title: Changing drug choice through conditioned reinforcement: comment on Alessi, Roll, Reilly, and Johanson (2002).
abstract: The study by S. M. Alessi, J. M. Roll, M. P. Reilly, and C.-E. Johanson (2002) showed that in human volunteers a choice of placebo over diazepam could be reversed by pairing the drug with a higher monetary reward and the placebo with a lower monetary reward for performance on a computer-based task. The results provide a clear laboratory model of how initially neutral or aversive effects of a drug can be altered by association with positive reinforcement to establish the drug as a conditioned reinforcer and to generate drug-seeking behavior. Parallels from the animal and human literatures are discussed, as are potential future studies and applications of this approach for preventing and reducing drug abuse in humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455, USA. mcarroll@umn.edu
authors.forename: Marilyn E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Carroll
mesh_terms: D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D012201:Reward; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*