Prosocial effects of oxytocin and clinical evidence for its therapeutic potential

Striepens, Nadine; Kendrick, Keith M.; Maier, Wolfgang; Hurlemann, René

doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2011.07.001

Cited by 265 publications

(220 citation statements)

References 214 publications

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“…A repeated-measures ANOVA with "group" (PLC, OXT) as between-subjects factor, "valence" (negative, neutral, or positive) as within-subjects factor, and "ASR magnitude" as dependent variable revealed a main effect of valence [F (2, 134) = 34.49, P < 0.01, η 2 = 0.34] and an interaction effect of valence and group [F (2, 134) = 4.09, P = 0.02, η 2 = 0.06]. Both groups showed a significant linear trend for valence (i.e., negative > neutral > positive), but a comparison of the effect sizes indicated that the emotional modulation in the OXT group [F (1,35) = 84.10, P < 0.01, η 2 = 0.71] was more than twice as large as in the PLC group [F (1, 32) = 13.78, P < 0.01, η 2 = 0.30] (Fig. 1A).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ample evidence for this view comes from a plethora of behavioral experiments in healthy subjects (1), which have demonstrated beneficial effects of a single intranasal dose of OXT across a wide range of cognitive tasks, probing, for example, interpersonal trust and cooperation (2, 3; see also ref. 4), generosity (5), social recognition (6)(7)(8) and related memory (9)(10)(11), social reinforcement learning and emotional empathy (12), and social judgments (13)(14)(15).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Oxytocin facilitates protective responses to aversive social stimuli in males

Striepens

Scheele

Kendrick

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) can enhance the impact of positive social cues but may reduce that of negative ones by inhibiting amygdala activation, although it is unclear whether the latter causes blunted emotional and mnemonic responses. In two independent double-blind placebo-controlled experiments, each involving over 70 healthy male subjects, we investigated whether OXT affects modulation of startle reactivity by aversive social stimuli as well as subsequent memory for them. Intranasal OXT potentiated acoustic startle responses to negative stimuli, without affecting behavioral valence or arousal judgments, and biased subsequent memory toward negative rather than neutral items. A functional MRI analysis of this mnemonic effect revealed that, whereas OXT inhibited amygdala responses to negative stimuli, it facilitated left insula responses for subsequently remembered items and increased functional coupling between the left amygdala, left anterior insula, and left inferior frontal gyrus. Our results therefore show that OXT can potentiate the protective and mnemonic impact of aversive social information despite reducing amygdala activity, and suggest that the insula may play a role in emotional modulation of memory. (5), social recognition (6-8) and related memory (9-11), social reinforcement learning and emotional empathy (12), and social judgments (13)(14)(15).This prosocial perspective on OXT is challenged, however, by evidence that OXT also enhances envy and schadenfreude (gloating) (16), ethno-centrism (including prejudice, xenophobia, and racial bias) (4), and outgroup derogation (17). Moreover, OXT hinders trust and cooperation when social information about interaction partners is lacking (18). Furthermore, OXT appears to negatively bias recollections of maternal care and closeness and to diminish trust and cooperation in insecurely or anxiously attached individuals (19,20).In an attempt to reconcile this controversial evidence, it has been proposed that the social effects of OXT could be mediated by reduced anxiety or by an increased perceptual salience of social cues (21). The anxiolytic action of OXT has been confirmed by showing reduced amygdala responses to aversive social stimuli in healthy people (22-25; but see also refs. 26 and 27), and subjects with social phobia (28). It is compatible with decreased endocrine and subjective responses to social stress (29), as well as reduced negative cognitive self-appraisal in individuals scoring high in traitanxiety (30). In contrast, the social salience hypothesis has gained substantial support from studies demonstrating increased eye contact (31) and improved mind-reading from facial expressions (32) as a result of OXT treatment. Whether these mechanisms quintessentially yield positive or negative social outcomes may vary depending on contextual or person-specific characteristics (21). An alternative view holds that emotional valence may be the key in guiding the social effects of OXT, with it facilitating social approach to positive cues and inhibiting...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Oxytocin facilitates protective responses to aversive social stimuli in males

Striepens

Scheele

Kendrick

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

238

190

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Thus, it could be that, while oxytocin increases ingroup favoritism in intuitive minds, oxytocin may increase decisions to protect self-interest in reflective minds. Although oxytocin facilitates prosocial, approach, and parochial behaviors (Striepens et al, 2011), it also promotes risk aversion (Declerck et al, 2010) and envy (ShamayTsoory et al, 2009). Oxytocin enhances people's cooperative behaviors only when they are not overwhelmed by greed or self-interest.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opposing Oxytocin Effects on Intergroup Cooperative Behavior in Intuitive and Reflective Minds

Liu

Rand

et al. 2015

Neuropsychopharmacol

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People often favor ingroup over outgroup members when choosing to cooperate. Such ingroup-favored cooperation is promoted by oxytocin-a neuropeptide shown to facilitate social cognition and that has emerged as a pharmacological target for treatments of social functioning deficits. The current study applied a dual-process model to investigate whether and how intuitive and reflective cognitive styles affect the oxytocin-motivated ingroup favoritism in cooperation. We examined oxytocin effects on ingroup favoritism in a double-blind, placebo-controlled between-subjects design where cognitive processing (intuition vs reflection) was experimentally manipulated in healthy Chinese males (n = 150). We also supplemented this experimental manipulation with an individual difference analysis by assessing participants' inclination toward intuition or reflection in daily life. Intranasal administration of oxytocin (vs placebo) increased ingroup favoritism among participants primed to be intuitive or those who preferred intuition in daily life. In contrast, oxytocin decreased ingroup favoritism in participants primed to rely on reflective thinking or those who preferred reflective decision-making in daily life. Our results demonstrate that oxytocin has distinct functional roles when different cognitive styles (ie, intuition vs reflection) are promoted during social cooperation in a group situation. Our findings have implications for oxytocin pharmacotherapy of social dysfunction in that whether the effects of oxytocin on social functioning are facilitative, debilitative, or null, depends on an individual's cognitive style.

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“…Oxytocin promotes social behavior, while its deficiency (e.g., oxytocin or oxytocin receptor gene polymorphism) has been implicated in mechanisms of autism [11][12][13]. Oxytocin and oxytocin receptor knockout mice present with autism-like abnormalities [14,15], whereas exogenously administered oxytocin improves autism-like behavior in mice of the BALB/cByJ and C58/J strains [16].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Oxytocin is a Bsocialĥ ormone, and its deficiency has been implicated in mechanisms of autism in both clinical and experimental studies. Clinical studies connected autism to the decreased plasma oxytocin levels, as well as to oxytocin receptor gene polymorphism [11][12][13]. In the laboratory setting, oxytocin receptor knockout mice presented with autism-like behavioral impairments [14,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autism-Like Behavior in BTBR Mice Is Improved by Electroconvulsive Therapy

et al. 2015

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Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by impairments in social and communication abilities, as well as by restricted and repetitive behaviors. Incidence of autism is higher than earlier estimates, and treatments have limited efficacy and are costly. Limited clinical and experimental evidence suggest that patients with autism may benefit from electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). We examined the therapeutic potential of ECT in BTBR T+ tf/j mice, which represent a validated model of autism. A series of 13 electroconvulsive shocks (ECS) delivered twice a day over 7 days reversed core autism-like behavioral abnormalities-impaired sociability, social novelty, and repetitive behavior-when the animals were tested 24 h after the last ECS. The effect lasted up to 2 weeks after ECT. Neither single ECS nor a series of 6 ECS modified animals' behavior. Chronic infusion into the lateral brain ventricle of a preferential oxytocin receptor blocker (2S)-2-Amino--(methylsulfonyl)butanamide hydrochloride abolished ECTinduced improvement of sociability and mitigated improvement of social novelty but did not affect ECT-induced reversal of repetitive behavior. These proof-of-principle experiments suggest that ECT may, indeed, be useful in the treatment of autism, and that its therapeutic effects may be mediated, in part, by central oxytocin signaling.

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Prosocial effects of oxytocin and clinical evidence for its therapeutic potential

Cited by 265 publications

References 214 publications

Oxytocin facilitates protective responses to aversive social stimuli in males

Oxytocin facilitates protective responses to aversive social stimuli in males

Opposing Oxytocin Effects on Intergroup Cooperative Behavior in Intuitive and Reflective Minds

Autism-Like Behavior in BTBR Mice Is Improved by Electroconvulsive Therapy

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