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Understanding how opioids affect the experiential and neural signatures of feelings of social connection with close others

Award Number: R01DA052883
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/15/2021
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 04/30/2027

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Understanding how opioids affect the experiential and neural signatures of feelings of social connection with close others - Project Summary The proposed project is a new submission by a New and Early Stage Investigator for an R01 (PAR-19-384). Social connection with close others is a fundamental human need. Feeling connected to others reliably and robustly predicts health and wellbeing whereas feeling disconnected or isolated from others negatively impacts health. Less well understood, however, are the processes by which subjective feelings of social connection are maintained over time. Consistent with long-standing animal models dating back to the 1970’s, recent experimental work in humans has shown that opioids contribute to social connection with close friends, romantic partners, and family. Specifically, naltrexone, a common medication prescribed to assist in the recovery from addiction that blocks the action of naturally occurring opioids, unfortunately leads to a reduction in feelings of social connection toward close others in an otherwise healthy sample. These findings raise the possibility that the medication used to treat addiction may introduce an unintended barrier to one of the most effective contributors to long-term maintenance: close social relationships. Indeed, close social relationships and the feelings of ‘social connection’ within such relationships are major contributors to relapse prevention and one of the most valued tools for enhancing the effectiveness of medication-assisted treatment. Based on these findings, there has been a growing interest in whether opioid pathways contribute to feelings of social connection with close others in a causal manner and how these effects might occur. However, it remains surprising that the social psychological consequences of opioids and their contribution to social connection have not been more fully explored in humans. Therefore, the primary objective of this project is to conduct a novel experimental manipulation in humans to clarify the causal role of opioids in (1) daily, naturalistic feelings of social connection outside of the laboratory, (2) the neural signatures of feelings of social connection, and (3) feelings of social connection in response to personalized experiences with friends and family using standardized laboratory tasks. For these purposes, we propose targeting a sample of 210 young, healthy adults on a multi-method randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial. Additional exploratory aims will examine whether naltrexone induced changes in daily feelings of social connection predict variation in neural responding to social tasks, and whether naltrexone differently affects feelings of social connection in women and men. The proposal will link pharmacological mechanisms with neuroimaging parameters of brain function and affective social experience both outside of the laboratory and in the laboratory setting. We therefore anticipate that this study will contribute to new fundamental knowledge of the neurobiological pathways underlying the maintenance of social connection with implications for the treatment of opioid addiction.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $629,968 )
2026	2026	SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION	5250 CAMPANILE DR	SAN DIEGO	CA	92182	SAN DIEGO	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	5	4/16/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$629,968
														Subtotal = $629,968

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $616,920 )
2025	2025	SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION	5250 CAMPANILE DR	SAN DIEGO	CA	92182	SAN DIEGO	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	4	4/23/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$616,920
														Subtotal = $616,920

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2024	2023	SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION	5250 CAMPANILE DR	SAN DIEGO	CA	92182	SAN DIEGO	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	3	4/22/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $610,147 )
2023	2023	SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION	5250 CAMPANILE DR MC1947	SAN DIEGO	CA	92182	SAN DIEGO	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	3	4/21/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$610,147
														Subtotal = $610,147

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $541,953 )
2022	2022	SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION	5250 CAMPANILE DR MC1947	SAN DIEGO	CA	92182	SAN DIEGO	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	001	2	6/9/2022	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$50,636
2022	2022	SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION	5250 CAMPANILE DR MC1947	SAN DIEGO	CA	92182	SAN DIEGO	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	2	4/21/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$491,317
														Subtotal = $541,953

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $567,615 )
2021	2021	SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION	5250 CAMPANILE DR MC1947	SAN DIEGO	CA	92182	SAN DIEGO	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	1	7/8/2021	NEW	$567,615
														Subtotal = $567,615

Grand Total All Awards = $2,966,603

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Understanding how opioids affect the experiential and neural signatures of feelings of social connection with close others

Award Number: R01DA052883

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/15/2021

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 04/30/2027

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