Article Rat Park: How a rat paradise changed the narrative of addiction

Thanks for reviewing the animal studies of the 1970's and especially for describing the results of our early study that did not find that enriched rearing led adult rats to avoid self-selection of morphine and cocaine. Your review shows that the effects of early environment are complicated and also demonstrates the importance of caution in interpreting such studies. An alternative interpretation to that of Alexander, based on our results might suggest that too much stimulation in the early environment may lead adult animals (rats and humans) to continually expect and seek such stimulation by changing state through use of drugs. Could it be the case that children in today's world with an enormous amount of screen time (cell phones, internet, TV) may be at a disadvantage from the standpoint of susceptibility to drug use later in life?