Neuropharmacological Basis of Social Connection: The Role of Opioids

Study Summary

From birth we rely on others for comfort and care and derive pleasure from being together. Research from the fields of health psychology, social psychology, and public health converge to highlight the importance of having and maintaining good relationships for overall health. Indeed, having close friends and family and feeling connected to them has been called a basic need, similar to our need for food and water. It may not be a coincidence then that feelings of connection rely on similar systems in the body as other needs that are both basic and highly pleasing and rewarding. For instance, its possible that opioids, a substance in the body associated with pleasant, euphoric feelings, may also be important for connecting with others. This study will examine the role of opioids in feeling connected to others by administering a drug called naltrexone, that effects opioid processing in the body, on perceptions and feelings toward a number of tasks in the lab. Additionally, to assess the effects of naltrexone outside of the lab, participants will complete daily diary responses via text and online surveys. 40 participants will take both placebo and naltrexone. Participants will complete two sessions, one in each drug condition, in which they complete a number of tasks including reading messages on a computer screen, holding a number of objects, and viewing images while undergoing electric shocks. Participants will also complete a daily diary for 14 days while on naltrexone and placebo. Prior to these lab sessions participants will be screened at UCLA's Clinical \& Translational Research Center (CTRC) to ensure that they are healthy and that it is safe for them to take the study drug. We hypothesize that people will report feeling less socially connected when on naltrexone compared to placebo and will show subsequent changes in social behavior outside of the lab.

Primary Outcome

Participants will read positive, loving messages from friends and family members and then rate their feelings of connection (how connected, touched, and warm they felt, α = .93, averaged to create a measure of feelings of social connection). Ratings were made on a 1-7 scale anchored by "not at all" and "very." Higher numbers indicate greater feelings of connection in response to reading the loving messages.

Interventions

• DRUG Naltrexone