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Time-dependent changes in alcohol-seeking behaviour during abstinence.

Abstract

Exposure of alcohol addicts to alcohol-related environmental cues may elicit alcohol-seeking behaviour even after protracted abstinence. The purpose of the present study was to assess time-dependent changes in alcohol-seeking behaviour in rats trained to respond for alcohol. The rats were re-exposed to alcohol-associated stimuli after 1, 28 or 56 days of withdrawal. During the re-exposure session, the rats were first allowed to respond in extinction. Then, reinstatement of alcohol-seeking behaviour was evoked by a complex of discrete alcohol-associated cues (auditory and light cues combined with taste and smell of alcohol). Extinction behaviour depended on abstinence duration with maximal responding after 28-day abstinence. Reinstatement of alcohol-seeking behaviour evoked by the discrete cues was highest after 56-day abstinence. No correlations were found between individual alcohol intakes, extinction behaviour and cue-induced reinstatement. These results suggest that: (i) alcohol-seeking behaviour may become more intense after long-term imposed abstinence; (ii) alcohol self-administration, extinction behaviour, and reinstatement of alcohol-seeking behaviour may be regulated by separate neural mechanisms.

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BibTeXRIS

Przemyslaw Bienkowski, Artur Rogowski, Agnieszka Korkosz, Pawel Mierzejewski, Katarzyna Radwanska, Leszek Kaczmarek, Anna Bogucka-Bonikowska, Wojciech Kostowski. 2004. Time-dependent changes in alcohol-seeking behaviour during abstinence.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroneuro.2003.10.005

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