# Social support, oxytocin and motivation for methamphetamine

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2022 · $65,331

## Abstract

Addiction to methamphetamine (METH) is a major public health concern, however there are no effective
treatments. Although METH is used by both men and women, women are younger when they start using
METH, and show higher rates of dependence compare to men. Women also report a higher exposure to
traumatic events and often start using to cope with psychological problems. Social support has a positive
influence on stress-coping and might also have protective effects against addiction and help promote
decreased motivation to take METH.
 Females show greater motivation for cocaine than male rats and social housing (pair housing) attenuates
the motivation for cocaine in females but not males. Here we investigate whether oxytocin (OT) mediates the
effects of social housing on motivation for METH. It is hypothesized that the effects of social housing are
mediated by OT-dependent attenuation of dopamine (DA) release in the nucleus accumbens core (NAcC) after
drug taking is established and that these effects will be greater in females than in males.
 Previous research has established that social housing attenuates the METH-induced increase in DA in
dialysate from the NAc, and chronic low dose OT attenuates the motivation for METH in female rats. The long-
term goal of this project is to understand how social housing influences the rewarding effects of METH in males
and females, the role of OT in this regard, and whether chronic intranasal OT may be a therapeutic agent for
treatment of psychostimulant abuse in females and/or males. We will also investigate DA responses in the
nucleus accumbens fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) in isolated and socially-housed male and female rats.
The results of these studies will provide an indication of the role of DA in the nucleus accumbens to mediate
the effects of social housing and OT on motivation for METH. We will also explore whether chronic intranasal
OT can be used as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of METH-addiction.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10598294
- **Project number:** 3R01DA046403-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** JILL B. BECKER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $65,331
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-07-15 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10598294

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10598294, Social support, oxytocin and motivation for methamphetamine (3R01DA046403-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10598294. Licensed CC0.

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