Moving beyond animal models: enriched environments and human substance use disorders.

Area of Science:

• Addiction research
• Environmental psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Preclinical studies indicate environmental enrichment (EE) can prevent addiction and reduce relapse in animal models.
• The applicability of these findings to human substance use disorders (SUDs) is largely unexplored.
• This study investigates the role of perceived EE in human SUDs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a self-report measure of perceived environmental enrichment (EE) in humans.
• To examine the association between perceived EE and levels of substance use and addiction.
• To explore the potential of EE as a factor in addiction vulnerability and resilience.

Main Methods:

• A novel self-report scale for perceived EE was created and administered to regular smokers (N=286) and patients with severe alcohol use disorder (N=52).
• Data collected included demographic information, nicotine use, alcohol use disorder severity, drug intake, detoxification history, depression, and anxiety.
• Psychometric properties of the EE scale, including factorial structure and test-retest reliability, were assessed.

Main Results:

• The EE scale exhibited good psychometric properties, including high test-retest reliability over one month.
• Among smokers, higher perceived EE scores correlated with reduced nicotine consumption, dependence, and craving.
• In patients with alcohol use disorder, lower perceived EE scores were associated with a history of more frequent relapse, independent of depression and anxiety.

Conclusions:

• Perceived environmental enrichment (EE) is a significant factor associated with reduced substance use and addiction severity in humans.
• The developed EE scale serves as a potential translational tool bridging preclinical and clinical addiction research.
• Findings suggest EE may be a target for developing novel intervention strategies for substance use disorders.