Brief access to sweets protect against relapse to cocaine-seeking.

The availability of alternative rewards can reduce acquisition and maintenance of cocaine self-administration in rats and humans. Once acquired, however, addiction is an intractable disease where relapse is elicited by exposure to drug-associated cues, the drug itself, or stress. The present study shows that both cocaine-seeking and drug-induced relapse are significantly reduced when drug-experienced, but abstinent, rats are given just 5 min daily prior access to a palatable glucose + saccharin mixture. The results suggest that presentation of an alternative reward may be useful as a therapeutic intervention for cocaine seeking and relapse.