Social Reinforcement of Operant Behavior in Rats: A Methodological Note

Evans, Mycroft J.; Duvel, Adam; Funk, Michele L. Jonsson; Lehman, Brooke; Sparrow, John E.; Watson, Nathan T.; Neuringer, Allen

doi:10.1901/jeab.1994.62-149

Cited by 36 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 9 publications

(9 reference statements)

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“…The present study offers some support for a social-learning model in that the self-administration behavior of a peer, as opposed to merely the presence of a peer, determined the reinforcing strength of cocaine. Findings such as these are consistent with a large body of literature indicating that modeling and social reinforcement influence responding maintained by nondrug reinforcers (see Angermeier, 1960; Heyes et al, 1992; Evans et al, 1994; Akins and Zentall, 1996; Akins et al, 2002). These findings also extend those from several recent studies examining proximal social factors (i.e., those present at the time of testing) on measures of drug reinforcement.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Peer influences on drug self-administration

Peitz

Strickland²,

Pitts³

et al. 2013

Behavioural Pharmacology

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Social-learning theories of substance use propose that members of peer groups influence the drug use of other members by selectively modeling, reinforcing, and punishing either abstinence-related or drug-related behaviors. The objective of the present study was to examine social influences on cocaine self-administration in isolated and socially housed rats, with the caveat that the socially housed rats were tested simultaneously with their partner in the same chamber. To this end, male rats were obtained at weaning and housed in isolated or pair-housed conditions for 6 weeks. Rats were then implanted with intravenous catheters and cocaine self-administration was examined in custom-built operant conditioning chambers that allowed two rats to be tested simultaneously. For some socially housed subjects, both rats had simultaneous access to cocaine; for others, only one rat of the pair had access to cocaine. An econometric analysis was applied to the data, and the reinforcing strength of cocaine was measured by examining consumption (i.e., quantity demanded) and elasticity of demand as a function of price, which was manipulated by varying the dose and ratio requirements on a fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement. Cocaine consumption decreased as a function of price in all groups. Elasticity of demand did not vary across groups, but consumption was significantly lower in socially housed rats paired with a rat without access to cocaine. These data suggest that the presence of an abstaining peer decreases the reinforcing strength of cocaine, thus supporting the development of social interventions in drug abuse prevention and treatment programs.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Peer influences on drug self-administration

Peitz

Strickland²,

Pitts³

et al. 2013

Behavioural Pharmacology

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“…Initiation of drug taking nearly always occurs in a social context in which peers provide social reward for the behavior, yet surprisingly little research has been conducted with animal models to investigate the influence of social interactions at the time of drug taking (i.e., social context). The presence of a nonthreatening conspecific is highly salient and rewarding, especially in adolescent rats (Vanderschuren et al, 1997;Spear, 2000); for instance, nonthreatening conspecifics 1) elicit approach (Panksepp et al, 1984), 2) elicit ultrasonic vocalizations thought to be indicative of positive affect (Burgdorf et al, 2008), 3) are positive reinforcers (Angermeier et al, 1959;Werner and Anderson, 1976;Evans et al, 1994), and 4) produce CPP (Calcagnetti and Schechter, 1992;Crowder and Hutto, 1992;Douglas et al, 2004). Research examining drug effects in a social context suggests that this is an important variable that influences sensitivity to the rewarding effects of drugs.…”

Section: Psychosocial Influences and Abused Drugsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual Differences and Social Influences on the Neurobehavioral Pharmacology of Abused Drugs

2013

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“…These effects are observed even if responding produces only the visual stimulus of another rat and physical contact is prevented, suggesting that the mere presence of another animal is sufficient to produce reinforcing effects. Moreover, when the reinforcing effects of social contact are compared with the reinforcing effects of food, no significant differences are observed if the stimuli are tested under similar conditions of deprivation and reinforcer duration (Evans et al, 1994). Thus, if participation within a group is contingent on using a drug, then the social contact provided by that group may be sufficient to maintain drug use as long as the group remains functionally intact.…”

Section: Behavioral Mechanisms Controlling Drug Intakementioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of social contact on drug use: Behavioral mechanisms controlling drug intake.

Strickland¹,

Smith²

2014

Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology

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The social environment plays a critical role in determining the likelihood that an individual will use drugs or will develop a drug use disorder. Recent evidence obtained from preclinical studies reveals that proximal social factors (i.e., those factors that are immediately present at the time of drug exposure) exert a particularly strong influence on both drug-seeking and drug-taking behavior. These studies are advancing our understanding of the role of the social environment in drug use by showing that the rewarding and reinforcing effects of drugs depend on (1) whether other individuals are immediately present and (2) whether those individuals are also using drugs. Furthermore, the preclinical literature examining the role of social learning in behavior maintained by nondrug reinforcers reveals a number of behavioral mechanisms by which social contact may influence drug use, as well as potential ways the social environment may be modified to prevent or reduce drug use. Additional research is needed to determine potential age and sex differences in the effects of social contact on drug use, to determine the generality of the current findings across different pharmacological classes of drugs, and to determine the role of social contact on drug intake during different transitional stages of drug use disorders; however, enough evidence now exists to begin implementing social interventions in clinical and at-risk populations.

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Social Reinforcement of Operant Behavior in Rats: A Methodological Note

Cited by 36 publications

References 9 publications

Peer influences on drug self-administration

Peer influences on drug self-administration

Individual Differences and Social Influences on the Neurobehavioral Pharmacology of Abused Drugs

The effects of social contact on drug use: Behavioral mechanisms controlling drug intake.

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