Impaired social functioning is an important feature of substance use disorders. Social deficits are a risk factor for developing substance use disorders as well as a consequence of substance abuse. Improved social functioning is also a key goal of effective substance abuse treatments. While treatment of disrupted social networks is a mainstay of psychosocial substance abuse treatments, there are currently no pharmacological interventions aimed at improving social functioning in individuals with substance use disorders. Oxytocin administration may shift preference from substance related cues to social cues and may decrease subjective craving for alcohol.~The specific aims are:~To examine the effects of intranasal oxytocin administration on social cognition in moderate to heavy social alcohol drinkers.~To examine the effects of intranasal oxytocin administration on alcohol craving.~To examine the effects of intranasal oxytocin administration on implicit preferences for drug-related and social stimuli in moderate to heavy social alcohol drinkers.
This is a randomized, placebo controlled, double blind crossover study of the effects of intranasal oxytocin on social cognition, implicit preferences and craving in moderate to heavy social alcohol drinkers.