Research article summary (published 29 Jun 2009):

Behavioral momentum of cocaine self-administration: effects of frequency of reinforcement on resistance to extinction.

Full Abstract

Persistent drug seeking is a defining property of substance abuse and is generally thought to depend, in part, on exposure to drug-associated contexts. Behavioral momentum theory provides a set of methods and a theoretical framework for understanding how stimulus contexts contribute to the persistence of operant behavior. Earlier research has extended behavioral momentum theory to alcohol self-administration, but not to intravenous drug self-administration. This experiment extended behavioral momentum theory to cocaine self-administration by examining the effects of frequency of cocaine reinforcement in a context on resistance to extinction. Rats self-administered 0.32 mg/kg infusions of cocaine in a multiple schedule of reinforcement arranging two distinct contexts. Responding in a Rich context was reinforced by cocaine infusions at a higher frequency (i.e. variable interval 120 s) and in a Lean context at a lower frequency (variable interval 360 s). After establishment of responding in the two contexts, resistance to extinction was examined. Preextinction response rates for cocaine were similar in the Rich and Lean contexts. Nonetheless, relative resistance to extinction was greater in the Rich context than in the Lean context. The difference in resistance to extinction in the two contexts was well described by a quantitative model of behavioral momentum. These results suggest that the frequency of drug reinforcement in a context contributes to the persistence of drug seeking in that context, and that behavioral momentum theory might be useful for understanding how drug-associated contexts contribute to the persistence of drug seeking.

Author information

Author/s: Quick, Stacey L (SL); Shahan, Timothy A (TA);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322, USA.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Behavioural pharmacology (Behav Pharmacol), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Jul; vol 20 (issue 4) : pp 337-45

Dates: Created 2009/07/20; Completed 2009/09/24;

PMID: 19571742, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/24/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Animals Behavior, Animal - drug effects Cocaine - administration & dosage; pharmacology Conditioning, Operant - drug effects Extinction, Psychological - drug effects Male

Male Rats Rats, Long-Evans Reinforcement (Psychology) Reinforcement Schedule Self Administration

Associated Chemicals: Cocaine (50-36-2)

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