Oxytocin makes socializing feel fun, just like marijuana

(credit: Andrew Zloza, M.D., Ph.D.)

Marijuana enhances social interactions (or so I've heard). But how does this work on the molecular level? And what's it tell us about the normal chemistry of the brain?

Well, cannabinoid receptors are present in brain regions involved in social and emotional things. The endocannabinoids that activate (and justify the existence of) these receptors are known to be involved in social reward and anxiety. And social reward—i.e., fun—is known to be mediated and reinforced by a hormone called oxytocin.

Is it possible that oxytocin mediates social reward by harnessing endocannabinoids? Recent work suggests that that is exactly how it happens—at least in mice.

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