Reinstatement of both a conditioned place preference and a conditioned place aversion with drug primes

In two experiments, we report that the place-conditioning paradigm can be used to demonstrate reinstatement of place preference/aversion by a drug prime following extinction training. In Experiment 1, rats were trained to prefer a chamber paired with morphine. Following extinction training, a morphine drug prime reinstated the morphine place preference. In Experiment 2, a lithium-induced conditioned place aversion was reinstated following extinction training by a lithium prime prior to testing. These results indicate that not only do rewarding drug primes produce reinstatement of learned responses (as demonstrated in the drug self-administration paradigm), but also aversive drug primes reinstate aversive learned responses. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc.