Cocaine-induced suppression of saccharin intake: a model of drug-induced devaluation of natural rewards.

In Experiment 1, water-deprived Sprague-Dawley rats were given 5 min access to saccharin. This tube retracted, an empty tube advanced, and the rats were given 1 hr to lick the empty tube on a fixed-ratio 10 lick contingency to self-administer saline or cocaine (0.33 mg/infusion) via an intravenous catheter. The results showed that rats avoided intake of saccharin after saccharin-cocaine pairings and that greater avoidance of the gustatory cue was associated with greater cocaine self-administration. In Experiment 2, a similar dose-response function was obtained with either the empty tube or a lever as the operant. In Experiment 3, avoidance of the saccharin cue and the propensity to self-administer cocaine were maintained after at least 1 month of abstinence. As such, this paradigm may be useful as a model of cue-induced craving and drug-induced devaluation of natural rewards.