Impact of methamphetamine abstinence on social cognition and oxytocin regulation: A study in patients undergoing rehabilitation

Abstract

Social cognition, essential for interpreting and responding to social cues, is often impaired by psycho-stimulants like methamphetamine, which disrupt neural pathways critical for social interaction and emotional processing. Oxytocin, a neuropeptide involved in social bonding and emotion regulation, is similarly impacted by substances that alter dopaminergic systems, influencing social behavior and cognitive functions. This study investigates the effects of methamphetamine abstinence on social cognition and serum oxytocin levels in individuals undergoing rehabilitation, aiming to understand the progression of cognitive deficits and neuroendocrine dysregulation over a six-month follow-up interval. Thirty-seven male participants, 25 of whom were methamphetamine users in a controlled rehabilitation environment and 12 matched healthy controls, were assessed. Social cognition was evaluated using Facial Emotion Recognition and Theory of Mind (ToM) tasks at early and late abstinence stages. Serum oxytocin levels were measured through ELISA at both stages, and statistical analyses examined group differences and within-group changes over time. Methamphetamine users exhibited significant declines in social cognition from early to late abstinence, with lower performance in ToM and facial emotion recognition (notably for anger, fear, and sadness) compared to controls. Additionally, oxytocin levels showed a significant decrease over the abstinence period, with methamphetamine users maintaining lower levels than controls. Findings suggest that cognitive impairments in social processing persist as abstinence progresses, accompanied by a parallel decline in oxytocin levels. These results underscore the need for targeted interventions to address the intertwined challenges of cognitive and hormonal dysregulation in methamphetamine recovery, highlighting oxytocin’s potential role in therapeutic strategies.