Abstract: Relapse is a major characteristic of drug addiction disorders and it has been well established that stress induces reinstatement of drug seeking in the animal model of relapse. This article first briefly describes several animal models that have been used to study the reinstatement of drug seeking induced by stress. Then it reviews evidence from studies concerned with the neurobiological mechanisms involved in stress-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. The results of these studies suggest an important role of the brain corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) and noradrenaline (NA) neurons of the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) in the modulation of stress-induced reinstatement. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) region may be a common pathway for cue, drug and stress-induced reinstatement of drug seeking

Key words: relapse, stress, reinstatement model, corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF), noradrenaline (NA)