Pharmacologically Dissecting the Contributions of the Oxytocin and Opioid Systems in the Cognitive, Affective and Behavioural Processes Underlying Human Affiliation

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***Humans have a fundamental need to secure at least a few stable, positive, significant interpersonal relationships; as Baumeister and Leary (1995) note, “a great deal of human behavior and thought is caused by this fundamental interpersonal motive”. Indeed, humans are distinguished by a repertoire of skills that facilitate social connection: our ability to i) identify the thoughts, feelings and intentions of others, or mentalize, ii) coordinate, or synchronize, our actions with others to achieve common goals, and iii) override self-interest to cooperate with and help others in need. Given the importance of relationships, it is thought that biological mechanisms have evolved to support the initiation and maintenance of these bonds. In this program of research, I will integrate methods from neuroscience, cognitive science and experimental psychology to evaluate the functional role of the oxytocin and opioid systems in the cognitive, affective and behavioral processes that support human affiliation. ***Over five decades of research has shown that oxytocin regulates a suite of processes critical to attachment and affiliation including maternal behavior and partner preference formation. Although most of the work has been in non-human animals, some remarkable parallels have been reported in humanse.g., oxytocin has been shown to increase trust, cooperation, liking and attraction, and theory of mind. A major focus of my previous NSERC Discovery Grant was to identify the mechanisms that underlie oxytocin's social effects. I discovered that one way oxytocin modulates human sociality is by inducing a “communal orientation” to focus on, be concerned with, and care for others. In the proposed research I will extend this work to investigate oxytocin's effects on such quintessential other-oriented processes as mimicry, emotional resonance and interpersonal coordination. ***Regarding the opioid system, it is thought that endogenous opioids promote sociality by 1) making social contact pleasurable and 2) social disconnection painful (thereby increasing the motivation to reconnect). As with oxytocin, most of the work is in non-human animals, and there is almost no research that has experimentally manipulated the opioid system to establish its causal role in human sociality. Thus, a second goal of this research program is to evaluate the effects of opioid blockage on socially motivated cognitions and behaviours in humans. ***This interdisciplinary perspective can deepen our understanding of human affiliation in ways that go beyond traditional psychological approaches. By “pharmacologically dissecting” the neurochemical pathways involved, we can use our knowledge of these primary systems to elucidate the building blocks of complex, higher-order human sociality. These insights can then be used to clarify not only how human sociality comes about, but also the ways in which it can break down.