Opioid-blunted cortisol response to stress is associated with increased negative mood and wanting of social reward.

ABSTRACT: Animal research suggests a central role of the μ-opioid receptor (MOR) system in regulating affiliative behaviors and in mediating the stress-buffering function of social contact. However, the neurochemistry of stress-related social contact seeking in humans is still poorly understood. In a randomized, double-blind, between-subjects design, healthy female volunteers (N = 80) received either 10 mg of the µ-opioid agonist morphine sulfate, or a placebo. Following a standardized psychosocial stress induction, participants engaged in a social reward task, in which the motivation to obtain skin-to-skin social touch and the hedonic reactions elicited by such touch were assessed. Morphine prevented the increase of salivary cortisol typically observed following acute stress exposure. Notably, this

SUBMITTER: Massaccesi C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9372154 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature