Cocaine self-administration in rats influenced by environmental conditions: implications for the etiology of drug abuse.
The present study investigated the possibility of environmental factors as an explanation for between-subject differences in cocaine self-administration. Weaning rats (21 days) were housed in isolated or aggregated conditions for 6 weeks and were tested for intravenous cocaine self-administration (0.1-1.0 mg/kg/infusion). Rats housed in groups failed to reliably self-administer this drug whereas isolated rats readily acquired an operant to receive infusions of cocaine. These data suggest that environmental factors play a major role in determining individual differences in the propensity to self-administer cocaine and that, as such, they should be considered more seriously by those interested in the basis and treatment of drug abuse.
Schenk
S
S
Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Concordia University, Montreal, Que., Canada.
Lacelle
G
G
Gorman
K
K
Amit
Z
Z
D000818:Animals; D003042:Cocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D051381:Rats; D012646:Self Administration; D012931:Social Environment; D012934:Social Isolation; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000209:etiology*
D003042:Cocaine