An alternative view is that dependence is produced by biological and psychological processes that do not so thoroughly depend on social context and, indeed, may be manifested by a rat in a cage: e.g., high rates of self-administration, withdrawal upon falling blood levels of nicotine, heightened resistance to extinction, withdrawal induced anhedonia, high probability of relapse, rapid reinstatement of drug use after abstinence, strong conditioned reinforcement of tobacco use, relative insensitivity to the aversive consequences of self-administration (“costs,” again, in a clearer conceptual context), and so on [13]. We argue that criteria that more directly assess such core features are likely to result in more valid and useful measures. ○The assessment should be brief, making it appropriate for use in clinical settings.
