Conditioned aversion by psychoactive drugs: Does it have significance for an understanding of drug dependence?

The major value of the phenomenon of conditioned aversion in the study of addiction appears to be as a tool for studying the events that control an organisms disposition toward a drug as an unconditioned stimulus.

Abstract

Most psychoactive drugs are capable of inducing gustatory aversions. This review addresses itself to several major issues deriving from this fact. Among the questions considered are: Does gustatory aversion occur because psychoactive drugs are responded to as gross toxins? Is it paradoxical that psychoactive drugs can act both as positive reinforcers and agents of aversive conditioning? What properties of the actions of psychoactive drugs are responsible for their effectiveness as unconditioned stimuli in the gustatory conditioning model? What is the best explanation for the observation that chronic exposure to a drug prior to conditioning reduces its effectiveness as an agent of conditioned gustatory aversion? Although it is premature to make a conclusive judgement, the major value of the phenomenon of conditioned aversion in the study of addiction appears to be as a tool for studying the events that control an organisms disposition toward a drug as an unconditioned stimulus. This is particularly evident in studies that have manipulated exposure to drugs prior to conditioning.