Individual variation in the attribution of incentive salience to social cues

Abstract

Research on the attribution of incentive salience to drug cues has furthered our understanding of drug self-administration in animals and addiction in humans. The influence of social cues on drug-seeking behavior has garnered attention recently, but few studies have investigated how social cues gain incentive-motivational value. In the present study, a Pavlovian conditioned approach (PCA) procedure was used to identify rats that are more (sign-trackers; STs) or less (goal-trackers; GTs) prone to attribute incentive salience to food reward cues. In Experiment 1, a novel procedure employed social 'peers' to compare the tendency of STs and GTs to attribute incentive salience to social reward cues as well as form a social-conditioned place preference. In Experiment 2, social behavior of STs and GTs was compared using social interaction and choice tests. Finally, in Experiment 3, levels of plasma oxytocin were measured in STs and GTs seven days after the last PCA training session, because oxytocin is known to modulate the mesolimbic reward system and social behavior. Compared to GTs, STs attributed more incentive salience to social-related cues and exhibited prosocial behaviors (e.g., social-conditioned place preference, increased social interaction, and social novelty-seeking). No group differences were observed in plasma oxytocin levels. Taken together, these experiments demonstrate individual variation in the attribution of incentive salience to both food-and social-related cues, which has important implications for the pathophysiology of addiction.

Systematic review: pain, cognition, and cardioprotection—unpacking oxytocin’s contributions in a sport context

“…Most of the time animal studies control for auditory input in relation to oxytocin. At the time of writing this review, there is not enough information about the changes due to said input considering this neuropeptide, but it seems that the relationship between oxytocin and auditory input is species-dependent, namely, SD rats, wolves (a strong hierarchical order), cats (somewhat owner-dependent response), and zebra finch (mesotocin-spatial location of birds among each other) behaved differently ( Watts et al, 2022 ; Baran et al, 2016 ; Fitzpatrick and Morrow, 2020 ; Hosgorler et al, 2020 ; Nagasawa et al, 2022 ; Wirobski et al, 2023 ). Humans commonly use singing in many rituals, and it is part of every culture throughout the world.…”

“…Territorial behavior was positively related to oxytocin and glucocorticoid release, and separation from the pack increased glucocorticoid concentrations, indicating that social and environmental factors, such as returning home or social reunions, can differently affect oxytocin levels in animals too ( Wirobski et al, 2023 ). Consequently, it is suggested that the level of oxytocin should be measured at different time points ( Fitzpatrick and Morrow, 2020 ).…”

“…However, in humans, this might be dependent on the stress scenario, the environment, genetic profiles, early life experiences, and nutrition ( Takahashi et al, 2022 ; Liu et al, 2022 ; Scarola et al, 2019 ; Skinner et al, 2019 ; Cai et al, 2023 ; Ebner et al, 2005 ; Noto et al, 2021 ; Weisman et al, 2013 ). At the same time, individual variations will contribute to how much stress gets reduced by oxytocin ( Fitzpatrick and Morrow, 2020 ; Sonne and Gash, 2018 ). Prolonged endurance exercise, a form of physical stress, triggers significant hormonal changes, including increases in oxytocin levels significantly correlating with AVP, suggesting that exercise can modulate stress responses through hormonal pathways ( Hew-Butler et al, 2008a ; Hew-Butler et al, 2008b ).…”

Presentation1.PDF

“…Most of the time animal studies control for auditory input in relation to oxytocin. At the time of writing this review, there is not enough information about the changes due to said input considering this neuropeptide, but it seems that the relationship between oxytocin and auditory input is species-dependent, namely, SD rats, wolves (a strong hierarchical order), cats (somewhat owner-dependent response), and zebra finch (mesotocin-spatial location of birds among each other) behaved differently (Watts et al, 2022;Baran et al, 2016;Fitzpatrick and Morrow, 2020;Hosgorler et al, 2020;Nagasawa et al, 2022;Wirobski et al, 2023). Humans commonly use singing in many rituals, and it is part of every culture throughout the world.…”

“…Territorial behavior was positively related to oxytocin and glucocorticoid release, and separation from the pack increased glucocorticoid concentrations, indicating that social and environmental factors, such as returning home or social reunions, can differently affect oxytocin levels in animals too (Wirobski et al, 2023). Consequently, it is suggested that the level of oxytocin should be measured at different time points (Fitzpatrick and Morrow, 2020).…”