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Springer Nature [academic journals on nature.com], Neuropsychopharmacology, 7(37), p. 1579-1587, 2012

DOI: 10.1038/npp.2012.2

Springer Nature [academic journals on nature.com], Neuropsychopharmacology, 3(39), p. 780-780, 2014

DOI: 10.1038/npp.2013.303

Springer Nature [academic journals on nature.com], Neuropsychopharmacology, 3(38), p. 542-542, 2013

DOI: 10.1038/npp.2012.228

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Loss of Environmental Enrichment Increases Vulnerability to Cocaine Addiction

Journal article published in 2012 by Joëlle Nader, Rana El Rawas, Nathalie Thiriet, Chauvet Claudia, Marcello Solinas ORCID, R. El Rawas, Laure Favot, Mohamed Jaber ORCID
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

Life experiences, especially during critical periods of maturation, such as adolescence, can dramatically affect vulnerability to diseases at adulthood. Early exposure to positive environmental conditions such as environmental enrichment (EE) has been shown to reduce the occurrence and the intensity of neurological and psychiatric disorders including drug addiction. However, whether or not exposure to EE during early stages of life would protect from addiction when, at adulthood, individuals may find themselves in non-enriched conditions has not been investigated. Here we show that switching mice from EE to non-enriched standard environments not only results in the loss of the preventive effects of EE but also increases the rewarding effects of cocaine. This enhanced vulnerability is associated with emotional distress and with increased levels in the mRNA levels of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), as well as with increases in CREB phosphorylation in the BNST and in the shell of the nucleus accumbens. The increased sensitivity to the rewarding effects of cocaine is completely blocked by the CRF antagonist antalarmin, confirming a major role of the CRF system in the negative consequences of this environmental switch. These results indicate that positive life conditions during early stages of life, if they are not maintained at adulthood, may have negative emotional consequences and increase the risks to develop drug addiction.