A neurobiological perspective on social influence: Serotonin and social adaptation
Journal of Neurochemistry – March 11, 2022
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Our capacity for social adaptation, vital for mental health, lacks clear neurobiological understanding. This **Neuroscience** framework explores how **Serotonin** systems regulate social learning and **Cognitive psychology** processes like self- and other-**Perspective** during interactions. Integrating insights from **Psychedelics and Drug Studies**, it highlights **Serotonin's** role in facilitating social **Adaptation**. This understanding, crucial for **Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior**, offers a compelling target for **Mental Health Research Topics**, potentially informing new treatments for psychiatric disorders.
Abstract
Abstract Humans are inherently social beings. Being suggestible to each other's expectations enables pro‐social skills that are crucial for social learning and adaptation. Despite their high relevance for psychiatry, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying social adaptation are still not well understood. This review, therefore, provides a conceptual framework covering various distinct mechanisms underlying social adaptation and explores the neuropharmacology — in particular the role of the serotonin (5‐HT) system — in modulating these mechanisms. This article reviews empirical results on social influence processing and reconciles them with recent findings from psychedelic research on social processing to elucidate neurobiological and neuropharmacological underpinnings of social adaptation. Various computational, neurobiological, and neurochemical processes are involved in distinct mechanisms underlying social adaptation such as the multisensory process of social information integration that is crucial for the forming of self‐representation and representations of social norms. This is again associated with self‐ and other‐perception during social interactions as well as value‐based decision‐making that guides our behavior in daily interactions. We highlight the critical role of 5‐HT in these processes and suggest that 5‐HT can facilitate social learning and may represent an important target for treating psychiatric disorders characterized by impairments in social functioning. This framework also has important implications for psychedelic‐assisted therapy as well as for the development of novel treatment approaches and future research directions. image