Higher anhedonia during withdrawal from initial opioid exposure is protective against subsequent opioid self-administration in rats.

Rationale: Understanding factors contributing to individual differences in vulnerability to opioid addiction is essential for developing more effective preventions and treatments, yet few reliable behavioral predictors of subsequent opioid self-administration have been identified in rodents. Sensitivity to the acute effects of initial drug exposure predicts later addiction vulnerability in both humans and animals, but the relationship between sensitivity to withdrawal from initial drug exposure and later drug use vulnerability is unclear.

Objective: The goal of the current study was to evaluate whether the degree of anhedonia experienced during withdrawal from early opioid exposure predicts subsequent vulnerability to opioid self-administration.