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ReportsHigh Impulsivity Predicts the Switch to Compulsive Cocaine-TakingBoth impulsivity and novelty-seeking have been suggested to be behavioral markers of the propensity to take addictive drugs. However, their relevance for the vulnerability to compulsively seek and take drugs, which is a hallmark feature of addiction, is unknown. We report here that, whereas high reactivity to novelty predicts the propensity to initiate cocaine self-administration, high impulsivity predicts the development of addiction-like behavior in rats, including persistent or compulsive drug-taking in the face of aversive outcomes. This study shows experimental evidence that a shift from impulsivity to compulsivity occurs during the development of addictive behavior, which provides insights into the genesis and neural mechanisms of drug addiction.
1 Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK. * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bdb26{at}cam.ac.uk (D.B.); bje10{at}cam.ac.uk (B.J.E.)
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)