Nov. 30–Dec. 5, 2025
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Harriet de Wit and Martin Paulus, Chairpersons
Program Advisory Committee
Marie T. Banich, Mauricio Delgado, Harriet de Wit, Siri Leknes, Julia Lupp, and Martin Paulus
Goals of the Forum
Background
Social connectedness is increasingly recognized as a crucial factor that shapes human behavior and well-being and affects psychiatric disorders such as substance use. Positive social ties are associated with resilience and thriving, whereas poor social ties contribute to stress, loneliness, and mental health disorders, including nonmedical substance use. Increasingly, research has examined social connectedness in diverse fields such as neuroscience, biology, psychology, and behavioral pharmacology, yet progress in one field often happens independently of another, leading to gaps in our collective knowledge.
At this Forum, experts from different disciplines will consider how definitions and measures of social connectedness might illuminate mechanisms of substance use vulnerability, how brain networks and behavioral processes interact in shaping patterns of substance consumption, and how targeted interventions that enhance social ties could reduce individual and communal burdens of substance abuse. It aims to establish shared conceptual definitions, identify neural and behavioral correlations of both connection and disconnection, and determine how best to translate emergent insights into tangible outcomes. This effort will culminate in a research blueprint and comprehensive set of recommendations for the scientific community, funding agencies, and policymakers. It will clarify how the field might move forward to integrate the biology of social reward with the behavioral and environmental factors that determine substance-seeking behavior, and chart a path for collaborative endeavors to minimize the societal impact of substance misuse through enhanced social well-being.
Overarching Questions
Group 1: What are the dimensions of social connectedness that can be operationalized, and how do we measure them in animals and humans?
This group will concentrate on identifying the boundaries and measurement strategies that capture how people (and animals) connect, fluctuate in their sense of belonging, and experience both positive and negative facets of social ties.
Group 2: What are the brain mechanisms involved in social connectedness and dysfunction?
Here the focus is on identifying brain mechanisms that underlie social connectedness and clarifying how the molecular and circuit-level processes supporting social connectedness intersect with those that drive substance use.
Group 3: What are the behavioral processes mediating social connectedness?
This group will investigate how behavioral processes that underlie social connectedness can be studied over different timescales, from momentary synchrony in facial expressions or body language to long-term shifts in group membership, peer relationships, and cultural norms.
Group 4: What are the consequences of presence or absence of social connectedness?
Discussion will address the impact of social ties on well-being across the lifespan, asking how strong or weak connectedness shapes development, mental health, and resilience in adolescents, adults, and older populations. The potential “dark side” of connectedness will be examined, as social ties can promote negative behaviors, reinforce harmful social hierarchies, or enable peer pressure to engage in substance use.
