The behavioral, anatomical and pharmacological parallels between social attachment, love and addiction

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: James Burkett, Emory University; Larry J Young, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2012-11
• Publisher: Springer Verlag (Germany)
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © Springer-Verlag 2012
• Final Published Version (URL): http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00213-012-2794-x
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Psychopharmacology
• ISSN: 0033-3158
• Volume: 224
• Issue: 1
• Start Page: 1
• End Page: 26
• Grant/Funding Information: We acknowledge funding from MH64692 to LJY, NIH RR00165 to YNPRC, and the Emory Scholars Program in Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Research to JPB.
• Keywords: vasopressin; loved; addiction; substance dependence; dopamine; pair bond; opioids; oxytocin; social attachment; CRF
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Pharmacology; Psychology, Behavioral

Abstract

Rationale Love has long been referred to as an addiction in literature and poetry. Scientists have often made comparisons between social attachment processes and drug addiction, and it has been suggested that the two may share a common neurobiological mechanism. Brain systems that evolved to govern attachments between parents and children, and between monogamous partners, may be the targets of drugs of abuse and serve as the basis for addiction processes. Objectives Here, we review research on drug addiction in parallel with research on social attachments, including parent-offspring attachments and social bonds between mating partners. This review focuses on the brain regions and neurochemicals with the greatest overlap between addiction and attachment, and in particular the mesolimbic dopamine pathway. Results Significant overlap exists between these two behavioral processes. In addition to conceptual overlap in symptomatology, there is a strong commonality between the two domains regarding the roles and sites of action of dopamine, opioids, and corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF). The neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin are hypothesized to integrate social information into attachment processes that is not present in drug addiction. Conclusions Social attachment may be understood as a behavioral addiction, whereby the subject becomes addicted to another individual and the cues that predict social reward. Understandings from both fields may enlighten future research on addiction and attachment processes.