Abstract
We hypothesized that environmental enrichment in rats may reduce cocaine-seeking behaviour elicited by cocaine-priming injections and by cocaine-associated cues. Rats trained to self-administer cocaine while housed in isolated conditions were then assigned to live in isolation or an enriched environment for 21 d of forced abstinence. Subsequently, extinction and reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behaviour (operant responses without cocaine available) were assessed. Expt 1 showed that enrichment resulted in less cocaine-seeking behaviour during extinction and cue-elicited reinstatement compared to continued isolation housing, but had no effect on cocaine-primed reinstatement. A subsequent experiment, which included a pair-housed group to control for potential isolation stress, again demonstrated that enrichment attenuated cocaine seeking during extinction, but not cocaine-primed reinstatement, relative to both isolation and pair-housed conditions. The findings suggest that enrichment reduces the impact of cocaine-associated environmental stimuli, and hence it may be a useful intervention for attenuating cue-elicited craving in humans.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1151-1156 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 2009 |
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Keywords
- Cocaine
- drug-seeking behaviour
- environmental enrichment
- reinstatement
- self-administration
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacology (medical)
- Pharmacology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Anti-craving effects of environmental enrichment. / Thiel, Kenneth J.; Sanabria, Federico; Pentkowski, Nathan S.; Neisewander, Janet.
In: International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, Vol. 12, No. 9, 10.2009, p. 1151-1156.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Anti-craving effects of environmental enrichment
AU - Thiel, Kenneth J.
AU - Sanabria, Federico
AU - Pentkowski, Nathan S.
AU - Neisewander, Janet
PY - 2009/10
Y1 - 2009/10
N2 - We hypothesized that environmental enrichment in rats may reduce cocaine-seeking behaviour elicited by cocaine-priming injections and by cocaine-associated cues. Rats trained to self-administer cocaine while housed in isolated conditions were then assigned to live in isolation or an enriched environment for 21 d of forced abstinence. Subsequently, extinction and reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behaviour (operant responses without cocaine available) were assessed. Expt 1 showed that enrichment resulted in less cocaine-seeking behaviour during extinction and cue-elicited reinstatement compared to continued isolation housing, but had no effect on cocaine-primed reinstatement. A subsequent experiment, which included a pair-housed group to control for potential isolation stress, again demonstrated that enrichment attenuated cocaine seeking during extinction, but not cocaine-primed reinstatement, relative to both isolation and pair-housed conditions. The findings suggest that enrichment reduces the impact of cocaine-associated environmental stimuli, and hence it may be a useful intervention for attenuating cue-elicited craving in humans.
AB - We hypothesized that environmental enrichment in rats may reduce cocaine-seeking behaviour elicited by cocaine-priming injections and by cocaine-associated cues. Rats trained to self-administer cocaine while housed in isolated conditions were then assigned to live in isolation or an enriched environment for 21 d of forced abstinence. Subsequently, extinction and reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behaviour (operant responses without cocaine available) were assessed. Expt 1 showed that enrichment resulted in less cocaine-seeking behaviour during extinction and cue-elicited reinstatement compared to continued isolation housing, but had no effect on cocaine-primed reinstatement. A subsequent experiment, which included a pair-housed group to control for potential isolation stress, again demonstrated that enrichment attenuated cocaine seeking during extinction, but not cocaine-primed reinstatement, relative to both isolation and pair-housed conditions. The findings suggest that enrichment reduces the impact of cocaine-associated environmental stimuli, and hence it may be a useful intervention for attenuating cue-elicited craving in humans.
KW - Cocaine
KW - drug-seeking behaviour
KW - environmental enrichment
KW - reinstatement
KW - self-administration
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78049248255&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1017/S1461145709990472
DO - 10.1017/S1461145709990472
M3 - Article
VL - 12
SP - 1151
EP - 1156
JO - The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology / official scientific journal of the Collegium Internationale Neuropsychopharmacologicum (CINP)
JF - The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology / official scientific journal of the Collegium Internationale Neuropsychopharmacologicum (CINP)
SN - 1461-1457
IS - 9
ER -