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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Housing conditions modulate the reinforcing properties of cocaine in adolescent mice that binge on fat

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Abstract Binge eating is a specific form of overeating characterized by intermittent, excessive eating. To date, several studies have addressed the effects that bingeing on fat has on the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse, but they have found contradictory and highly variable results. Housing conditions could modulate these results, as most studies employ isolated animals to measure the exact amount of food that is ingested. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of housing conditions on the response of mice to cocaine, modulated by bingeing on a high-fat diet during adolescence. After 40 days of binge-eating for 2 h, three days a week (PND 29–69), the reinforcing effects of a non-effective dose of cocaine (1 mg/kg) was evaluated using the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm. The anxiolytic profile using the Elevated Plus Maze and circulating leptin and corticosterone levels were also assessed. Our results show a significant escalation in the consumption of a high-fat diet between the first and the last week in both types of housed mice. Among the grouped mice, only those exposed to high-fat binge (HFB) developed CPP. Conversely, isolated mice fed with standard diet were more sensitive to the rewarding effects of a subthreshold dose of cocaine than those fed with HFB. Plasma leptin levels were elevated in both groups that developed CPP. Although isolated animals presented higher corticosterone levels with respect to the grouped ones, anxiety levels did not differ. Therefore, our results highlight the importance of housing conditions on the effects that a high-fat diet exerts on cocaine reward.