Impaired social motivation and increased aggression in rats subchronically exposed to phencyclidine.
Phencyclidine (PCP) treatment induces social withdrawal in the rat model of schizophrenia but little is known about the qualitative adequacy of behaviors displayed during interactions. Affiliative, avoidance, and aggressive behaviors were examined in rats 20 h after the 1st, the 8th, and the 15th injection of 10 mg/kg of PCP or of a saline vehicle. PCP treatment reduced the initiation of affiliative contacts with a control congener and increased aggressive responses, in the absence of drug outcomes on time spent in social interaction. These results suggest that subchronic PCP administration in rats affects perception and appraisal of social situations as well as motivation to interact. Such pathological behaviors are consistent with the social impairments characteristic of human schizophrenia.
Audet
Marie-Claude
MC
Institute of Neuroscience, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6.
Goulet
Sonia
S
Doré
François Y
FY
D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010622:Phencyclidine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D012919:Social Behavior
D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D010622:Phencyclidine