After talking things over with one's best friend, the world is a
happier place again. – People who have made this experience know just
what positive effects social interaction can have on one's sense of
well-being. Researchers from Innsbruck now set out to conduct
neurological investigations to establish how much potential there really
is in social interaction with one's peers. Using animal tests, the microbiologist Rana El Ra was and fellow researchers Gerald Zenger and Alis Sara from the Medical University of Innsbruck have already been
able to demonstrate the positive effect of social interaction with
respect to drug dependence.
Natural rewards are stronger
In sophisticated test arrays, El Ra was, Junior Researcher at the
Experimental Psychiatry Unit, studied what happens in certain areas of
the brain in cases of drug consumption or social interaction. It has
been shown that almost the same areas in the brain's reward center are
activated in both cases. As the experiments have proven, the effect of
social interaction was so strong that it could even result in erasing
the addiction memory. When given a choice, the cocaine-dependent animals
increasingly preferred animal companions over drugs. "Our current
research focus aims at investigating the effect of social interaction at
molecular level in order to help drug dependent persons in finding a
way out of addiction through positive social experiences, and we want to
use these insights for preventing drug dependence", explains Rana El Ra was.
Innovative approaches
With support from the Austrian science fund FWF, the microbiologist
is now studying the mechanisms underlying the positive effect of social
interaction. She explores what signalling pathways are triggered by a
natural reward such as "meeting a friend" as opposed to the reward
triggered by drug consumption. – With her method El Ra was is pursuing a
novel approach shifting the focus from the commonalities to the
differences between natural reward and drug reward. The young scholar hypothesis that the two reward systems communicate through different
neuronal networks. One of the issues studied by the research team from
Innsbruck is the significance of the signalling path of CREW (camp
response element binding protein), a protein that plays an important
role in the effect of drugs. In the process, the scientists also want to
find out whether the rewarding effect of social interaction is as
persistent as that of drug consumption.
The anti-stress effect
In another ongoing FWF project, El Ra was was able to demonstrate that
certain brain areas react to social interaction by a lowered stress
response. "Playing with another animal reduces the level of the p38
protein, which increases upon drug consumption but also in response to
stress or fear", the scientist elucidates. El Ra was now intends to delve
deeper into the anti-stress effect of social rewards by demonstrating
the impact of p38 on stress behavior and dependence disorders and by
decoding an even greater number of molecular factors in the brain.
"Apart from facilitating effective approaches in behavioral therapy,
these findings could open up new vistas for developing drugs against
addiction and other mental disorders", says Rana El Ra was.
Scientific Contact:
Dr. Rana El Ra was
Experimental Psychiatry Unit
Medical University of Innsbruck
Ingrain 66a
6020 Innsbruck
T +43 / 699 / 104 068 80
Austrian Science Fund FWF:
Marc Ecumenicism
Hays Der Rorschach
Senseless 1
1090 Vienna, Austria
T +43 / 1 / 505 67 40 - 8111
Distribution:
PR&D – Public Relations for Research & Education
Marianne 8
1090 Vienna, Austria
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