The extinction of naturally occurring conditioned reactions in psychoactive substance users: Analog studies

In the present series of studies we develop an analog approach for the study of conditioned reactions to drug stimuli. The analog we study is the naturally occurring conditioned reaction of salivation at the sight of a lemon. We show that this conditioned reaction can be extinguished, that spontaneous recovery occurs, and that the conditioned reaction increases after "relapse." Further, we show that massed extinction trials lead to greater extinction than do spaced trials. This analog provides an approach that can be used to develop cue-exposure treatments that minimize spontaneous recovery from extinction and reduce the likelihood of relapse.