Editorial: Extinction of Drug-Seeking Behavior

Some of the key defining characteristics of drug addiction (substance dependence) is the persistence of drug-seeking behavior despite attempts at abstinence, adverse health and legal consequences, and impaired social, occupational or academic functioning [1]. From a behavior modification standpoint, extinction refers to the gradual and intentional reduction of a maladaptive behavior, such as drug-seeking or drug self-administration behavior. From a cognitive-behavioral therapeutic perspective, extinction refers to a gradual and intentional reduction in psychological and/or physiological responses, such as autonomic nervous system activation and drug craving, to drug-associated stimuli. In the latter sense, extinction is essentially a “desensitization” process that is performed via cue exposure therapy (CET). During CET, addicts are presented with pictures of or actual physical exposure to drug-related stimuli such as drug paraphernalia (i.e., crack pipes), drug-related olfactory stimuli (i.e., the aroma of alcohol or cigarette smoke), or even drug self-administration contextual environments. Over time, the conditioned psychological and physiological responses to drug-associated stimuli extinguish. Similar cue exposure therapy procedures, such as exposure plus response prevention, are successfully used for the treatment of anxiety disorders including disabling phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.