03-20-2014, 11:58 PM
Poor development of so-called ‘love hormone’ oxytocin system could play a major role in susceptibility to addiction. This is the theme of a special edition of the international journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, guest edited by Dr Femke Buisman-Pijlman from the University of Adelaide's School of Medical Sciences, an expert in both addiction and family studies.
Oxytocin is both a hormone released by the pituitary gland and a neurotransmitter. It is termed the ‘love hormone’ as its levels go up when we hug or kiss a loved one and has a major role in pair bonding. Oxytocin levels are stimulated during sex, birth and breast feeding. It causes increased womb contraction during labour and stimulates ejection of milk into the breast ducts. While newborns do have oxytocin, Dr Buisman-Pijlman points out that: “our oxytocin systems aren't fully developed when we're born – they don't finish developing until the age of three, which means our systems are potentially subject to a range of influences both external and internal."
Influences on the oxytocin system would be both genetic and environmental. While we have no control over our genes, the environmental factors impacting on the oxytocin system are significant. Reductions in the development of oxytocin levels can be caused by factors ranging from a difficult birth or abuse in childhood to infections. Interestingly, research suggests that the seeds of risk for drug addiction are already sown by the age of four, just after the time that our oxytocin system has finished developing. The factors linking the oxytocin system and addiction are summarised in the accompanying figure (University of Adelaide).
The special issue of Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior examines the impact of poor oxytocin system development and resilience against addiction from a number of angles. In a historical overview, the idea is introduced that oxytocin reduces the type of long-term neural adaptation that underlies drug addiction. Further papers explore the link between oxytocin development and early life, including gestational drug exposure and early childhood experiences. Interactions between dopamine and oxytocin are examined, including the influence of forming early social attachments on subsequent coping mechanisms in terms of stress and addiction. Other papers examine the effect of oxytocin on drug-induced mood, including the tendency of a well-developed oxytocin system to reduce the feeling of pleasure associated with drugs.
In all, these studies provide an important insight into factors linking reduced oxytocin and addiction. Dr Buisman-Pijlman concludes: "Understanding what occurs with the oxytocin system during the first few years of life could help us to unravel this aspect of addictive behaviour and use that knowledge for treatment and prevention."
Sources:
THE ROLE OF OXYTOCIN IN POSITIVE AFFECT AND DRUG-RELATED REWARD. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior (special edition, edited by Femke T.A. Buisman-Pijlman, Jillian H. Broadbear and Zoltán Sarnyai), Volume 119, Pages 1-88 (April 2014), available on http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/jou...913057/119
Press release: University of Adelaide
Oxytocin is both a hormone released by the pituitary gland and a neurotransmitter. It is termed the ‘love hormone’ as its levels go up when we hug or kiss a loved one and has a major role in pair bonding. Oxytocin levels are stimulated during sex, birth and breast feeding. It causes increased womb contraction during labour and stimulates ejection of milk into the breast ducts. While newborns do have oxytocin, Dr Buisman-Pijlman points out that: “our oxytocin systems aren't fully developed when we're born – they don't finish developing until the age of three, which means our systems are potentially subject to a range of influences both external and internal."
Influences on the oxytocin system would be both genetic and environmental. While we have no control over our genes, the environmental factors impacting on the oxytocin system are significant. Reductions in the development of oxytocin levels can be caused by factors ranging from a difficult birth or abuse in childhood to infections. Interestingly, research suggests that the seeds of risk for drug addiction are already sown by the age of four, just after the time that our oxytocin system has finished developing. The factors linking the oxytocin system and addiction are summarised in the accompanying figure (University of Adelaide).
The special issue of Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior examines the impact of poor oxytocin system development and resilience against addiction from a number of angles. In a historical overview, the idea is introduced that oxytocin reduces the type of long-term neural adaptation that underlies drug addiction. Further papers explore the link between oxytocin development and early life, including gestational drug exposure and early childhood experiences. Interactions between dopamine and oxytocin are examined, including the influence of forming early social attachments on subsequent coping mechanisms in terms of stress and addiction. Other papers examine the effect of oxytocin on drug-induced mood, including the tendency of a well-developed oxytocin system to reduce the feeling of pleasure associated with drugs.
In all, these studies provide an important insight into factors linking reduced oxytocin and addiction. Dr Buisman-Pijlman concludes: "Understanding what occurs with the oxytocin system during the first few years of life could help us to unravel this aspect of addictive behaviour and use that knowledge for treatment and prevention."
Sources:
THE ROLE OF OXYTOCIN IN POSITIVE AFFECT AND DRUG-RELATED REWARD. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior (special edition, edited by Femke T.A. Buisman-Pijlman, Jillian H. Broadbear and Zoltán Sarnyai), Volume 119, Pages 1-88 (April 2014), available on http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/jou...913057/119
Press release: University of Adelaide
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