When Does Oxytocin Affect Human Memory Encoding? The Role of Social Context and Individual Attachment Style

Abstract

The neuropeptide oxytocin plays an essential role in regulating social behavior and has been implicated in a variety of human cognitive processes in the social domain, including memory processes. The present study investigates the influence of oxytocin on human memory encoding, taking into account social context and personality, which have previously been neglected as moderators for how oxytocin affects memory encoding. To examine the role of social context of encoding, we employed an established experimental paradigm in which participants perform a word-categorization task in either a joint (social) or individual (non-social) setting. To investigate the role of socially relevant personality factors, participants’ adult attachment style (AAS) was assessed. Previous research has identified attachment style as a potent moderator of oxytocin effects in the social-cognitive domain, but here we investigated for the first time its role in memory encoding. Participants were invited in pairs and received either placebo or oxytocin intranasally. Forty-five minutes later, they were instructed to react to different word categories within a list of successively presented words. This task was performed individually in the non-social condition and simultaneously with the partner in the social condition. After a 24-h delay, memory for all words was tested individually in a surprise recognition memory test. Oxytocin effects on memory accuracy depended on participants’ AAS. Specifically, oxytocin positively affected memory for participants who scored low on attachment dependence (who find dependence on others uncomfortable), but negatively affected memory for high scorers (who are comfortable depending on others). Oxytocin effects were not moderated by social vs. non-social context at encoding, and we discuss reasons for this outcome. Regardless of encoding condition or personality, oxytocin led to more liberal responding in the recognition memory test, which was also reflected in significantly higher false alarm rates (FARs) and a trend towards higher hit rates (HRs) compared to placebo. Overall, our results are consistent with an interactionist view on oxytocin effects on human cognitive functioning. Future research should further examine how oxytocin affects response biases via previous encoding and the ways in which biological dispositions linked to attachment style affect the process of memory encoding.

The Type of Fat in the Diet Influences the Behavior and the Relationship Between Cystinyl and Alanyl Aminopeptidase Activities in Frontal Cortex, Liver, and Plasma

“…Polyunsaturated fatty acids enriched diet has been proposed to improve cognitive functions (Chalon et al, 2001). Enkephalins (Henry et al, 2017), and oxytocin (Wagner and Echterhoff, 2018) were also reported as cognitive improving neuropeptides. If a diet enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids results in reduced levels of enkephalinase and oxytocinase activities in comparison with other diets, both neuropeptides may prolong their beneficial effects in frontal cortex.…”

On the Possibility to Use Oxytocin as A Potential Therapeutic Approach for Memory-Related Psychological Disorders

“…In the social behavior, memory helps individuals to maintain relevant information in different social situations, and, consequently, adapt to social interactions in the future. Therefore, if oxytocin plays a significant role in human social cognition, it will also affect the encoding of new information [16]. These findings convey the feasibility of using oxytocin as a memory enhancer and potential treatment for memory-related disorder, such as amnesia, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, mild cognitive impairment and so on.…”

Links Between the Neurobiology of Oxytocin and Human Musicality

“…Overall, variation in the effects of administered oxytocin is linked to: (i) gender differences; (ii) whether individuals possess intrinsic pro- or antisocial personality traits—sometimes related to polymorphisms in, or the methylation state of, OXTR; (iii) early environmental experience; and/or (iv) the social cues and psychological context when testing is undertaken (e.g., Guastella and MacLeod, 2012 ; Evans et al, 2014 ; Nishina et al, 2015 ; Chen et al, 2016 ; Feldman et al, 2016 ; Lambert et al, 2017 ; Aydogan et al, 2018 ; de Jong and Neumann, 2018 ; Wagner and Echterhoff, 2018 ; Fragkaki and Cima, 2019 ; Gedeon et al, 2019 ; Liu et al, 2019 ; Sicorello et al, 2020 ). As mentioned earlier, oxytocin and AVP can activate each other’s receptors, although the differential distribution of fibers and receptors may limit crosstalk (Rogers et al, 2018 ; Song and Albers, 2018 ).…”