The effects of social learning on the acquisition of cocaine self-administration

Social learning models of substance use propose that drug-use behaviors are learned by observing and mimicking the behavior of others. The aim of this study was to examine the acquisition of cocaine self-administration in three groups of experimentally naïve rats: rats that were tested in isolation, rats that were tested in the presence of another rat that had access to cocaine and had previously been trained to self-administer cocaine, and rats that were tested in the presence of another rat that did not have access to cocaine.

Male rats were reared in isolated or pair-housed conditions and implanted with intravenous catheters. Pair-housed rats were then assigned to drug-experienced or drug-naïve conditions. In the drug-experienced condition, one rat of each pair was trained to self-administer cocaine in isolation before the reintroduction of its partner. In the drug-naïve condition, one rat of each pair did not have access to cocaine for the duration of the study. For each group, the acquisition of cocaine self-administration was measured over 15 days in rats with access to cocaine but no prior operant training.

Rats tested with a drug-experienced partner were faster to acquire cocaine self-administration and emitted more active lever presses than rats tested with a cocaine-naïve partner. Data for the isolated control group fell between the other two groups on these measures.

These data indicate that the acquisition of cocaine self-administration can either be facilitated or inhibited by social contact. Collectively, these results support a social learning model of substance use.