CNRS, Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, UMR7289, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
INSERM, IRD, SESSTIM, Sciences Economiques & Sociales de la Santé & Traitement de l'Information Médicale, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2022 Apr;239(4):1097-1113. doi: 10.1007/s00213-021-06033-0. Epub 2022 Jan 11.
Stimulant use, including cocaine, often occurs in a social context whose influence is important to understand to decrease intake and reduce associated harms. Although the importance of social influence in the context of drug addiction is known, there is a need for studies assessing its neurobiological substrate and for translational research.
Here, we explored the influence of peer presence and familiarity on cocaine intake and its neurobiological basis. Given the regulatory role of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) on cocaine intake and emotions, we investigated its role on such influence of social context on cocaine intake.
We first compared cocaine consumption in various conditions (with no peer present or with peers with different characteristics: abstinent peer or drug-taking peer, familiar or not, cocaine-naive or not, dominant or subordinate) in rats (n = 90). Then, with a translational approach, we assessed the influence of the social context (alone, in the group, in a dyad with familiar or non-familiar peers) on drug intake in human drug users (n = 77).
The drug consumption was reduced when a peer was present, abstinent, or drug-taking as well, and further diminished when the peer was non-familiar. The presence of a non-familiar and drug-naive peer represents key conditions to diminish cocaine intake. The STN lesion by itself reduced cocaine intake to the level reached in presence of a non-familiar naive peer and affected social cognition, positioning the STN as one neurobiological substrate of social influence on drug intake. Then, the human study confirmed the beneficial effect of social presence, especially of non-familiar peers.
Our results indirectly support the use of social interventions and harm reduction strategies and position the STN as a key cerebral structure to mediate these effects.
兴奋剂的使用，包括可卡因，通常发生在一个社会环境中，了解其影响对于减少摄入量和减少相关危害非常重要。尽管人们已经认识到社会影响在药物成瘾背景下的重要性，但仍需要研究来评估其神经生物学基础，并进行转化研究。
本研究旨在探讨同伴的存在和熟悉程度对可卡因摄入量的影响及其神经生物学基础。鉴于苍白球内侧部(subthalamic nucleus, STN)对可卡因摄入量和情绪的调节作用，我们研究了它在社会环境对可卡因摄入量的这种影响中的作用。
我们首先比较了不同条件下（无同伴存在或有不同特征的同伴存在：戒断同伴或用药同伴、熟悉或不熟悉、可卡因初用者或非初用者、支配或从属）大鼠的可卡因消耗（n=90）。然后，采用转化方法，我们评估了社会环境（单独、在群体中、与熟悉或不熟悉的同伴进行二人组）对人类药物使用者（n=77）药物摄入的影响。
当有同伴存在、同伴戒断或同伴用药时，药物消耗减少，当同伴不熟悉时，药物消耗进一步减少。有一个不熟悉和初用药物的同伴存在是减少可卡因摄入量的关键条件。苍白球内侧部损伤本身就使可卡因摄入量降低到与不熟悉的初用者存在时的水平，并影响社会认知，将苍白球内侧部定位为社会影响药物摄入的神经生物学基础之一。然后，人类研究证实了社会存在的有益影响，特别是不熟悉的同伴。
我们的研究结果间接支持了社会干预和减少危害策略的应用，并将苍白球内侧部定位为介导这些影响的关键大脑结构。
