Relapse to substance abuse: Recent finding from basic and clinical research

A series of 6 articles concerning relapse to substance abuse and its treatment is introduced. Two articles review animal models of relapse and the potential role of drug priming effects, 2 articles present new data from experimental human research on cognitive and contextual determinants of relapse, while 2 articles describe clinical approaches and review the effectiveness of relapse prevention treatment. The series integrates clinical and basic research around a common theme and demonstrates that various types of research representing diverse perspectives are needed to understand this important feature of substance dependence.