Cue exposure during a period of abstinence reduces the resumption of operant behavior for oral ethanol reinforcement.
The present study examined the prediction made by learning theories of drug addiction that systematic cue exposure (extinction) procedures should reduce ethanol (EtOH) consumption. In 3 experiments, male rats were trained on a variable-interval schedule to press a bar for a sweetened EtOH solution. These procedures established associations between a variety of cues (contextual, response feedback, visual, taste) and EtOH consumption. After performance had stabilized, a period of abstinence was imposed during which no EtOH was available. Groups of rats differed only in the number of EtOH-associated cues experienced during this period. The level of EtOH consumption after abstinence was reduced in proportion to the degree of cue exposure. These findings support the learning hypothesis that drug-associated cues contribute to the resumption of drug-taking behavior and further suggest that extinction procedures may be valuable in preventing relapse.