Stimuli associated with a single cocaine experience elicit long-lasting cocaine-seeking.

Epidemiological data suggest that cocaine dependence emerges rapidly, and most cocaine addicts meet criteria for dependence within 1-3 years after onset of drug use. Here we show that in rats, environmental stimuli associated with a single cocaine self-administration experience elicit strong cocaine-seeking that persists for up to one year. In contrast, conditioned stimuli that were associated with a highly palatable non-drug reinforcer elicited modest behavioral responses that extinguished within 3 months.