title: Cocaine cues retain silent traces of an excitatory history after conversion into conditioned inhibitors: 'the ghost in the addict'.
abstract: The present experiment investigated the extent to which the A+/AB- conditioned inhibition procedure could counteract an excitatory drug-related conditioning history. In two groups of rats, a light stimulus was established as a signal for the absence of cocaine. For the History group, the light had previously been a discriminative stimulus (S) that occasioned cocaine self-administration and could thus be classified as a cocaine excitor. In comparison, the No-History group first encountered the light during conditioned inhibition training. During conditioned inhibition training, both groups self-administered cocaine during tone as well as during click Ss, whereas drug seeking was eliminated in click-plus-light, wherein cocaine was not available (A+/AB-). Drug seeking was essentially eliminated in both groups. Nevertheless, on a summation test the light reduced cocaine seeking occasioned by the tone S by 95% in the No-History group, but by less than 50% in the History group. This summation test result showed that the effects of a drug-related history persisted even after the light was converted into an effective conditioned inhibitor on the training baseline through the powerful A+/AB- procedure. Future research should seek procedures that produce even stronger conditioned inhibition that eliminates such residual 'silent' drug excitation, the 'ghost in the addict'.
authors: Department of Psychology, American University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
authors: Stanley J
authors: SJ
authors: Weiss
authors: David N
authors: DN
authors: Kearns
mesh_terms: D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000818:Animals; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000188:drug therapy; D003042:Cocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000187:drug effects; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects; D003463:Cues; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D005108:Extinction, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects*; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D012646:Self Administration
chemical_list: D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D003042:Cocaine