– The psychological and neural basis of incentive habits: relevance for the understanding of addiction –

David Belin
Professor of Behavioural Neuroscience,
University of Cambridge

Résumé
Given the importance of the drug itself in the development and perpetuation of SUD, the research community has understandably focused on the brain’s adaptations in response to exposure to addictive drugs, such as cocaine or heroin, leading to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlining the consumption of these drugs. But people with SUD do not just take addictive drugs, they spend a great deal of time foraging for these drugs over long periods of time. During drug foraging, many compulsive behaviors characteristic of SUD manifest themselves, particularly during episodes of relapse to drug-seeking following periods of forced abstinence. It is, therefore, important, to consider the psychological and neural mechanisms of the tendency to inflexibly engage in drug-seeking behaviors, which may reflect the development of maladaptive drug-seeking habits.

In rats, drug foraging over long periods is maintained and invigorated by drug-paired cues, much like in people. In both rats and people, engagement in foraging behavior becomes satisfying in its own right.

When they are prevented from enacting their drug-seeking behavior, in conditions for instance like incarceration in humans, individuals experience the building of internal distress that results in explosive behavior at relapse, which is mediated by so-called ‘negative urgency. During this talk I will introduce the psychological and neural basis of incentive habits and explain how they enable the recruitment of flexible, goal-directed behaviors at relapse – namely, the relief-inducing fulfilment of the drug-seeking habit, rather than the drug itself. That negative emotional urgency represents a risk factor for relapse and continued SUD.

Invité par Olivier Manzoni

Lundi 2 mai à 11h – salle de conférence de l’Inmed

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