Intermittent Access (IntA) is a relatively new way of modeling drug taking behavior in rodents. Compared to long access (LgA) models, IntA results in less overall drug consumption, but mimics the intermittent nature of human drug taking. For example, instead of having access to drugs for a prolonged period of time (ex. 6hr), rodents will have 5 min drug available periods followed by 25 min no drug available periods. After IntA training, rodents escalate their intake, and show increased motivation to seek drugs (shown below).
Kawa, et al. 2016