Several lines of evidence suggest that there may be a shared vulnerability to acquire
behaviors motivated by strong incentive stimuli. Non‐food restricted male Sprague‐Dawley …

Recent studies show that when given a mutually exclusive choice between cocaine and
food, rats almost exclusively choose food. The present experiment investigated potential …

BACKGROUND: In addicts drug cues attract attention, elicit approach, and motivate drug-
seeking and drug-taking behavior, and addicts find it difficult to resist such cues. In …

Rationale Cues associated with rewards bias attention towards them and can motivate drug-
seeking and drug-taking behavior. There is, however, considerable individual variation in …

The incentive sensitization theory of addiction posits that repeated exposure to drugs of
abuse, like cocaine, can lead to long‐term adaptations in the neural circuits that support …

Sensitivity to cocaine and its associated stimuli (“cues”) are important factors in the
development and maintenance of addiction. Rodent studies suggest that this sensitivity is …

Rationale Cocaine dependence is characterized by compulsive drug taking that supercedes
other recreational, occupational or social pursuits. We hypothesized that rats vulnerable to …

There is growing evidence that mere exposure to drugs can induce long-term alterations in
the neural systems that mediate reward processing, motivation, and behavioral control …

Cocaine addiction is often characterized by a rigid pattern of behavior in which cocaine
users continue seeking and taking drug despite negative consequences associated with its …

Rationale and objectives Recent studies reported that when given a mutually exclusive
choice between cocaine and palatable food, most rats prefer the non-drug reward over …