Associative processes in addiction relapse models: A review of their Pavlovian and instrumental mechanisms, history, and terminology

Animal models of relapse to drug-seeking have borrowed heavily from associative learning approaches. In studies relapse-like behaviour, animals learn self-administer drugs then receive a period extinction during which they inhibit the operant response. Several triggers can produce recovery responding form basis variety models. These include passage time (spontaneous recovery), drug availability (rapid reacquisition), an alternative response (resurgence), context change (renewal), priming, stress, and cues (reinstatement). most cases, behavioural processes driving in self-administration are similar those Pavlovian literature, such as effects. However, reinstatement addiction several differences with reinstatement, emerged over decades, experimental procedures, mechanisms, terminology. Interestingly, cue-induced drug-paired that present acquisition omitted lever extinction. The unextinguished cue may limit model’s translational relevance exposure therapy renders its underlying mechanisms ambiguous. We review major theories explain phenomena, particular focus on because it is widely used model addiction. argue be explained by combination processes, including reacquisition conditioned reinforcement Instrumental Transfer. While there important between literature terminology clear understanding essential for studying relapse.