Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Medical Center Blvd., 546 NRC, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA.
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2012 Nov;224(1):69-79. doi: 10.1007/s00213-011-2562-3. Epub 2011 Nov 15.
Studies in laboratory animals have demonstrated an influence of environmentally derived stress and enrichment on the reinforcing effects of stimulants.
To characterize the effects of acute exposure to ethologically valid environmental stimuli on the reinforcing strength of cocaine relative to food in socially housed monkeys.
Choice between cocaine and food was assessed in subsets of 16 socially housed (4/pen) male cynomolgus monkeys immediately after the following manipulations: (1) treats placed in home cage, (2) a 10-min exposure to a rubber snake, or (3) 3 to 7 days of living in a larger environment without cage mates.
Placing treats in the home cage shifted the cocaine dose-response curve to the left in five monkeys tested and to the right in 4 of 12 animals. The rubber snake significantly shifted the cocaine choice curve to the left in dominant monkeys. Exposure to an enlarged environment decreased cocaine choice in 9 of 15 monkeys; this effect was transient and not related to social rank. Repeated testing did not affect cocaine choice.
Brief exposure to environmental events hypothesized to be stressors or enrichment altered cocaine choice, although not all individuals were affected and the effects were transient. Importantly, the data suggest that implementing positive changes in the environment produced effects that are clinically desirable. Understanding the behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms mediating sensitivity to environmental events in socially housed animals will lead to better treatment strategies for drug addiction.
实验室动物研究表明，环境应激和丰富环境对兴奋剂的强化作用有影响。
描述急性暴露于生态相关刺激对社会饲养猴子可卡因强化效力相对于食物的影响。
在 16 只社会饲养（每间 4 只）雄性食蟹猴中，评估可卡因与食物之间的选择，这些猴子在以下操作后立即进行：（1）将食物放在笼内，（2）暴露于橡胶蛇 10 分钟，或（3）3 至 7 天生活在没有笼伴的更大环境中。
在 5 只测试的猴子中，将食物放在笼内会使可卡因剂量反应曲线向左移动，而在 12 只动物中的 4 只中则向右移动。橡胶蛇会使主导猴子的可卡因选择曲线明显向左移动。暴露于扩大的环境会降低 15 只猴子中的 9 只对可卡因的选择；这种影响是短暂的，与社会等级无关。重复测试不会影响可卡因的选择。
短暂暴露于假设为应激源或丰富环境的环境事件会改变可卡因的选择，尽管并非所有个体都受到影响，而且影响是短暂的。重要的是，数据表明，在社会饲养动物的环境中实施积极的变化会产生临床上期望的效果。了解在社会饲养动物中对环境事件敏感的行为和神经生物学机制，将为药物成瘾的治疗策略提供更好的方法。
