title: Choosing Under the Influence: A Drug-Specific Mechanism by Which the Setting Controls Drug Choices in Rats.
abstract: Ample evidence shows that the setting can control drug choices in both humans and animals. Here we reveal in rats that a major mechanism of this control involves a regulation of the drug influence on other competing options at the time of choice. Briefly, rats were offered a choice between a drug dose (cocaine or heroin) and a brief access to water sweetened with saccharin in two different settings. In one setting, choosing under the influence was not possible and rats largely preferred saccharin over either cocaine or heroin. In contrast, when the same rats were shifted to a setting where choosing under the influence was possible, they chose the drug either nonexclusively or exclusively depending on whether the drug enhanced or suppressed sweet reward, respectively. Thus, when rats were under the orexigenic influence of heroin at the time of choice, they more frequently chose saccharin in alternation with heroin. In contrast, when rats were under the anorexic influence of cocaine, they stopped choosing saccharin and continued taking cocaine exclusively. These setting- and drug-specific changes in preference were rapid and reversible, and could be induced by passively administering cocaine or heroin before choice. Finally, rats behaved as if they were oblivious to the drug influence on their choices. This behavior could explain why rats are vulnerable to harm themselves, sometimes to the point of death, in settings where choices are made under the drug influence, notably if this influence excludes other important options or, conversely, enhances harmful ones.
authors.affiliation: Université de Bordeaux, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR CNRS 5293, Bordeaux, France.|Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR CNRS 5293, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Youna
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Vandaele
authors.affiliation: Institut Bergonié, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Lauriane
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cantin
authors.affiliation: SANPSY, CNRS USR 3413, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Fuschia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Serre
authors.affiliation: Université de Bordeaux, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR CNRS 5293, Bordeaux, France.|Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR CNRS 5293, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vouillac-Mendoza
authors.affiliation: Université de Bordeaux, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR CNRS 5293, Bordeaux, France.|Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR CNRS 5293, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Serge H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Ahmed
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D003042:Cocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects; D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004327:Drinking Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D060766:Drinking Water; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005508:Food Deprivation; D003932:Heroin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D009294:Narcotics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012201:Reward; D012439:Saccharin; D012646:Self Administration; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D055697:Taste Perception / Q000187:drug effects; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors; D060766:Drinking Water; D009294:Narcotics; D003932:Heroin; D012439:Saccharin; D003042:Cocaine