Monetary alternative reinforcers more effectively decrease intranasal cocaine choice than food alternative reinforcers

Cocaine dependence continues to be a significant public health concern. Contingency management, wherein alternative reinforcers are made available upon cocaine abstinence, has shown promise for decreasing cocaine use. Other research has modeled this effect and demonstrated that alternative reinforcers also reduce cocaine self-administration in the laboratory. Results from both clinical and laboratory studies suggest that the type and value of alternative reinforcers influences their ability to decrease drug choice. The purpose of the present experiment was to determine the effect of money or food alternative reinforcers, valued at $0.01, 0.25, 0.50 and 1.00, on intranasal cocaine (4 [placebo] and 30 mg) choice. Cocaine was chosen to a greater extent than placebo across alternative reinforcer types and values, but the monetary alternative reinforcer suppressed drug choice to a greater degree than the food reinforcer. These results are concordant with previous findings and suggest that money may be a more effective alternative reinforcer for decreasing cocaine use. Future research should determine the sensitivity of this model to specific behavioral aspects of contingency management and whether food could compete with drugs as reinforcers in humans under laboratory conditions.