Rat Park

Fun fact for the day:

Earlier in the 20th century, scientists studied drug addiction by placing rats in cages with access to pure water and drug-laced water. The rats quickly became addicted to the drugged water and were unable to stop themselves from overdosing and dying.

In 1970, psychologist Bruce Alexander believed these earlier experiments were flawed: isolated rats in empty cages become addicted because there is nothing else for them to do. To show this, Professor Alexander performed an identical experiment with a few key changes. Rats were still given access to both pure and drugged water, but instead of being isolated they were placed together in "Rat Park:" a huge environment filled with toys and other rats to socialize with.

Professor Alexander's hypothesis was verified: rats in "Rat Park" almost always preferred the pure water, and none died of overdose. This study changed the focus of addiction research from chemical interactions in the brain to the social environments in which addictions develop.