Department of Pharmacology, Biomedical Research Center (CIBM) and Institute of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud, 18016, Granada, Spain
Leandro Ruiz-Leyva
Department of Pharmacology, Biomedical Research Center (CIBM) and Institute of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud, 18016, Granada, Spain
Ana Vázquez-Ágredos
Department of Pharmacology, Biomedical Research Center (CIBM) and Institute of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud, 18016, Granada, Spain
Carmen Torres
Department of Psychology, University of Jaén, Campus Las Lagunillas, 23071, Jaén, Spain
Mauricio Papini
Department of Psychology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, 76129, USA
Cruz Cendán
Department of Pharmacology, Biomedical Research Center (CIBM) and Institute of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud, 18016, Granada, SpainBiosanitary Research Institute, University Hospital Complex of Granada, 18012, Granada, Spain
Ignacio Morón
Department of Psychobiology and Research Center for Mind, Brain, and Behavior (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Faculty of Psychology, Campus Cartuja, 18071, Granada, Spain
Using animal models in addiction and pain research is pivotal to unravel new pathways and mechanisms for the treatment of these disorders. Reward devaluation through a consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) task has shown the ability to reduce physical pain sensitivity (hypoalgesia) and increase oral ethanol consumption in rats. The procedure is based on exposing the experimental animals to a 32% sucrose solution during several sessions (preshift sessions) followed by a devaluation to 4% sucrose during the next few sessions (postshift sessions). The cSNC effect can be monitored by comparing the experimental group to an unshifted control that had access to 4% sucrose throughout the entire experiment (preshift and postshift sessions). The cSNC phenomenon is defined by lower consumption of sucrose in the downshifted group than in the unshifted group during postshfit sessions.