavioral sensitization , substance abuse , drug , pharmacology , medicine , neuroscience , psychiatry , nucleus accumbens , central nervous system , economics , microeconomics
The incentive sensitization theory of addiction posits that repeated exposure to drugs of abuse, like cocaine, can lead to long‐term adaptations in the neural circuits that support motivated behavior, providing an account of pathological drug‐seeking behavior. Although pre‐clinical findings provide strong support for this theory, much remains unknown about the conditions that support incentive sensitization. The current study examined whether the mode of cocaine administration is an important factor governing that drug's long‐term impact on behavior. Separate groups of rats were allowed either to self‐administer intravenous cocaine or were given an equivalent number and distribution of unsignaled cocaine or saline infusions. During the subsequent test of incentive motivation ( P avlovian‐to‐instrumental transfer), we found that rats with a history of cocaine self‐administration showed strong cue‐evoked food seeking, in contrast to rats given unsignaled cocaine or saline. This finding indicates that the manner in which cocaine is administered can determine its lasting behavioral effects, suggesting that subjective experiences during drug use play a critical role in the addiction process. Our findings may therefore have important implications for the study and treatment of compulsive drug seeking.