BackgroundThe aim of this study was to systematically summarize knowledge on the association between exposure to interpersonal trauma and addictive behaviors. Extant reviews on this association focused on a restricted range of substance-related addictions, and/or used a narrative instead of a systematic approach.MethodsSystematic searches of 8 databases yielded 29,841 studies, of which 3054 studies were included and subsequently classified in relation to study design (scoping review). A subset of observational studies (N = 181) prospectively investigating the relationship between exposure to interpersonal traumata and subsequent behavioral or substance-related addiction problems were characterized. Heterogeneity in study methodologies and types of addictive behaviors and traumatic experiences assessed precluded meta-analysis. Instead, the proportions of associations tested in this literature that revealed positive, negative, or null relationships between trauma exposure and subsequent addictive behaviors were recorded, along with other methodological features.ResultsOf 3054 included studies, 70.7% (n = 2160) used a cross-sectional design. In the 181 prospective observational studies (407,041 participants, 98.8% recruited from developed countries), 35.1% of the tested associations between trauma exposure and later addictive behaviors was positive, 1.3% was negative, and 63.6% was non-significant. These results were primarily obtained among non-treatment seeking samples (80.7% of studies; n = 146), using single and multi-item measures of addictive behaviors of unknown psychometric quality (46.4% of studies). Positive associations were more frequently observed in studies examining childhood versus adult traumatization (39.7% vs. 29.7%).ConclusionsLongitudinal research in this area emphasizes alcohol abuse, and almost no research has examined behavioral addictions. Results provide some support for a positive association between exposure to interpersonal trauma and subsequent addictive behaviors but this relationship was not consistently reported. Longitudinal studies typically assessed trauma exposure retrospectively, often after addictive behavior onset, thus precluding robust inferences about whether traumatization affects initial onset of addictive behaviors.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1323-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

An experiment was designed to test the hypothesis that an internally generated sense of spatial orientation contributes to navigation by rats in the Morris water task and to determine whether this strategy is dependent on vestibular cues. Rats were trained in a standard hidden platform procedure in which they received 8 daily swim trials. In a probe test, rats were carried in an opaque box to a pool located in a novel adjacent environment. During transport, 1 cohort of rats received a disorientation procedure, composed of gentle rotation in the box, while a second cohort served as transport controls. Upon being placed in the pool in the novel room, controls displayed a preference for the pool quadrant predicted by a retained directional response across rooms, whereas disoriented rats failed to display a preference for the same quadrant. Furthermore, control rats swam faster and more directly toward the target quadrant. Together, these findings suggest that rats retain a directional response based on vestibular cues across environments, which can be used to disambiguate geometrically equivalent locations in a novel room and apparatus. (PsycINFO Database Record

Rats with juvenile play experience display a greater ability in coordinating their movements with social partners than those deprived of such experience, and this may be due to the play-induced neural restructuring of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). The present study investigates the role of the mPFC in interanimal coordination. Rats with and without bilateral mPFC lesions were tested on a robbing-and-dodging task. This food protection task measures the ability of rats to protect pieces of food by gaining and maintaining an interanimal distance between themselves and the rat attempting to rob the food. Given that mPFC lesions have been associated with sensory and motor deficits, the same rats were also subjected to a task to measure skilled motor movements. Rats with bilateral mPFC lesions had more food stolen and displayed an inability to maintain interanimal distance with partner, but did not exhibit any motor or sensory deficits. These findings suggest that the mPFC is involved in interanimal coordination and that the play-induced neural restructuring of this area may account for the enhanced coordination seen in rats with prior play experience.