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Morphine administration selectively facilitates social play in common marmosets
Heather J Guard1, John D Newman, R Lucille Roberts
1Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Poolesville, MD 20837, USA.
Developmental Psychobiology
|July 13, 2002
Summary
Opiate activity, specifically through morphine, significantly increases social play in juvenile marmosets. Naloxone blocks this effect, indicating a specific role for opiates in regulating social play behavior.
Area of Science:
- Primate behavior
- Neuroscience
- Animal behavior
Background:
- Common marmosets form extended family groups with multiple juvenile cohorts.
- Social play is prevalent among juvenile marmosets.
- The role of endogenous opioids in modulating social play is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the hypothesis that opiate activity modulates social play in juvenile common marmosets.
- To determine if morphine administration facilitates social play and if naloxone blocks this effect.
Main Methods:
- Administration of morphine (0.5 mg/kg) and naloxone (0.5 mg/kg) to juvenile common marmosets.
- Observation and quantification of social play, non-social play, affiliative behaviors, and total activity.
- Analysis of treatment effects on play initiated by the focal subject versus play initiated by others.
Main Results:
- Morphine administration significantly increased social play, particularly play initiated by the focal subject.
- Behaviors such as twittering and play face also increased following morphine administration.
- Naloxone pretreatment blocked the facilitative effects of morphine on social play, and non-social behaviors remained unaffected.
Conclusions:
- Opiate system activation specifically facilitates social play in juvenile common marmosets.
- Social play appears to be a distinct behavioral category with unique regulatory mechanisms.
- These findings suggest a specialized role for opiates in the neurobiology of primate social play.