title: Roles of NMDA and dopamine in food-foraging decision-making strategies of rats in the social setting.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In highly complex social settings, an animal's motivational drive to pursue an object depends not only on the intrinsic properties of the object, but also on whether the decision-making animal perceives an object as being the most desirable among others. Mimetic desire refers to a subject's preference for objects already possessed by another subject. To date, there are no appropriate animal models for studying whether mimetic desire is at play in guiding the decision-making process. Furthermore, the neuropharmacological bases of decision-making processes are not well understood. In this study, we used an animal model (rat) to investigate a novel food-foraging paradigm for decision-making, with or without a mimetic desire paradigm.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Faced with the choice of foraging in a competitive environment, rats preferred foraging for the desirable object, indicating the rats' ability for decision-making. Notably, treatment with the non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist MK-801, but not with the dopamine D1 or D2 receptor antagonists, SCH23390 and haloperidol, respectively, suppressed the food foraging preference when there was a competing resident rat in the cage. None of these three antagonists affected the food-foraging preference for palatable food. Moreover, MK-801 and SCH23390, but not haloperidol, were able to abolish the desirable environment effect on standard food-foraging activities in complex social settings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results highlight the concept that mimetic desire exerts a powerful influence on food-foraging decision-making in rats and, further, illustrate the various roles of the glutamatergic and dopaminergic systems in mediating these processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Tongzipo Road 172, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China. fangli@csu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Tongzipo Road 172, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China. 316895035@qq.com.
authors.forename: Wen-Yu
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Tongzipo Road 172, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China. hflscience@126.com.
authors.forename: Fu-Lian
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Tongzipo Road 172, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China. kwjkm@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Wen-Jing
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Tongzipo Road 172, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China. 709829504@qq.com.
authors.forename: Xiao-Lin
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Tongzipo Road 172, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China. 275279774@qq.com.
authors.forename: Zhao-Lan
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Tongzipo Road 172, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China. 1571801193@qq.com.
authors.forename: Hong-Tao
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Tongzipo Road 172, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China. 863303394@qq.com.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Tongzipo Road 172, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China. zhangjy@csu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jian-Yi
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia, the Second XiangYa Hospital, Central South University, Ren-Min Road 86, Changsha, Hunan, China. 909025585@qq.com.
authors.forename: Ru-Ping
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Sansom Institute, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia. zhou0010@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Xin-Fu
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Tongzipo Road 172, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China. changqili@csu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Chang-Qi
authors.initials: CQ
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001552:Benzazepines / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003163:Competitive Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate / Q000008:administration & dosage; D065127:Dopamine D2 Receptor Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017447:Receptors, Dopamine D1 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000502:physiology*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001552:Benzazepines; D065127:Dopamine D2 Receptor Antagonists; D017447:Receptors, Dopamine D1; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; C534628:SCH 23390; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate; D006220:Haloperidol