How Relevant is the Systemic Oxytocin Concentration for Human Sexual Behavior? A Systematic Review

Cera, Nicoletta; Vargas-Cáceres, Sebastián; Oliveira, Cátia; Monteiro, Jéssica; Branco, David Alves Castelo; Pignatelli, Duarte; Rebelo, Sandra

doi:10.1016/j.esxm.2021.100370

Cited by 23 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…It is well established that oxytocin release is increased significantly during sexual arousal, intercourse and orgasms for both men and women ( 178 , 179 ). Thus, in addition to the Ferguson reflex that occurs when cervix is expanded during labor, reflex-release of oxytocin can also be evoked by genital organ stimulation ( 180 , 181 ).…”

Section: Methods Of Mobilizing Endogenous Oxytocinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential of Endogenous Oxytocin in Endocrine Treatment and Prevention of COVID-19

et al. 2022

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Coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a significant threat to the health of human beings. While wearing mask, maintaining social distance and performing self-quarantine can reduce virus spreading passively, vaccination actively enhances immune defense against COVID-19. However, mutations of SARS-CoV-2 and presence of asymptomatic carriers frustrate the effort of completely conquering COVID-19. A strategy that can reduce the susceptibility and thus prevent COVID-19 while blocking viral invasion and pathogenesis independent of viral antigen stability is highly desirable. In the pathogenesis of COVID-19, endocrine disorders have been implicated. Correspondingly, many hormones have been identified to possess therapeutic potential of treating COVID-19, such as estrogen, melatonin, corticosteroids, thyroid hormone and oxytocin. Among them, oxytocin has the potential of both treatment and prevention of COVID-19. This is based on oxytocin promotion of immune-metabolic homeostasis, suppression of inflammation and pre-existing comorbidities, acceleration of damage repair, and reduction of individuals’ susceptibility to pathogen infection. Oxytocin may specifically inactivate SARS-COV-2 spike protein and block viral entry into cells via angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 by suppressing serine protease and increasing interferon levels and number of T-lymphocytes. In addition, oxytocin can promote parasympathetic outflow and the secretion of body fluids that could dilute and even inactivate SARS-CoV-2 on the surface of cornea, oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract. What we need to do now is clinical trials. Such trials should fully balance the advantages and disadvantages of oxytocin application, consider the time- and dose-dependency of oxytocin effects, optimize the dosage form and administration approach, combine oxytocin with inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 replication, apply specific passive immunization, and timely utilize efficient vaccines. Meanwhile, blocking COVID-19 transmission chain and developing other efficient anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs are also important. In addition, relative to the complex issues with drug applications over a long term, oxytocin can be mobilized through many physiological stimuli, and thus used as a general prevention measure. In this review, we explore the potential of oxytocin for treatment and prevention of COVID-19 and perhaps other similar pathogens.

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Section: Methods Of Mobilizing Endogenous Oxytocinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential of Endogenous Oxytocin in Endocrine Treatment and Prevention of COVID-19

et al. 2022

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“…In both males and females, sexual activity at all stages is closely associated with OT actions. Plasma OT levels increase during sexual arousal and are significantly higher during orgasm/ejaculation than during prior baseline levels in both women and men (Cera et al, 2021;Dekker et al, 2021). In the brain, OT-dopaminergic neural pathways play a role not only in the erectile function and copulation, but also in the motivational and rewarding aspects of the anticipatory phase of sexual behavior.…”

Section: Reproduction-associated Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural Functions of Hypothalamic Oxytocin and its Regulation

Wang

Liu

et al. 2022

ASN Neuro

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Oxytocin (OT), a nonapeptide, has a variety of functions. Despite extensive studies on OT over past decades, our understanding of its neural functions and their regulation remains incomplete. OT is mainly produced in OT neurons in the supraoptic nucleus (SON), paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and accessory nuclei between the SON and PVN. OT exerts neuromodulatory effects in the brain and spinal cord. While magnocellular OT neurons in the SON and PVN mainly innervate the pituitary and forebrain regions, and parvocellular OT neurons in the PVN innervate brainstem and spinal cord, the two sets of OT neurons have close interactions histologically and functionally. OT expression occurs at early life to promote mental and physical development, while its subsequent decrease in expression in later life stage accompanies aging and diseases. Adaptive changes in this OT system, however, take place under different conditions and upon the maturation of OT release machinery. OT can modulate social recognition and behaviors, learning and memory, emotion, reward, and other higher brain functions. OT also regulates eating and drinking, sleep and wakefulness, nociception and analgesia, sexual behavior, parturition, lactation and other instinctive behaviors. OT regulates the autonomic nervous system, and somatic and specialized senses. Notably, OT can have different modulatory effects on the same function under different conditions. Such divergence may derive from different neural connections, OT receptor gene dimorphism and methylation, and complex interactions with other hormones. In this review, brain functions of OT and their underlying neural mechanisms as well as the perspectives of their clinical usage are presented.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The present review and meta-analysis was limited to longitudinal fMRI studies (I) with tasks and resting state (C). We defined the search terms based on the above mentioned PICO question combined with the Boolean operators “AND” and “OR”, according to the method previously used in other previously published systematic reviews (Cera et al, 2021 ; Vargas-Cáceres et al, 2021 ). We conducted a computer-based literature search follow the PICO approach combining terms related to psychotherapy and fMRI: (“psychotherapy” [All Fields] OR “psychotherapy” [MeSH Terms] OR “psychotherapy” [All Fields] OR “psychotherapies” [All Fields] OR “psychotherapy s” [All Fields]) AND (“magnetic resonance imaging” [MeSH Terms]) OR (“magnetic”[All Fields] AND “resonance”[All Fields] AND “imaging”[All Fields]) OR (“magnetic resonance imaging”[All Fields] OR “fmri”[All Fields]).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural correlates of psychodynamic and non-psychodynamic therapies in different clinical populations through fMRI: A meta-analysis and systematic review

Cera

Monteiro²,

Esposito³

et al. 2022

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the ongoing crisis in psychiatric and psychological care, contributing to what we have identified as a new psychological and psychiatric pandemic. Psychotherapy is an effective method for easing the psychological suffering experienced also by the various impacts of COVID-19. This treatment can be examined from a neurological perspective, through the application of brain imaging techniques. Specifically, the meta-analysis of imaging studies can aid in expanding researchers' understanding of the many beneficial applications of psychotherapy.ObjectivesWe examined the functional brain changes accompanying different mental disorders with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), through a meta-analysis, and systematic review in order to better understand the general neural mechanism involved in psychotherapy and the potential neural difference between psychodynamic and non-psychodynamic approaches.Data sourcesThe Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were employed for our systematic review and meta-analysis. We conducted a computer-based literature search, following the Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcomes (PICO) approach, to retrieve all published articles in English regarding the above-described topics from PubMed (MEDLINE), Scopus, and Web of Science.Study eligibility criteria, participants, and interventionsWe combined terms related to psychotherapy and fMRI: (“psychotherapy” [All Fields] OR “psychotherapy” [MeSH Terms] OR “psychotherapy” [All Fields] OR “psychotherapies” [All Fields] OR “psychotherapy s” [All Fields]) AND (“magnetic resonance imaging” [MeSH Terms]) OR (“magnetic”[All Fields] AND “resonance”[All Fields] AND “imaging”[All Fields]) OR (“magnetic resonance imaging”[All Fields] OR “fmri”[All Fields]). We considered (1) whole brain fMRI studies; (2) studies in which participants have been involved in a clinical trial with psychotherapy sessions, with pre/post fMRI; (3) fMRI results presented in coordinate-based (x, y, and z) in MNI or Talairach space; (4) presence of neuropsychiatric patients. The exclusion criteria were: (1) systematic review or meta-analysis; (2) behavioral study; (3) single-case MRI or fMRI study; and (4) other imaging techniques (i.e., PET, SPECT) or EEG.ResultsAfter duplicates removal and assessment of the content of each published study, we included 36 sources. The map including all studies that assessed longitudinal differences in brain activity showed two homogeneous clusters in the left inferior frontal gyrus, and caudally involving the anterior insular cortex (p < 0.0001, corr.). Similarly, studies that assessed psychotherapy-related longitudinal changes using emotional or cognitive tasks (TASK map) showed a left-sided homogeneity in the anterior insula (p < 0.000) extending to Broca's area of the inferior frontal gyrus (p < 0.0001) and the superior frontal gyrus (p < 0.0001). Studies that applied psychodynamic psychotherapy showed Family-Wise Error (FWE) cluster-corrected (p < 0.05) homogeneity values in the right superior and inferior frontal gyri, with a small cluster in the putamen. No FWE-corrected homogeneity foci were observed for Mindful- based and cognitive behavioral therapy psychotherapy. In both pre- and post-therapy results, studies showed two bilateral clusters in the dorsal anterior insulae (p = 0.00001 and p = 0.00003, respectively) and involvement of the medial superior frontal gyrus (p = 0.0002).LimitationsSubjective experiences, such as an individual's response to therapy, are intrinsically challenging to quantify as objective, factual realities. Brain changes observed both pre- and post-therapy could be related to other factors, not necessary to the specific treatment received. Therapeutic modalities and study designs are generally heterogeneous. Differences exist in sample characteristics, such as the specificity of the disorder and number and duration of sessions. Moreover, the sample size is relatively small, particularly due to the paucity of studies in this field and the little contribution of PDT.Conclusions and implications of key findingsAll psychological interventions seem to influence the brain from a functional point of view, showing their efficacy from a neurological perspective. Frontal, prefrontal regions, insular cortex, superior and inferior frontal gyrus, and putamen seem involved in these neural changes, with the psychodynamic more linked to the latter three regions.

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How Relevant is the Systemic Oxytocin Concentration for Human Sexual Behavior? A Systematic Review

Cited by 23 publications

References 55 publications

Potential of Endogenous Oxytocin in Endocrine Treatment and Prevention of COVID-19

Potential of Endogenous Oxytocin in Endocrine Treatment and Prevention of COVID-19

Neural Functions of Hypothalamic Oxytocin and its Regulation

Neural correlates of psychodynamic and non-psychodynamic therapies in different clinical populations through fMRI: A meta-analysis and systematic review

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