Oral cocaine seeking by rats: action or habit?
Having established that the presence of cocaine in a 10% (wt/vol) sucrose solution enhanced the reinforcing properties of the solution in a dose-dependent manner, the authors investigated the susceptibility of oral cocaine seeking to outcome devaluation. Rats were trained to perform different instrumental responses for a cocaine-sucrose and a lemon-sucrose solution. An aversion was then conditioned from either the cocaine-sucrose or the lemon-sucrose solution by pairing consumption with lithium chloride. When instrumental performance was subsequently tested in extinction, the rats performed the lemon-sucrose response less if this solution, rather than cocaine-sucrose, had been devalued by aversion conditioning. By contrast, performance of the cocaine-sucrose response was unaffected by whether the cocaine-sucrose or the lemon-sucrose solution had been devalued.
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, England, UK.
Felicity J
FJ
Miles
Barry J
BJ
Everitt
Anthony
A
Dickinson
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology*; D003042:Cocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D006184:Habits; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
D003042:Cocaine