IT’S SCIENCE –
May 13, 2025 – A new study reveals how social rank influences addiction vulnerability by altering dopamine pathways in the brain. Low-ranking male mice showed stronger reward signals and weaker control circuits, making them more prone to seek methamphetamine, while high-ranking mice had better balance and resistance.
Enhancing the mesocortical “control” pathway through optogenetics reduced drug-seeking and improved social rank, suggesting experience-based changes can reshape addiction risk. Interestingly, these effects were sex-specific, with female mice showing drug-seeking behavior regardless of status.
Using a suite of cutting-edge neuroscience tools such as fiber photometry, fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, optogenetic manipulation, and volumetric imaging, the researchers explored both functional and structural differences in the dopamine systems of male rodents occupying different social ranks.
