Lower Oxytocin Plasma Levels in Borderline Patients with Unresolved Attachment Representations

Jobst, Andrea; Padberg, Frank; Mauer, Maria Christine; Daltrozzo, Tanja; Bauriedl-Schmidt, Christine; Sabaß, L.; Sarubin, Nina; Falkai, Peter; Renneberg, Babette; Zill, Peter; Gander, Manuela; Buchheim, Anna

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2016.00125

Cited by 57 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…There are several studies, however, that demonstrate the involvement of both ω-3 fatty acids and oxytocin in development. For example, higher levels of ω-3 fatty acids in maternal milk are associated with better temperament in children [157], and reduce negative affect and inflammation in children that have mothers with high levels of adiposity [158], while lower levels of oxytocin have been related to experiences of severe emotional neglect and abuse in childhood in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid samples [159,160]. Children raised in orphanages who experienced neglect have also been shown to have lower oxytocin plasma levels [161].…”

Section: Early-life Stress and Microglia: Clinical Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microglial Function in the Effects of Early-Life Stress on Brain and Behavioral Development

Catale

Gironda

Iacono

et al. 2020

JCM

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The putative effects of early-life stress (ELS) on later behavior and neurobiology have been widely investigated. Recently, microglia have been implicated in mediating some of the effects of ELS on behavior. In this review, findings from preclinical and clinical literature with a specific focus on microglial alterations induced by the exposure to ELS (i.e., exposure to behavioral stressors or environmental agents and infection) are summarized. These studies were utilized to interpret changes in developmental trajectories based on the time at which the stress occurred, as well as the paradigm used. ELS and microglial alterations were found to be associated with a wide array of deficits including cognitive performance, memory, reward processing, and processing of social stimuli. Four general conclusions emerged: (1) ELS interferes with microglial developmental programs, including their proliferation and death and their phagocytic activity; (2) this can affect neuronal and non-neuronal developmental processes, which are dynamic during development and for which microglial activity is instrumental; (3) the effects are extremely dependent on the time point at which the investigation is carried out; and (4) both pre- and postnatal ELS can prime microglial reactivity, indicating a long-lasting alteration, which has been implicated in behavioral abnormalities later in life.

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Section: Early-life Stress and Microglia: Clinical Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microglial Function in the Effects of Early-Life Stress on Brain and Behavioral Development

Catale

Gironda

Iacono

et al. 2020

JCM

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“…As regards studies of peripheral concentrations of OT, it seems that serum OT is reduced in BPD, whereby the experience of childhood trauma, particularly emotional abuse and neglect, symptom severity, and aggressiveness correlated inversely with OT levels (Bertsch, Schmidinger, Neumann, & Herpertz, ). Lower OT levels were also associated with fears of compassion, recalled troublesome parenting, and with unresolved attachment representations (Ebert, Edel, Gilbert, & Brüne, ; Jobst et al , ). These findings are consistent with an association between lower OT levels in women reporting childhood abuse (Heim et al , ), a condition often found in patients with BPD.…”

Section: Nonverbal Synchronymentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring nonverbal synchrony in borderline personality disorder: A double‐blind placebo‐controlled study using oxytocin

Ramseyer

Ebert

Roser

et al. 2019

British J Clinic Psychol

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Objectives. Interpersonal dysfunction is a central feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD), and the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has been shown to impact patients' behaviour in numerous ways. Nonverbal signals such as the coordination of body movement (nonverbal synchrony) are associated with the success of interpersonal exchanges and could thus be influenced by features of BPD and by the administration of OT.Design. We explored the effect of intranasal OT (inOT) on nonverbal synchrony in sixteen patients with BPD and fifteen healthy controls (CTL) randomly assigned to two double-blind clinical interviews under inOT and placebo (PL).Methods. Nonverbal synchrony was assessed by automated video-analyses of subject's and interviewer's body movement. Lagged cross-correlations were used to objectively quantify coordination in dyads.Results. Synchrony was higher than pseudosynchrony (= synchrony expected by chance), and there was a differential effect of inOT between groups: While healthy controls displayed increased synchrony under inOT, patients with BPD showed low levels of synchrony under inOT. Additionally, patient's synchrony was negatively associated with self-reported childhood trauma.

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“…OT in BPD exerts differential effects on fear, affiliation, and trust, as well as rejection sensitivity, whereby fear reduction is not paralleled by an increase in trust and prosocial behavior (Bartz et al., ; Brüne, Kolb, Ebert, Roser, & Edel, ; Ebert et al., ; Jobst et al., ). In addition, peripheral OT seems to be either generally lower in BPD patients than in controls (Bertsch, Schmidinger, Neumann, & Herpertz, ), or at least in a subgroup with unresolved attachment representations (Jobst et al., ). Lower OT levels have also been found in the cerebrospinal fluid of women with a history of traumatization (Heim et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Endogenous oxytocin is associated with the experience of compassion and recalled upbringing in Borderline Personality Disorder

Ebert

Edel²,

Gilbert

et al. 2017

Depress Anxiety

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Background/Objective: The role of the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is poorly understood. It is particularly unknown how early experiences with caregivers moderate the action of OT in BPD. Here, we examined the association of plasma OT levels in BPD patients with the experience of compassion and recalled parental behavior during childhood.Methods: Fifty-seven BPD patients and 43 healthy controls participated in the study. OT plasma levels were analyzed by radioimmunoassay. Subjects additionally completed questionnaires focusing on fears of compassion (FOC) and recalled upbringing ("Questionnaire of Recalled Parental Rearing Behavior/Fragebogen zum erinnerten elterlichen Erziehungsverhalten," FEE).Results: BPD patients had significantly lower OT plasma levels than healthy controls and differed significantly on all FOC and FEE scales; BPD patients had higher FOC scores (indicating more aversion of being compassionate to themselves and others and receiving compassion from others).They also differed in recalled parenting. In the BPD group, scores of the FOC scale "fear of compassion from others" were significantly negatively correlated with OT levels. Moreover, recalled "emotional warmth" of their parents during childhood was positively correlated with OT plasma levels of BPD subjects. No such correlations were found in the control group. Conclusion:Our results corroborate findings from previous studies reporting lower OT levels in patients with BPD. Moreover, peripheral OT seems to be linked with the tolerance of compassionate feelings and early experiences with caregivers. This is consistent with other findings that OT is an important mediator of the experience of emotional warmth from others.

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Lower Oxytocin Plasma Levels in Borderline Patients with Unresolved Attachment Representations

Cited by 57 publications

References 77 publications

Microglial Function in the Effects of Early-Life Stress on Brain and Behavioral Development

Microglial Function in the Effects of Early-Life Stress on Brain and Behavioral Development

Exploring nonverbal synchrony in borderline personality disorder: A double‐blind placebo‐controlled study using oxytocin

Endogenous oxytocin is associated with the experience of compassion and recalled upbringing in Borderline Personality Disorder

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