Anti-craving effects of environmental enrichment

Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2009 Oct;12(9):1151-6. doi: 10.1017/S1461145709990472. Epub 2009 Aug 20.

Abstract

We hypothesized that environmental enrichment in rats may reduce cocaine-seeking behaviour elicited by cocaine-priming injections and by cocaine-associated cues. Rats trained to self-administer cocaine while housed in isolated conditions were then assigned to live in isolation or an enriched environment for 21 d of forced abstinence. Subsequently, extinction and reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behaviour (operant responses without cocaine available) were assessed. Expt 1 showed that enrichment resulted in less cocaine-seeking behaviour during extinction and cue-elicited reinstatement compared to continued isolation housing, but had no effect on cocaine-primed reinstatement. A subsequent experiment, which included a pair-housed group to control for potential isolation stress, again demonstrated that enrichment attenuated cocaine seeking during extinction, but not cocaine-primed reinstatement, relative to both isolation and pair-housed conditions. The findings suggest that enrichment reduces the impact of cocaine-associated environmental stimuli, and hence it may be a useful intervention for attenuating cue-elicited craving in humans.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Behavior, Addictive*
  • Behavior, Animal*
  • Central Nervous System Stimulants / administration & dosage*
  • Cocaine / administration & dosage*
  • Cocaine-Related Disorders / psychology
  • Cocaine-Related Disorders / therapy*
  • Conditioning, Psychological
  • Cues
  • Environment*
  • Extinction, Psychological
  • Housing, Animal
  • Male
  • Models, Animal
  • Motivation
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Reinforcement, Psychology
  • Secondary Prevention
  • Self Administration
  • Social Behavior*
  • Social Isolation
  • Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / psychology
  • Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / therapy*
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Central Nervous System Stimulants
  • Cocaine