Apologies if this has been discussed before.
Neuroanatomical Structures Underlying the Extinction of Drug-Seeking
Behavior
Richard M. Cleva
*
and Justin T. Gass
Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of
South Carolina, 67 President Street, MSC 861, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, USA
Abstract: This review summarizes current knowledge about the neurobiological components underlying the extinction of
drug-associated memories and how they may contribute to the treatment of drug addiction. Evidence suggests that
extinction learning is not the forgetting, or unlearning, of the associations between external stimuli and drug effects, but
that new reinforcer expectancies are necessary for extinction of drug-seeking behavior to take place. Several theories
suggest that addiction is a disorder of learning and memory, and recent evidence indicates that the brain circuits,
neurotransmitters, and signal transduction mechanisms that underlie drug addiction are similar to those that mediate
learning and memory processes. According to these theories, drug addiction results from repeated drug use and the
formation of lasting associations between a drug’s effects, withdrawal symptoms, and the environmental cues and
contexts within which they are experienced. Unfortunately, standard behavioral modification techniques, such as cue
exposure therapy, have shown only moderate efficacy in reducing and/or extinguishing the salience of drug-associated
cues and contexts. Therefore, a greater understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms involved in the extinction of
drug-related memories could provide novel therapeutic interventions for the treatment of drug addiction
http://www.benthamscience.com/open/toaddj/articles/V003/SI0055TOADDJ/63TOADDJ.pdf
Also:
http://web.usal.es/~rororo/Neuropsicolsal/doc/Kauer y Malenka NRN2007.pdf
Neuroanatomical Structures Underlying the Extinction of Drug-Seeking
Behavior
Richard M. Cleva
*
and Justin T. Gass
Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of
South Carolina, 67 President Street, MSC 861, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, USA
Abstract: This review summarizes current knowledge about the neurobiological components underlying the extinction of
drug-associated memories and how they may contribute to the treatment of drug addiction. Evidence suggests that
extinction learning is not the forgetting, or unlearning, of the associations between external stimuli and drug effects, but
that new reinforcer expectancies are necessary for extinction of drug-seeking behavior to take place. Several theories
suggest that addiction is a disorder of learning and memory, and recent evidence indicates that the brain circuits,
neurotransmitters, and signal transduction mechanisms that underlie drug addiction are similar to those that mediate
learning and memory processes. According to these theories, drug addiction results from repeated drug use and the
formation of lasting associations between a drug’s effects, withdrawal symptoms, and the environmental cues and
contexts within which they are experienced. Unfortunately, standard behavioral modification techniques, such as cue
exposure therapy, have shown only moderate efficacy in reducing and/or extinguishing the salience of drug-associated
cues and contexts. Therefore, a greater understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms involved in the extinction of
drug-related memories could provide novel therapeutic interventions for the treatment of drug addiction
http://www.benthamscience.com/open/toaddj/articles/V003/SI0055TOADDJ/63TOADDJ.pdf
Also:
http://web.usal.es/~rororo/Neuropsicolsal/doc/Kauer y Malenka NRN2007.pdf
