Aguilar Raúl, Caramés José M, Espinet Alfredo
Facultad de Psicologia, Universidad de Malaga, Málaga, Spain.
J Comp Psychol. 2009 Nov;123(4):347-56. doi: 10.1037/a0016437.
In the present study the authors sought to establish whether the range of effects of neonatal handling stimulation (H), that is, brief daily periods of infant isolation, could be extended to the domain of social motivation. With this aim, the authors studied the innate motivation to engage in rough-and-tumble play (R&T) in adolescent rats (Rattus norvegicus) by means of a reversal design, in which half of the rats were first housed in isolation (Days 1-3), and then in company (Days 4-6), while the other half followed the reverse sequence of housing conditions. Results showed in a clear-cut manner that H fuelled playfulness, as measured by pin and dorsal contact episodes, with (relative) independence of trait-based differences in fearful behavior between handled and nonhandled rats. Given that the different levels of the rat's social brain are apparently sensitive to tactile stimulation in infancy, the authors propose that the vibrant R&T reported here could reflect an enduring alteration of genetically based, motivational systems underlying playfulness and, perhaps, positive social emotions like joy.
在本研究中，作者试图确定新生儿处理刺激（H）的影响范围，即每天短暂的婴儿隔离期，是否可以扩展到社会动机领域。出于这一目的，作者通过反向设计研究了青春期大鼠（褐家鼠）参与打闹游戏（R&T）的内在动机，其中一半大鼠先单独饲养（第1 - 3天），然后群居（第4 - 6天），而另一半大鼠的饲养条件顺序相反。结果清楚地表明，通过针刺和背部接触事件衡量，H激发了嬉戏行为，且与处理组和未处理组大鼠基于特质的恐惧行为差异（相对）无关。鉴于大鼠社会脑的不同水平显然对婴儿期的触觉刺激敏感，作者提出这里报道的活跃的打闹游戏可能反映了基于基因的动机系统的持久改变，这种动机系统是嬉戏行为以及或许像喜悦这样的积极社会情绪的基础。
