Are Cocaine-Seeking “Habits” Necessary for the Development of Addiction-Like Behavior in Rats?

• DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2458-17.2017
• Publication Date: 2017-11-20T19:45:14Z
• Authors: Bryan F. Singer; Monica Fadanelli; Alex B. Kawa; Terry E. Robinson
• Keywords: Male; Motivation; Dopamine; Drug-Seeking Behavior; Self Administration; Synaptic Transmission; Nucleus Accumbens; Extinction, Psychological; Rats; Behavior, Addictive; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Cocaine-Related Disorders; Habits; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Recurrence; Animals; Conditioning, Operant; Rats, Long-Evans; Cues; Problem Solving

Drug self-administration models of addiction typically require animals to make the same response (e.g., a lever-press or nose-poke) over and procure take drugs. By their design, such procedures often produce behavior controlled by stimulus-response (S-R) habits. This has supported notion as "drug habit," led considerable advances in our understanding neurobiological basis behavior. However, drugs cocaine, addicts ingenuity flexibility seeking behavior, which, definition, precludes development To better model drug-seeking addicts, we first developed novel cocaine procedure [puzzle (PSAP)] that required rats solve new puzzle every day gain access which they then self-administered on an intermittent (IntA) schedule. Such daily problem-solving precluded S-R We asked whether prolonged PSAP/IntA experience would nevertheless "symptoms addiction." It did, including escalation intake, sensitized motivation for drug, continued drug use face adverse consequences, very robust cue-induced reinstatement seeking, especially subset "addiction-prone" rats. Furthermore, dopamine neurotransmission core nucleus accumbens (but not dorsolateral striatum). conclude habits is necessary addiction-like rats.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Substance-use disorders are characterized "habitual" behaviors aimed at obtaining administering Although actions involved consuming may involve rigid repertoire habitual behaviors, evidence suggests must be creative flexible when trying drugs, thus cannot governed habit alone. modeled requiring puzzles cocaine. find isn't doesn't result transfer dopaminergic control from ventral dorsal striatum. approach prove useful studying changes neuropsychological function promote transition addiction.