Negative reinforcement key to opioid addiction, suggesting new intervention approaches

Opioid addiction comes with the desire to avoid, a pathological tendency, researchers hypothesized. To determine whether people with opioid use disorder (OUD) have increased “avoidance learning,” the researchers conducted a case‐control study to on whether individuals with chronic opioid use – whether addicted or not – are more likely to learn from negative outcomes than individuals without chronic opioid use. Participants in the study were recruited from outpatient clinics for addiction, and outpatient clinics or chronic pain. Negative reinforcement is relevant even in the early stages of opioid use, the researchers found.