Background

Rats reared in social isolation exhibit various cognitive and behavioural abnormalities in adulthood. However, impulsivity following this treatment still remains unclear, especially in response to medications used in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, such as amphetamine.

Methods

Using an isolation-rearing (IR) manipulation, the present study examined the effects of IR on impulsive action and impulsive choice when also treated with doses of d-amphetamine, by employing the five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) and a temporal discounting of reward task (TDRT), respectively.

Results

IR rats showed similar acquisition of the 5-CSRTT. Amphetamine increased premature responding in both groups; however, IR rats showed less responding overall. For the TDRT, IR rats revealed a greater preference for the large but delayed reward during task acquisition (i.e. were less impulsive) with a higher rate of nose poking during the delay, and exhibited a compressed dose-response function (i.e. reduced dose sensitivity) for amphetamine.

Discussion

Impulsive action and impulsive choice were reduced in IR rats under certain conditions, and a blunted response to d-amphetamine was found on these measures. These reductions in impulsivity contrast with locomotor hyperactivity normally shown in IR rats and the findings have implications for the utility of IR as a model of psychopathology.