title: Reversal of cocaine-conditioned place preference and mesocorticolimbic Zif268 expression by social interaction in rats.
abstract: Little is known how social interaction, if offered as an alternative to drug consumption, affects neural circuits involved in drug reinforcement and substance dependence. Conditioned place preference (CPP) for cocaine (15 mg/kg i.p.) or social interaction (15 minutes) as an alternative stimulus was investigated in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Four social interaction episodes with a male adult conspecific completely reversed cocaine CPP and were even able to prevent reacquisition of cocaine CPP. Social interaction also reversed cocaine CPP-induced expression of the immediate-early gene zif268 in the nucleus accumbens shell, the central and basolateral amygdala and the ventral tegmental area. These findings suggest that social interaction, if offered in a context that is clearly distinct from the previously drug-associated ones, may profoundly decrease the incentive salience of drug-associated contextual stimuli. The novel experimental design facilitates the neurobiological investigation of this phenomenon which may be beneficial for human drug users in treatment.
authors.affiliation: Experimental Psychiatry Unit, Medical University Innsbruck, Innrain 66a, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fritz
authors.forename: Rana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: El Rawas
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salti
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Klement
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Bardo
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kemmler
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dechant
authors.forename: Alois
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saria
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zernig
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002755:Choice Behavior; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D051766:Early Growth Response Protein 1 / Q000235:genetics*; D005108:Extinction, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D008032:Limbic System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012919:Social Behavior; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D051766:Early Growth Response Protein 1; C486110:Egr1 protein, rat