Neuromodulation of subjective experience

Many psychoactive substances are used with the aim of altering experience, e.g. as analgesics, antidepressants or antipsychotics. These drugs act on specific receptor systems in the brain, including the opioid, serotonergic and dopaminergic systems. In this talk, I will summarise human drug studies targeting opioid receptors and their role for human experience, with focus on the experience of pain, stress, mood, and social connection. Opioids are only indicated for analgesia, due to their potential to cause addiction. When these regulations occurred, other known effects were relegated to side effects. This may be the cause of the prevalent myth that opioids are the most potent painkillers, despite evidence from head-to-head trials, Cochrane reviews and network meta-analyses that opioids are not superior to non-opioid analgesics in the treatment of acute or chronic non-cancer pain. However, due to the variability and diversity of opioid effects across contexts and experiences, some people under some circumstances may indeed benefit from prolonged treatment. I will present data on individual differences in opioid effects due to participant sex and stress induction. Understanding the effects of these commonly used medications on other aspects of the human experience is important to ensure correct use and to prevent unnecessary pain and addiction risk.