Abstract
A main challenge in the therapy of drug dependent individuals is to help them reactivate interest in non-drug-associated activities. We previously developed a rat experimental model based on the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm in which only four 15-min episodes of social interaction with a gender- and weight-matched male Sprague Dawley rat (1) reversed CPP from cocaine to social interaction despite continuing cocaine training and (2) prevented the reinstatement of cocaine CPP. In the present study, we investigated which of the sensory modalities of the composite stimulus “social interaction” contributes most to the rats' preference for it. If touch was limited by steel bars spaced at a distance of 2 cm and running across the whole length of a partitioning, CPP was still acquired, albeit to a lesser degree. If both rats were placed on the same side of a partitioning, rats did not develop CPP for social interaction. Thus, decreasing the available area for social interaction from 750 to 375 cm2 prevented the acquisition of CPP to social interaction despite the fact that animals could touch each other more intensely than through the bars of the partitioning. When touch was fully restricted by a glass screen dividing the conditioning chambers, and the only sensory modalities left were visual and olfactory cues, place preference shifted to place aversion. Overall, our findings indicate that the major rewarding sensory component of the composite stimulus “social interaction” is touch (taction).
Highlights
In the therapy of drug dependent individuals, it is a major goal to restructure the addict’s life away from the drug of abuse toward non-drug-associated activities
COMPOSITE STIMULUS “SOCIAL INTERACTION” Social interaction within the confines of the conditioned place preference (CPP) apparatus produced robust place preference, as evidenced by a significant increase in time spent in the interaction-paired compartment compared to the time spent in the saline-paired compartment (Figure 1A)
One-factor analyses of variance (ANOVA) yielded a significant effect of the treatment factor, post hoc comparison showed a significant preference for social interaction over saline (p < 0.001)
Summary
In the therapy of drug dependent individuals, it is a major goal to restructure the addict’s life away from the drug of abuse toward non-drug-associated activities. In contrast to the deleterious effect of antagonistic stressful social interaction, Fritz et al (2011) have recently shown in Sprague Dawley rats that social interaction, offered as four 15-min episodes with a genderand weight-matched male conspecific is able to reverse conditioned place preference (CPP) from cocaine to social interaction despite continuing cocaine training, but even to prevent the reinstatement of cocaine CPP This kind of dyadic social interaction may be similar to the psychotherapeutic situation, which, in combination with pharmacotherapy, has been shown to be a promising treatment (Carroll et al, 1998; Zernig et al, 2000) for substance dependence. Investigating the neurobiological basis of this phenomenon seems of broader clinical importance
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