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Cited by 561Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesGambling Behavior and Treatments

Individual differences in the attribution of incentive salience to reward-related cues: implications for addiction

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Flagel, Shelly B., Akil, Huda, Robinson, Terry E.·2009·Neuropharmacology
DOI 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2008.06.027PMC PMC2635343
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Abstract

Drugs of abuse acquire different degrees of control over thoughts and actions based not only on the effects of drugs themselves, but also on predispositions of the individual. Those individuals who become addicted are unable to shift their thoughts and actions away from drugs and drug-associated stimuli. Thus in addicts, exposure to places or things (cues) that has been previously associated with drug-taking often instigates renewed drug-taking. We and others have postulated that drug-associated cues acquire the ability to maintain and instigate drug-taking behavior in part because they acquire incentive motivational properties through Pavlovian (stimulus-stimulus) learning. In the case of compulsive behavioral disorders, including addiction, such cues may be attributed with pathological incentive value ("incentive salience"). For this reason, we have recently begun to explore individual differences in the tendency to attribute incentive salience to cues that predict rewards. When discrete cues are associated with the non-contingent delivery of food or drug rewards some animals come to quickly approach and engage the cue even if it is located at a distance from where the reward will be delivered. In these animals the reward-predictive cue itself becomes attractive, eliciting approach towards it, presumably because it is attributed with incentive salience. Animals that develop this type of conditional response are called "sign-trackers". Other animals, "goal-trackers", do not approach the reward-predictive cue, but upon cue presentation they immediately go to the location where food will be delivered (the "goal"). For goal-trackers the reward-predictive cue is not attractive, presumably because it is not attributed with incentive salience. We review here preliminary data suggesting that these individual differences in the tendency to attribute incentive salience to cues predictive of reward may confer vulnerability or resistance to compulsive behavioral disorders, including addiction. It will be important, therefore, to study how environmental, neurobiological and genetic interactions determine the extent to which individuals attribute incentive value to reward-predictive stimuli.

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  • Conditioned place preference can be conceptualized as probing reward valuation within approach motivation, though expectancy is also likely involved.

    “conditioned place preference can be conceptualized as probing the “reward valuation” subconstruct within approach motivation, but expectancy is arguably also involved, given the presence of Pavlovian conditioned approach behavior (Flagel et al., 2009; NIMH Research Domain Criteria).”

    From The effects of early life stress on reward processing (2018) · cites this paper as Flagel et al., 2009

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  1. Breland K, Breland M. Animal Behavior. Macmillan; New York: 1966. [Google Scholar]
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Authors
Flagel, S. B., Akil, H., & Robinson, T. E.
Affiliations
University of Michigan (US)
Corresponding author
Flagel, Shelly B.
ORCID
Venue
Neuropharmacology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2009-01
Volume
56
Pages
139-148
ISSN
0028-3908 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.neuropharm.2008.06.027
PMC
PMC2635343
OpenAlex
W1964929156
Cited by
561
References
128
Citations by year
2026: 25 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 83 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 38 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 33 · 2014: 32 · 2013: 35 · 2012: 27
FWCI
1.25
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Neuropharmacology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute on Drug Abuse (P01DA021633, R37DA004294, R37 DA04294, R01 DA012286, R01DA013386, T32DA007281)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Gambling Behavior and Treatments
Keywords
incentive salience, individual differences, sign-tracking, goal tracking, classical conditioning, drug cues, addiction vulnerability, compulsive behavior, reward prediction, approach behavior, cue reactivity
MeSH terms
Animals, Cues, Humans, Individuality, Motivation, Reward, Behavior, Addictive

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