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Is social attachment an addictive disorder?

Thomas R Insel¹

¹Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University, Altanta, GA, USA. insel@mail.nih.gov

Physiology & Behavior

|September 5, 2003

Summary

The brain's reward system, often studied in addiction, may have evolved for social bonding. Dopamine and neuropeptides like oxytocin are key to social attachment behaviors.

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Area of Science:

Neurobiology
Behavioral Neuroscience
Social Neuroscience

Background:

Extensive research on the neurobiology of reward focuses on addiction and substance abuse.
The evolutionary origins of reward circuitry may lie in adaptive social behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore the role of neural reward circuits in evolved, ethologically relevant behaviors, particularly social attachment.
To investigate the involvement of mesocorticolimbic dopamine and neuropeptides in social bonding.

Main Methods:

Review of existing literature on reward neurobiology, addiction, and social behavior.
Analysis of studies on dopamine's role in maternal behavior and pair bonding.
Examination of oxytocin and vasopressin involvement in social signaling and reward pathways.

Main Results:

Mesocorticolimbic dopamine is implicated in maternal behavior in rats and pair bonding in voles.
The precise role of dopamine in the hedonic aspects versus associative learning or salience attribution in social bonding remains unclear.
Oxytocin and vasopressin are crucial for integrating social cues with the mesocorticolimbic reward system.

Conclusions:

The neural circuits underlying reward may have evolved to support essential social behaviors.
Dopamine and key neuropeptides like oxytocin and vasopressin are vital components of the neurobiology of social attachment.

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