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Cited by 25Neuroendocrine regulation and behaviorNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorNeuropeptides and Animal Physiology

Naltrexone alters responses to social and physical warmth: implications for social bonding

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Inagaki, Tristen K, Hazlett, Laura I, Andreescu, Carmen·2019·Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
DOI 10.1093/scan/nsz026PMC PMC6545530
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Abstract

Socially warm experiences, when one feels connected to others, have been linked with physical warmth. Opioids, hypothesized to support social bonding with close others and, separately, physical warmth, may underlie both experiences. In order to test this hypothesis, 80 participants were randomly assigned to the opioid antagonist, naltrexone or placebo before neural and emotional responses to social and physical warmth were collected. Social and physical warmth led to similar increases in ventral striatum (VS) and middle-insula (MI) activity. Further, feelings of social connection were positively related to neural activity to social warmth. However, naltrexone (vs placebo) disrupted these effects by (i) reducing VS and MI activity to social and physical warmth, (ii) erasing the subjective experience-brain association to social warmth and (iii) disrupting the neural overlap between social and physical warmth. Results provide additional support for the theory that social and physical warmth share neurobiological, opioid receptor-dependent mechanisms and suggest multiple routes by which social connections may be maintained.

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  • Social bonding is experienced as positively valent because it stimulates the endogenous production of μ-opioids during affiliative behaviour.

    “The brain opioid theory maintains that social bonding is experienced as positively valent because it stimulates the endogenous production of μ-opioids during affiliative behaviour [106–108].”

    From Five studies evaluating the impact on mental health and mood of recalling, reading, and discussing fiction (2022) · cites this paper as [108]

    The “Opioids and social connection” section describes the brain opioid theory as linking opioids to feelings that promote bonding, and reports increased endogenous opioid release after laughter with friends. It does not establish that affiliative behaviour stimulates μ-opioid production or that this is the causal reason social bonding feels positive; it presents the link to affective experience as a theory. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Inagaki, T. K., Hazlett, L. I., & Andreescu, C.
Affiliations
  • University of Pittsburgh (US)
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
Corresponding author
Inagaki, Tristen K
ORCID
Venue
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2019-04-12
Volume
14
Issue
5
Pages
471-479
ISSN
  • 1749-5016 (ISSN-L)
  • 1749-5024
DOI
10.1093/scan/nsz026
PMC
PMC6545530
OpenAlex
W2938364399
Cited by
25
References
9
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2
FWCI
3.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • NARSAD
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH 108509, R01 MH076079)
  • National Institutes of Health
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology
Keywords
naltrexone, opioid antagonists, social warmth, physical warmth, social bonding, ventral striatum, social connectedness
MeSH terms
Cerebral Cortex, Emotions, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Naltrexone, Narcotic Antagonists, Object Attachment, Social Environment, Social Perception, Thermosensing, Young Adult, Neuroimaging, Ventral Striatum

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