Characterizing the neural mechanisms of social connection

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Project Summary Social isolation is associated with a host of negative outcomes including increased rates of depression and early mortality. Critically, social isolation can lead to maladaptive choices such as substance use as a coping strategy for negative affect. Importantly, perceived connection with others can ameliorate adverse consequences of isolation, potentially mitigating maladaptive coping mechanisms (i.e., substance use). Indeed, close connections with others satisfy basic needs of belongingness and are associated with enhancing the reward value of social experiences as reflected in reward-related neural circuits. While evidence in rodents suggests that the potential for social interaction decreases the likelihood of substance use, there remains a critical gap in treatment approaches in enabling substance-dependent individuals to form healthy social connections. This is in large part due to: 1) neurobiological models of substance abuse have yet to widely integrate social context; 2) dynamic social interactions are difficult to study in laboratory settings; and 3) a current lack of mechanistic understanding how social rewards facilitate the development of social bonds. Our proposal aims to delineate the mechanisms underlying the formation of social bonds as a precursor to understanding how they may help sway maladaptive behaviors. We suggest that a critical aspect to forming a social connection is developing a shared interpretation of reality, in which individuals begin to share similar perspectives and preferences. We test this idea across 3 aims by first characterizing the basic mechanisms underlying social reward-seeking behaviors using ecologically-valid stimuli (e.g., posting personal photos on social media). We then use a naturalistic paradigm to create shared affective experiences and examine the role of communicating shared preferences in forming social bonds in Aim 2. Finally, we recognize that shared preferences may also make it difficult for behavior to change if such preferences converge on maladaptive behaviors such as nicotine use. We explore this idea in Aim 3 by examining mechanisms underlying social reward-seeking in a nicotine-dependent population, while also considering how shared preferences may impact behavior. Taken together, the proposed studies will use ecologically-valid stimuli and naturalistic paradigms to delineate the mechanisms of how social rewards, which signal shared preferences, shape social reward-seeking behaviors, facilitate social connection and may mitigate (or promote) cravings for substances in nicotine users. Importantly, this work will lay the groundwork for future proposals to investigate the role of the dynamics of social connection in substance abuse.