Maternal Environment Influences Cocaine Intake in Adulthood in a Genotype-Dependent Manner

Rixt van der Veen, Muriel Koehl, D. Nora Abrous, E. Ronald de Kloet, Pier-Vincenzo Piazza, Véronique Deroche-Gamonet
PLoS ONE. 2008-05-21; 3(5): e2245
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002245

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1. PLoS One. 2008 May 21;3(5):e2245. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002245.

Maternal environment influences cocaine intake in adulthood in a
genotype-dependent manner.

van der Veen R(1), Koehl M, Abrous DN, de Kloet ER, Piazza PV, Deroche-Gamonet V.

Author information:
(1)U862, Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, Bordeaux,
France.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating epidemiological evidence points to the role of genetic
background as a modulator of the capacity of adverse early experiences to give
rise to mental illness. However, direct evidence of such gene-environment
interaction in the context of substance abuse is scarce. In the present study we
investigated whether the impact of early life experiences on cocaine intake in
adulthood depends on genetic background. In addition, we studied other behavioral
dimensions associated with drug abuse, i.e. anxiety- and depression-related
behaviors.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: For this purpose, we manipulated the maternal
environment of two inbred mouse strains, the C57BL/6J and DBA/2J by fostering
them with non-related mothers, i.e. the C3H/HeN and AKR strains. These mother
strains show respectively high and low pup-oriented behavior. As adults, C57BL/6J
and DBA/2J were tested either for cocaine intravenous self-administration or in
the elevated plus-maze and forced swim test (FST). We found that the impact of
maternal environment on cocaine use and a depression-related behavior depends
upon genotype, as cocaine self-administration and behavior in the FST were
influenced by maternal environment in DBA/2J, but not in C57BL/6J mice. Anxiety
was not influenced by maternal environment in either strain.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our experimental approach could contribute to the
identification of the psychobiological factors determining the susceptibility or
the resilience of certain individuals to develop psychopathologies.

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002245
PMCID: PMC2373927
PMID: 18493309 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

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