Consequences of pandemic-associated social restrictions: Role of social support and the oxytocin system

Gryksa, Katharina; Neumann, Inga D.

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105601

Cited by 32 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 351 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“… 14 Oxytocin also has stress‐buffering effects and could be a mediator linking social isolation and poor mental health during the pandemic. 15 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, oxytocin, a nonapeptide that serves as a neuromodulator in the human central nervous system, is closely associated with various human social behaviors such as social boding, trusting, and cooperation 14 . Oxytocin also has stress‐buffering effects and could be a mediator linking social isolation and poor mental health during the pandemic 15 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Conversation time and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A web-based cross-sectional survey of Japanese employees

Izawa

Nakamura-Taira²,

Yoshikawa

et al. 2022

Journal of Occupational Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective During the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, social isolation and impaired social interaction could be the factors that cause mental health problems. This study investigated the association between conversation time in daily life and mental health among Japanese employees. Methods In August 2021, a web‐based cross‐sectional survey was conducted with 1000 Japanese employees. Weekly conversation time was assessed in four domains (family members, friends, someone in the workplace, and others), and mental health was assessed using the Japanese version of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6 scale). Weekly total conversation time was calculated, and participants were assigned to one of the four conversation time categories based on quantile values to investigate the associations with poor mental health (K6 ≥ 13). Results The logistic regression analyses revealed that participants with short conversation times (<3.5 h per week) had poorer mental health compared to those with long conversation times (> 21.0 h per week), even after adjusting for confounders (OR = 2.48 [95% CI 1.31–4.71]). For the exploratory analyses of conversation time for each domain, the associations of short conversation time in the workplace with poor mental health was most robust (OR =2.02 [95% CI 1.13–3.63]). Conclusions Japanese employees with conversation time of <3.5 h per week (i.e., 30 min per day) had poor mental health. During the COVID‐19 pandemic, people have largely limited opportunities to have conversations with others, but a certain level of conversation time might be required to maintain mental health.

show abstract

“… 14 Oxytocin also has stress‐buffering effects and could be a mediator linking social isolation and poor mental health during the pandemic. 15 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conversation time and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A web-based cross-sectional survey of Japanese employees

Izawa

Nakamura-Taira²,

Yoshikawa

et al. 2022

Journal of Occupational Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recently, in line with the new evidence on the effects and consequences of social exclusion and isolation, authors ( Gryksa and Neumann, 2022 ) presented in a review paper the possible short- and long-term consequences of social restrictions imposed to avoid contagion and their impact on mental health, with particular emphasis on the immune system. The immune system is strongly modulated by the stress response (all types of stress, including social stress) and is dysregulated in mental disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety); lack of social support may exacerbate this immune system dysregulation, but oxytocin may reduce the stress response.…”

Section: Physical Contactmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The immune system is strongly modulated by the stress response (all types of stress, including social stress) and is dysregulated in mental disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety); lack of social support may exacerbate this immune system dysregulation, but oxytocin may reduce the stress response. In this context, the authors suggest that oxytocin may be a potential treatment option for reducing psychological and physical stress levels and mental health ( Gryksa and Neumann, 2022 ).…”

Section: Physical Contactmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Physical Distancing in the Pandemic Situation: Considering the Role of Loneliness and Social Brain

Morese

Longobardi

2022

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The new normal has made social distancing a new way of experiencing sociality. Social neuroscience has for a long time been concerned with studying the beneficial effects of social relationships, of physical contact. It is known that physical contact activates neurophysiological processes that reduce the perception of discomfort and even physical pain. So in the absence of physical contact, our social brain may be modulated differently when we are with others. But what could be the long-term effects of this normality? This mini-review focuses on highlighting with the support of social neuroscience evidence such as isolation, distancing can affect people’s health.

show abstract

“…Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented a singular opportunity to illustrate how research in cell biology, biochemistry, immunology, and cytochemistry links disruptions in socioemotional communication to immune system disruptions. Pandemic-associated social restrictions have revealed the loss of an essential stress buffer and important parameter for general mental and physical health: social support (Gryksa and Neumann, 2022). Chronic social isolation and lack of social support are impacting not only mental health, but also the body-wide oxytocin system and the immune system.…”

Section: Approach-avoidancementioning

confidence: 99%

Wired to Connect: The Autonomic Socioemotional Reflex Arc

Ludwig

Welch

2022

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We have previously proposed that mothers and infants co-regulate one another’s autonomic state through an autonomic conditioning mechanism, which starts during gestation and results in the formation of autonomic socioemotional reflexes (ASRs) following birth. Theoretically, autonomic physiology associated with the ASR should correlate concomitantly with behaviors of mother and infant, although the neuronal pathway by which this phenomenon occurs has not been elucidated. In this paper, we consider the neuronal pathway by which sensory stimuli between a mother and her baby/child affect the physiology and emotional behavior of each. We divide our paper into two parts. In the first part, to gain perspective on current theories on the subject, we conduct a 500-year narrative history of scientific investigations into the human nervous system and theories that describe the neuronal pathway between sensory stimulus and emotional behavior. We then review inconsistencies between several currently accepted theories and recent data. In the second part, we lay out a new theory of emotions that describes how sensory stimuli between mother and baby unconsciously control the behavior and physiology of both. We present a theory of mother/infant emotion based on a set of assumptions fundamentally different from current theories. Briefly, we propose that mother/infant sensory stimuli trigger conditional autonomic socioemotional reflexes (ASRs), which drive cardiac function and behavior without the benefit of the thalamus, amygdala or cortex. We hold that the ASR is shaped by an evolutionarily conserved autonomic learning mechanism (i.e., functional Pavlovian conditioning) that forms between mother and fetus during gestation and continues following birth. We highlight our own and others research findings over the past 15 years that support our contention that mother/infant socioemotional behavior is driven by mutual autonomic state plasticity, as opposed to cortical trait plasticity. We review a novel assessment tool designed to measure the behaviors associated with the ASR phenomenon. Finally, we discuss the significance of our theory for the treatment of mothers and infants with socioemotional disorders.

show abstract

Consequences of pandemic-associated social restrictions: Role of social support and the oxytocin system

Cited by 32 publications

References 351 publications

Conversation time and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A web-based cross-sectional survey of Japanese employees

Conversation time and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A web-based cross-sectional survey of Japanese employees

The Impact of Physical Distancing in the Pandemic Situation: Considering the Role of Loneliness and Social Brain

Wired to Connect: The Autonomic Socioemotional Reflex Arc

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About