Individual differences in cocaine addiction: maladaptive behavioural traits

Abstract

Cocaine use leads to addiction in only a subset of individuals. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these individual differences in the transition from cocaine use to cocaine abuse is important to develop treatment strategies. There is agreement that specific behavioural traits increase the risk for addiction. As such, both high impulsivity and high anxiety have been reported to predict (compulsive) cocaine self-administration behaviour. Here, we set out a new view explaining how these two behavioural traits may affect addictive behaviour. According to psychological and psychiatric evolutionary views, organisms flourish well when they fit (match) their environment by trait and genotype. However, under non-fit conditions, the need to compensate the failure to deal with this environment increases, and, as a consequence, the functional use of rewarding drugs like cocaine may also increase. It suggests that neither impulsivity nor anxiety are bad per se, but that the increased risk to develop cocaine addiction is dependent on whether behavioural traits are adaptive or maladaptive in the environment to which the animals are exposed. This 'behavioural (mal)adaptation view' on individual differences in vulnerability to cocaine addiction may help to improve therapies for addiction.

Deletion of Type 2 Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor Decreases Sensitivity to Cocaine Reward in Rats

“…Vulnerability to drugs of abuse depends upon multiple factors – including the biological state and trait of the individual, the environment, and age (Belin and Deroche-Gamonet, 2012; Everitt et al, 2008; Homberg et al, 2014). Currently prevailing theories on the etiology of drug abuse conceptualize addiction as an executive function/inhibitory control deficit (Volkow and Morales, 2015), increased incentive salience attributed to drug-related stimuli (Singer et al, 2016), a compulsive habit (Everitt et al, 2008), and a hyperactive stress system and removal of negative reinforcement (Koob, 2015).…”

Ibogaine and addiction in the animal model, a systematic review and meta-analysis

“… 78 Since ibogaine blocks dopamine release in the NAc, 15 it is tempting to speculate that sign-trackers are more responsive to ibogaine than goal-trackers (attracted to reward delivery). Similarly, trait anxiety and impulsivity differentially contribute to the liability to SA and CPP, 79 and could influence the efficacy of ibogaine.…”

Exercise reward induces appetitive 50-kHz calls in rats

“…Response to novelty and rewardoriented behaviors are known to be closely associated [80a]; therefore, it is not surprising that these two behavioral traits were to some extent present in runners. Also, runners may also be more risk-taking, as a sensation-seeking trait often involves risky behaviors [81]. This assumption deserves to be further investigated.…”