Endogenous Testosterone and Exogenous Oxytocin Modulate Attentional Processing of Infant Faces

Holtfrerich, Sarah K. C.; Schwarz, Katharina A.; Sprenger, Christian; Reimers, Luise; Diekhof, Esther K.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0166617

Cited by 26 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 75 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Indeed, preferences for baby schema have been shown to extend to other species (Archer & Monton, ; Little, ) and non‐biological stimuli (Miesler, Leder, & Herrmann, ), demonstrating the biological significance of infant features. Researchers argue that there are neurological mechanisms in place through which baby schema triggers attraction and caretaking motivation in humans and that this response is sensitive to a very simple stimulus facial configuration, such that it may be triggered independent of ethnic background or species (Alley, ; Archer & Monton, ; Glocker et al, ; Holtfrerich, Schwarz, Sprenger, Reimers, & Diekhof, ; Kringelbach, Stark, Alexander, Bornstein, & Stein, ). This hypothesis is consistent with the inferior frontal source location of activity related to processing of infant compared with adult faces (Proverbio & De Gabriele, ).…”

Section: Experiments 1 Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preferential attention to same‐and other‐ethnicity infant faces does not fully overcome the other‐race effect

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Given the attentional and motivational saliency of infant faces, triggered by a set of perceptual baby schema features, other‐ethnicity infant faces may overcome the processing differences associated with the other‐race effect (ORE). Using an attentional bias paradigm, we found that while there was a same‐ethnicity attentional bias for adult faces, there was no difference in attention to same‐ and other‐ethnicity infant faces, suggesting that other‐ethnicity infant faces are equally salient and not subject to the same bias as other‐ethnicity adult faces. To directly measure the ORE, we used a recognition memory test to measure differences between same‐ and other‐ethnicity infant and adult faces. Regardless of age, same‐ethnicity faces were better remembered than other‐ethnicity faces. Further, regardless of ethnicity, adult faces were better remembered than infant faces, a finding consistent with an Other Age Effect. Taken together, these experiments suggest that the saliency of baby schema does not fully overcome the social or perceptual factors leading to the ORE.

show abstract

Section: Experiments 1 Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preferential attention to same‐and other‐ethnicity infant faces does not fully overcome the other‐race effect

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In a recent oxytocin trial in autistic children, Parker et al [55] found that low pre- treatment baseline oxytocin levels were predictive of improvement in social functioning with oxytocin. In an oxytocin administration study of typical women, oxytocin administration was found to decrease response time to face stimuli, but only among women with high endogenous testosterone levels [10]. Given the inconsistent findings of oxytocin clinical trials to date [56,57] and the seemingly opposite roles of oxytocin and testosterone in neuropsychiatric conditions including autism and schizophrenia [11], the possibility that baseline sex steroids or oxytocinassociated changes in sex steroids could serve be a biomarker of response may help to identify autistic people expected to benefit most from interventions involving oxytocin.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…For example, increased testosterone levels have been reported in men who received oxytocin nasal spray versus placebo [7,8], and levels of arginine vasopressin, a neurohormone closely related to oxytocin, increased in men and women following oxytocin administration [9]. Furthermore, the effects of oxytocin administration on parenting-related behaviors have been reported to depend on baseline endogenous testosterone levels in both sexes [7,10]. Interestingly, oxytocin and testosterone administration are noted to have opposing effects on various social behaviours in typical populations and to show opposite patterns of alteration in psychiatric conditions such as autism and schizophrenia [11], although both hormones have rarely been assessed within the same individuals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salivary sex hormone levels following oxytocin administration in autistic and typical women

Lombardo

Lai

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Oxytocin administration, which may be of therapeutic value for social disabilities, likely influences endogenous levels of other socially-relevant hormones. However, to date, the effects of oxytocin administration on endogenous hormones have only been examined in typical males.The need to consider multi-hormone interactions is particularly warranted in oxytocin trials for autism due to evidence of irregularities in both oxytocin and sex steroid systems. Here, as part of a larger trial with a double-blind cross-over design, we assessed salivary testosterone and oestradiol levels in 16 autistic and 29 typical women before and after intranasal administration of 24IU oxytocin or placebo. Distinct patterns of change in testosterone and oestradiol across time were observed between groups, with autistic women showing increases in both hormones 90 min post-administration and typical women showing small decreases (mean %change oestradiol: +12% Autism, -10% Typical, 95%CI of difference: 5.0-39.4%, p=0.01; mean %change testosterone: +8% Autism, -14% Typical, 95%CI of difference: 7.8-35.6%, p=0.002). Under the oxytocin condition, the group difference in %change testosterone was amplified (+14.4% Autism, -15.2% Typical, p=0.018). Although baseline hormone levels did not differ between groups, greater baseline oestradiol relative to testosterone was negatively correlated with autisticlike traits (r= -0.36, p=0.019) and positively correlated (r=0.35, p=0.02) with self-reported empathy in the overall sample. These results provide further evidence that oxytocin influences endogenous testosterone, with autistic women showing increases similar to previous reports in typical men. These findings may help to identify autistic people expected to benefit most from interventions involving oxytocin. 3 3 1 7 1 7

show abstract

“…In a recent oxytocin trial in autistic children, Parker et al [30] found that low pretreatment baseline oxytocin levels were predictive of improvement in social functioning with oxytocin. In an oxytocin administration study of neurotypical women, oxytocin administration was found to decrease response time to face stimuli but only among women with high endogenous testosterone levels [11]. Given the inconsistent findings of oxytocin clinical trials to date [58,59], the possibility that baseline sex steroids or oxytocinassociated changes in sex steroids could serve as a biomarker of response may help to identify autistic people expected to benefit most from interventions involving oxytocin.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Levels of arginine vasopressin, a neurohormone closely related to oxytocin, were found to increase in men and women following oxytocin administration [10]. Also in both sexes, the effects of oxytocin administration on parenting-related behaviours were found to depend on baseline endogenous testosterone levels [8,11]. Notably, oxytocin and testosterone administration have shown opposing effects on various aspect of social behaviour in neurotypical populations and show opposite patterns of alteration in psychiatric conditions such as autism and schizophrenia [12], although such studies rarely assess multiple hormones within individuals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of oxytocin administration on salivary sex hormone levels in autistic and neurotypical women

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Oxytocin administration, which may be of therapeutic value for individuals with social difficulties, is likely to affect endogenous levels of other socially relevant hormones. However, to date, the effects of oxytocin administration on endogenous hormones have only been examined in neurotypical individuals. The need to consider multi-hormone interactions is particularly warranted in oxytocin trials for autism due to evidence of irregularities in both oxytocin and sex steroid systems. Methods: In this double-blind cross-over study, saliva samples were collected from 16 autistic and 29 neurotypical women before and after intranasal administration of 24 IU oxytocin or placebo. Oestradiol, testosterone, and oxytocin levels were quantified in saliva samples. Participants also completed the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and Empathy Quotient (EQ) questionnaires. Results: Distinct patterns of change in testosterone and oestradiol levels pre-to-post-administration were observed in autistic relative to neurotypical women (ANCOVA, p < 0.05 main effect of Group), controlling for sample collection time. The mean percent change oestradiol was + 8.8% for the autism group and − 13.0% for the neurotypical group (t = 1.81, p = 0.08), while the mean percent change testosterone was + 1.1% in the autism group and − 12.6% in the neurotypical group (t = 1.26, p = 0.22). In the oxytocin condition, the mean percent change oestradiol was + 12.6% in the autism group and − 6.9% in the neurotypical group (t = 1.78, p = 0.08), while the mean percent change testosterone was + 14.4% in the autism group and − 15.2% in the neurotypical group (t = 3.00, p = 0.006). Robust regression confirmed that group differences in percent change hormone levels were not driven by a small number of influential individuals. Baseline hormone levels did not differ between groups when considered individually. However, baseline testosterone relative to oestradiol (T:E2 ratio) was higher in autistic women (p = 0.023, Cohen's d = 0.63), and this ratio correlated positively and negatively with AQ and EQ scores, respectively, in the combined sample. Limitations: Further studies with larger and more diverse autistic sample are warranted to confirm these effects.

show abstract

Endogenous Testosterone and Exogenous Oxytocin Modulate Attentional Processing of Infant Faces

Cited by 26 publications

References 75 publications

Preferential attention to same‐and other‐ethnicity infant faces does not fully overcome the other‐race effect

Preferential attention to same‐and other‐ethnicity infant faces does not fully overcome the other‐race effect

Salivary sex hormone levels following oxytocin administration in autistic and typical women

Effects of oxytocin administration on salivary sex hormone levels in autistic and neurotypical women

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About