October 14,  2022 – Anne-Noël Samaha (University of Montreal) – Addiction to cocaine: How you take the drug is more decisive than how much

Exceptionally this seminar will take place in Salle des thèses (3rd floor) – Saint-Germain-des-Prés Campus, 45 rue des Saints Pères, 75006 Paris

A widely used preclinical procedure to study features of cocaine addiction involves allowing laboratory animals to take drug continuously, for hours each day. However, data in human cocaine users suggest that cocaine use may typically be intermittent, rather than continuous. Here I will present surprising findings concerning the effects of intermittent versus continuous cocaine intake in rats. As it turns out, less is more, and intermittent cocaine use is especially effective in producing addiction-relevant patterns of cocaine seeking and taking.