Long-Term Relationships Could Protect Against Drug Abuse
A new study has found that long-term relationships lessen the appeal of amphetamine, suggesting that social bonds formed in adulthood lead to changes in the brain that may prevent drug abuse.
For the study, researchers examined prairie voles, rodents that form lifelong bonds with their mating partners. The researchers, led by Zuoxin Wang, PhD, of Florida State University, found that the males that had a life-long mate were less interested in amphetamine, compared with "single" males. Amphetamine exposure led to changes in the nucleus accumbens, part of the brain’s reward system, that also differed depending on the voles’ relationship status.
The researchers discovered that brain cells in both paired and single voles released a similar amount of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which plays an important role in the brain’s reward system, when exposed to amphetamine. However, the dopamine may have different effects on the voles, depending on their relationship status.
In single voles, amphetamine use increased the binding of dopamine to the D1 receptor in the nucleus accumbens, but the binding was decreased in paired moles. This suggested that single and paired voles have opposite reactions to amphetamine.
When given drugs that blocked dopamine from binding to the D1 receptor, single voles were less attracted to amphetamine. On the other hand, paired voles became more attracted to dopamine when given the blocking drug.
Wang said this suggests that the long-term relationships may change the neurobiological response to drugs like amphetamine, which may make the drugs less appealing.
Previous studies by Wang showed that single voles sought out the rewarding effects of amphetamine, and that repeated exposure to the drug made them less driven to seek a lifelong mate. The current study looks at whether relationships formed in adulthood could make substance abuse less appealing and rewarding.
Larry Young, PhD, and expert in social behavior at Emory University, who was not involved in the study, said that although this study’s findings are very interesting, more research needs to be done to determine whether paired voles would be less likely to seek drugs if they were given unlimited access to them. He added that understanding how social relationships affect substance abuse could inform new treatments for addiction.
Source: Science Daily, Steady Relationships Reduce Amphetamine’s Rewarding Effects, Animal Study Suggests, May 31, 201
