Abstract: Like human children, most young mammals devote a significant amount of time and energy playing together, and social play is fun. Although social play is very pleasurable, it is more than just a frivolous activity: it is crucial for the development of behavioral flexibility, the acquisition of social and cognitive competence and the maintenance of group cohesion. Social play is a natural reinforcer, and the neurotransmitter systems intimately implicated in the motivational, pleasurable and cognitive aspects of natural and drug rewards, such as o...
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Topics: 
Neuroscience
Cognitive psychology
Developmental psychology