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

***人类有一种基本需求，即确保至少一些稳定、积极、重要的人际关系；正如Baumeister和Leary（1995）所指出的，“人类的许多行为和思想都是由这种基本的人际动机引起的”。事实上，人类的特点是拥有一系列促进社会联系的技能：我们有能力：1)识别他人的想法、感受和意图；2)协调或同步我们与他人的行动，以实现共同目标；3)超越自身利益，与有需要的人合作并帮助他们。鉴于关系的重要性，人们认为生物机制已经进化到支持这些关系的发起和维持。在这个研究项目中，我将整合神经科学、认知科学和实验心理学的方法来评估催产素和阿片系统在支持人类关系的认知、情感和行为过程中的功能作用。***超过50年的研究表明，催产素调节了一系列对依恋和隶属关系至关重要的过程，包括母亲行为和伴侣偏好的形成。尽管大多数研究都是在非人类动物身上进行的，但在人类身上也有一些惊人的相似之处。在美国，催产素被证明可以增加信任、合作、好感和吸引力，以及心理理论。我之前的NSERC发现基金的一个主要重点是确定催产素的社会影响的机制。我发现催产素调节人类社交的一种方式是通过诱导“公共取向”来关注、关心和关心他人。在拟议的研究中，我将扩展这项工作，以研究催产素对模仿、情感共鸣和人际协调等典型的他者导向过程的影响。***关于阿片类药物系统，人们认为内源性阿片类药物通过以下方式促进社会性：1)使社会接触愉快，2)使社会分离痛苦（从而增加重新连接的动机）。与催产素一样，大部分研究都是在非人类动物身上进行的，而且几乎没有研究通过实验操纵阿片系统来确定它在人类社会中的因果作用。因此，本研究计划的第二个目标是评估阿片类药物阻断对人类社会动机认知和行为的影响。这种跨学科的视角可以以超越传统心理学方法的方式加深我们对人类关系的理解。通过“药理学解剖”所涉及的神经化学途径，我们可以利用我们对这些主要系统的知识来阐明复杂的、高阶的人类社会的组成部分。这些见解不仅可以用来阐明人类社会性是如何产生的，还可以用来阐明它是如何崩溃的。

***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 humans—e.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.