Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Environmental enrichment decreases nicotine-induced hyperactivity in rats

  • Original Investigation
  • Published:
Psychopharmacology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Rationale

Previous research has determined that rats reared in an enriched condition (EC) are more sensitive to the effects of acute systemic amphetamine than rats raised in an impoverished condition (IC).

Objectives

The present experiments examined the effect of environmental enrichment on locomotor activity following repeated injections of nicotine. Experiment 1 assessed differences in locomotor activity in EC and IC rats and experiment 2 assessed differences between EC rats and rats housed in pairs without novel objects or daily handling (social condition; SC) to determine whether enrichment causes changes beyond that of social contact alone.

Methods

In experiment 1, EC and IC rats were treated with saline, 0.2 mg/kg or 0.8 mg/kg nicotine, and locomotor activity was assessed for 60 min. Nicotine-induced activity was measured every 48 h for a total of eight sessions. All rats were challenged with 0.8 mg/kg nicotine on session 9. In experiment 2, EC and SC rats were treated with saline or 0.2 mg/kg nicotine, and locomotor activity was assessed using the same regimen as in experiment 1.

Results

In experiment 1, EC rats exhibited less sensitivity than IC rats to the psychostimulant effect of nicotine upon both acute and repeated administration. On the nicotine challenge session (session 9), EC rats were again less sensitive to the hyperactive effects of nicotine. In experiment 2, EC rats were also less sensitive than SC rats to nicotine-induced hyperactivity across repeated injections.

Conclusions

These results suggest that environmental enrichment during development reduces the stimulant effect of nicotine.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3a, b.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5a, b.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams J, Bowman K, Burke B, Casson L, Caviness L, Coffey LE, Devore J, Durham J, Ellis C, Hewitt D, Hinsdale M, Johnson I, Myers S, Penne M, Zelon H (1999) 1999 National household survey on drug abuse data collection final report. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Bethesda

  • Bardo MT, Hammer RP (1991) Autoradiographic localization of dopamine D1 and D2 receptors in rat nucleus accumbens: resistance to differential rearing conditions. Neuroscience 45:281–290

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bardo MT, Bowling SL, Rowlett JK, Manderscheid P, Buxton ST, Dwoskin LP (1995) Environmental enrichment attenuates locomotor sensitization, but not in vitro dopamine release, induced by amphetamine. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 51:397–405

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bardo MT, Valone JM, Robinet PM, Shaw WB, Dwoskin LP (1999) Environmental enrichment enhances the stimulant effect of intravenous amphetamine: search for a cellular mechanism in the nucleus accumbens. Psychobiology 27:292–299

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bardo MT, Klebaur JE, Valone JM, Deaton C (2001) Environmental enrichment decreases intravenous self-administration of amphetamine in female and male rats. Psychopharmacology 155:278–284

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowling SL, Bardo MT (1994) Locomotor and rewarding effects of amphetamine in enriched, social, and isolate reared rats. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 48:459–464

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowling SL, Rowlett JK, Bardo MT (1993) The effect of environmental enrichment on amphetamine-stimulated locomotor activity, dopamine synthesis and dopamine release. Neuropharmacology 32:885–893

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cador M, Dulluc J, Mormede P (1993) Modulation of the locomotor response to amphetamine by corticosterone. Neuroscience 56:981–988

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll ME (1996) Reducing drug abuse by enriching the environment with alternative nondrug reinforcers. In: Advances in Behavioral Economics. Ablex Pub, Norwood, pp 37–68

  • Clarke PBS, Kumar R (1983) The effects of nicotine on locomotor activity in non-tolerant and tolerant rats. Br J Pharmacol 78:329–337

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Comings DE (1996) Genetic factors in drug abuse and dependence. NIDA Res Monogr 159:16–38

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dwoskin LP, Crooks PA, Teng L, Green TA, Bardo MT (1999) Acute and chronic effects of nornicotine on locomotor activity in rats: altered response to nicotine. Psychopharmacology 145:442–451

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Faraday MM, Scheufele PM, Rahman MA, Grunberg NE (1999) Effects of chronic nicotine administration on locomotion depend on rat sex and housing condition. Nicotine Tob Res 1:143–151

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gentsch C, Lichtsteiner M, Frischknecht HR, Feer H, Siegfried B (1988) Isolation-induced locomotor hyperactivity and hypoalgesia in rats are prevented by handling and reversed by resocialization. Physiol Behav 43:13–16

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Green TA, Gehrke BJ, Bardo MT (2002) Environmental enrichment decreases intravenous amphetamine self-administration: dose response functions for fixed- and progressive-ratio schedules. Psychopharmacology 162:373–378

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hart C, Ksir C (1996) Nicotine effects on dopamine clearance in rat nucleus accumbens. J Neurochem 66:216–221

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liang NY, Rutledge CO (1982) Comparison of the release of [3H]dopamine from isolated corpus striatum by amphetamine, fenfluramine and unlabelled dopamine. Biochem Pharmacol 31:983–992

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marashi V, Barnekow A, Ossendorf E, Sachser N (2003) Effects of different forms of environmental enrichment on behavioral, endocrinological, and immunological parameters in male mice. Horm Behav 43:281–292

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McGue M, Lykken DT, Iacono WG (1996) Genotype-environment correlations and interactions in the etiology of substance abuse and related behaviors. NIDA Res Monogr 159:49–72

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips GD Howes SR, Whitelaw RB, Wilkinson LS, Robbins TW, Everitt BJ (1994) Isolation rearing enhances the locomotor response to cocaine and a novel environment, but impairs the intravenous self-administration of cocaine. Psychopharmacology 115:407–418

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schoffelmeer AN, De Vries TJ, Wardeh G, van de Ven HW, Vanderschuren LJ (2002) Psychostimulant-induced behavioral sensitization depends on nicotinic receptor activation. J Neurosci 22:3269–3276

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith JK, Neill JC, Costall B (1997) Post-weaning housing conditions influence the behavioural effects of cocaine and D-amphetamine. Psychopharmacology 131:23–33

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stolerman IP, Garcha HS, Mirza NR (1995) Dissociations between the locomotor stimulant and depressant effects of nicotinic agonists in rats. Psychopharmacology 117:430–437

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vizi ES, Lendvai B (1999) Modulatory role of presynaptic nicotinic receptors in synaptic and non-synaptic chemical communication in the central nervous system. Brain Res Rev 30:219–235

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmermann A, Stauffacher M, Langhans W, Wurbel H (2001) Enrichment-dependent differences in novelty exploration in rats can be explained by habituation. Behav Brain Res 121:11–20

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Research was funded by USPHS grants DA05312 and DA12964. TAG supported by the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program and the Research Challenge Trust Fund at the University of Kentucky, and USPHS grant F31 DA06093. MEC supported by USPHS grant F32 DA16013.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, 115 Kastle Hall, Lexington, KY 40506, USA

    Thomas A. Green, Mary E. Cain, Michael Thompson & Michael T. Bardo

Authors
  1. Thomas A. Green
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mary E. Cain
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Michael Thompson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Michael T. Bardo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael T. Bardo.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Green, T.A., Cain, M.E., Thompson, M. et al. Environmental enrichment decreases nicotine-induced hyperactivity in rats. Psychopharmacology 170, 235–241 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-003-1538-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-003-1538-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation