Effect of morphine administration on human social motivation during stress

Physical social contact, such as grooming in primates or touch in humans, is fundamental to create and maintain social bonds. The Brain Opioid Theory of Social Attachment postulates that µ-opioids play a central role in social connection. Accordingly, pharmacological studies in isolated animals indicate that µ-opioid agonists reduce, and µ-opioid antagonists increase distress responses and motivation for social contact. Despite the abundance of animal studies, human evidence is still lacking. Here, we investigated the neurochemical basis of social motivation under stress in healthy human volunteers, following morphine (µ-opioid agonist) or placebo administration. By adopting a translational approach, real physical effort and facial hedonic reactions, together with self-reports of wanting and liking for social touch, were assessed. Preliminary results revealed increased adverse response to stress following morphine administration. In line with animal models and previous evidence in humans, this enhanced stress response led to increased motivation to obtain social touch

Diet as an environmental trigger in inflammatory bowel disease: A retrospective comparative study in two European cohorts

Background and aims: inflammatory bowel disease development has been associated with several environmental factors, among which, diet can play a key role, probably due to a westernized lifestyle. However, its involvement in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is difficult to demonstrate. The aim of this study was to analyze dietary composition in a Romanian and Belgian population with IBD. Methods: An observational retrospective comparative study was performed using two European cohorts (Romanian and Belgian). The IBD group included 76 Romanian and 53 Belgian patients with an IBD diagnosis, while the control group included a total of 56 healthy people (35 Romanians and 21 Belgians). All subjects were interviewed and asked to fill in a questionnaire regarding diet. Results: in the entire IBD cohort (Romanian + Belgian), a significantly increased consumption of sweets (OR 3.36 [95 % CI 1.6,7]), processed and high fat meat (OR 2.5 [95 % CI 1.4, 4.7], fried food (OR 9.5 [3.8, 23.6]), salt (OR 2.8 [1.5, 5.3]), ice cream (OR 3.25 [1.1, 9.8]), mayonnaise (OR 3.49 [1.1, 10.3]), margarine (OR 5.63 [1.64, 19.33]) and chips/nachos/other snacks (OR 2.3 [0.97, 5.73]) were found compared to the healthy control group. The intake of seeds, nuts (OR 0.26 [0.14, 0.52]) and yoghurt consumption (OR 0.44 [0.23, 0.83]) was lower in the IBD group compared to the control group. Conclusion: A westernized diet with increased consumption of sweets, processed food, high fat meat, fried food, salt, margarine, snacks, ice cream and mayonnaise seems to be a risk factor for IBD in Romanian and Belgian IBD patients. Intake of seeds, nuts and yoghurt may be a protective factor. © 2020. SEPD y © ARÁN EDICIONES, S.L.WBI SUB/2018/38815