Environmental modulation of drug taking: Nonhuman primate models of cocaine abuse and PET neuroimaging

• Nonhuman primate PET imaging is translational science.
• Alternative reinforcers and punishment can decreases drug use; only the former has been studied with imaging.
• The social environment can impact cocaine taking and brain function.
• There is clinical potential in monkey models of cocaine reinforcement and imaging.

The current review highlights the importance of environmental variables on cocaine self-administration in nonhuman primate models of drug abuse. In addition to describing the behavioral consequences, potential mechanisms of action are discussed, based on imaging results using the non-invasive and translational technique of positron emission tomography (PET). In this review, the role of three environmental variables – both positive and negative – are described: alternative non-drug reinforcers; social rank (as an independent variable) and punishment of cocaine self-administration. These environmental stimuli can profoundly influence brain function and drug self-administration. We focus on environmental manipulations involving non-drug alternatives (e.g., food reinforcement) using choice paradigms. Manipulations such as response cost and social variables (e.g., social rank, social stress) also influence the behavioral effects of drugs. Importantly, these manipulations are amenable to brain imaging studies. Taken together, these studies emphasize the profound impact environmental variables can have on drug taking, which should provide important information related to individual-subject variability in treatment responsiveness, and the imaging work may highlight pharmacological targets for medications related to treating drug abuse.This article is part of a Special Issue entitled ‘NIDA 40th Anniversary Issue’.