Behavioral cross-sensitization between DOCA-induced sodium appetite and cocaine-induced locomotor behavior

► Rats display sensitization of locomotor behavior with daily cocaine administration. ► Rats also show behavioral sensitization by increasing their intake of hypertonic saline solution (i.e. salt appetite) in response to daily DOCA (a mineralocorticoid agonist) treatment. ► Animals that are sensitized to one treatment (e.g., DOCA without access to saline) will evidence cross-sensitization to the second treatment (i.e., cocaine) and vice versa. ► The results suggest that the reciprocal cross-sensitization between the two behavior-inducing treatments may be related to activation of common neural substrates.