The interaction between the oxytocin and pain modulation in headache patients

Oxytocin-induced membrane hyperpolarization in pain-sensitive dorsal root ganglia neurons mediated by Ca2+/nNOS/NO/KATP pathway

“…However, there is a significant increase in plasma OT in the second stage of labor (from 2.0 ± 0.2 to 7.6 ± 2.0 pmol/L) (Leake et al, 1981;Yuen et al, 2014). In addition, the plasma OT levels increase by about two times during breast stimulation of lactating women (Leake et al, 1983), sexual arousal in both women and men (Carmichael et al, 1987), or headache in patients (Wang et al, 2013).…”

Oxytocin - A Multifunctional Analgesic for Chronic Deep Tissue Pain

“…As a general rule, both OXY and OXTR expression is higher in females at all CNS sites and can be strongly influenced by steroid hormones [76]. Oxytocinergic neurons in the PVN are activated by noxious deep tissue (visceral) stimuli as determined by c-fos expression [80,81]. …”

“…Further, the exogenous administration of OXY seems to decrease pain sensitivity. At the time this review was written, to the best of our knowledge there were five existing studies that examined endogenous OXY concentrations in blood plasma [82–86], seven studies that administered exogenous OXY an compared it to placebo [80, 86–91] and a single case study of OXY administered exogenously for the management of intractable cancer pain [92]. …”

“…In an early study that incorporated the inhalation of low doses of OXY (i.e., intranasal administration), a group of pain-free individuals who randomly received inhaled OXY reported significantly less finger prick pain compared to the group that inhaled a placebo agent [90]. Likewise, a more recent study found that the intranasal administration of OXY was significantly related, in a dose-dependent manner, to reports of decreased headache frequency and pain severity in a sample of individuals with chronic migraine [80]. Administration of OXY has also been shown to decrease pain in healthy adults, such that OXY applied intranasally resulted in increased pain thresholds for a noxious cold water stimulus when compared to placebo [91].…”

The moderating role of attachment insecurities in the association between social and physical pain

“…Acetaminophen, a widely used physical pain suppressant (e.g., Anderson, 2008), also reduces college students' feelings of social pain (DeWall et al, 2010). Moreover, recent findings have shown that oxytocin, a neuropeptide associated with the reduction of physical pain (Wang et al, 2013), reduces undergraduates' cortisol levels following social exclusion (Linnen, Ellenbogen, Cardoso, & Joober, 2012).…”