Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, USA.
Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2011 Dec;19(6):409-19. doi: 10.1037/a0024682. Epub 2011 Jul 18.
The link between social influence and drug abuse has long been established in humans. However, preclinical animal models of drug abuse have only recently begun to consider the role of social influence. Since social factors influence the initiation and maintenance of drug use in humans, it is important to include these factors in preclinical animal models. The current study examined the effects of the presence of a social partner on responding for sucrose pellets under various motivational conditions, as well as on d-amphetamine (AMPH) self-administration. Rats were trained to lever press for either sucrose or AMPH (0.01 or 0.1 mg/kg/infusion unit dose). Following response stability, a novel same-sex conspecific was presented in an adjacent compartment separated by a clear divider, and responding for sucrose or AMPH reward was measured. Rats were allowed to restabilize, and subsequently given an additional partner presentation. Presence of the social partner increased responding only during the first pairing with the AMPH 0.1 mg/kg/infusion unit dose, whereas inhibition of responding was observed during the first pairing during access to the 0.01 mg/kg/infusion unit dose. Under free feed conditions, inhibition of sucrose pellet responding was observed in the presence of the social partner, but this effect was attenuated under food restriction. In contrast, the results demonstrate social facilitation of AMPH self-administration at a high unit dose, thus extending the influence of social factors to an operant conditioning task. This model of social facilitation may have important implications as a preclinical model of social influence on drug abuse.
社会影响与药物滥用之间的联系在人类中早已确立。然而，药物滥用的临床前动物模型直到最近才开始考虑社会影响的作用。由于社会因素影响着人类开始和维持药物使用，因此在临床前动物模型中纳入这些因素非常重要。本研究考察了在不同动机条件下，社会伴侣的存在对蔗糖丸反应的影响，以及对 d-苯丙胺（AMPH）自我给药的影响。大鼠接受训练以按压杠杆获取蔗糖或 AMPH（0.01 或 0.1 mg/kg/单位剂量）。在反应稳定后，将一只新的同性别同种动物放在相邻的隔间中，通过透明隔板隔开，并测量蔗糖或 AMPH 奖励的反应。让大鼠重新稳定下来，然后再次呈现一个新的同伴。社会伴侣的存在仅在第一次接受 0.1 mg/kg/单位剂量的 AMPH 配对时增加了反应，而在第一次接受 0.01 mg/kg/单位剂量的配对时则抑制了反应。在自由进食条件下，在有社会伴侣的情况下，蔗糖丸反应受到抑制，但在食物限制下，这种抑制作用减弱。相比之下，结果表明，在高单位剂量下，社会因素促进了 AMPH 的自我给药，从而将社会因素对药物滥用的影响扩展到操作性条件反射任务。这种社会促进模型可能作为社会因素对药物滥用影响的临床前模型具有重要意义。
