Oxytocin

Carter, C. Sue; Pournajafi-Nazarloo, Hossein; Kramer, Kristin M.; Ziegler, Toni E.; White‐Traut, Rosemary; Bello, Deborah; Schwertz, Dorie W.

doi:10.1196/annals.1384.006

Cited by 281 publications

(295 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(52 reference statements)

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“…As oxytocin (OT) is involved with attachment processes and social behaviour, it was hypothesised that OT release is higher during REM than during NREM sleep. Contrary to this hypothesis, however, is the argument that, as the posterior pituitary is presumed to be the primary source of salivary OT (Carter et al 2007), and as REM sleep in humans begins during decreased secretory activity of the anterior pituitary (Follenius et al 1988), it might be expected that OT release is lower during REM than during NREM sleep (although there are differences in secretory processes between anterior and posterior hypothalamus).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Association of salivary-assessed oxytocin and cortisol levels with time of night and sleep stage

et al. 2012

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There have been proposals for REM to have a function of emotional memory consolidation, and also for REM sleep to be involved in the promotion of attachment behaviour. The hormones cortisol and oxytocin, respectively, may be involved in these proposed REM sleep functions. However, there are conflicting reports on whether levels of cortisol differ between sleep stages when time since sleep onset (SSO) is controlled, and virtually no literature on whether levels of oxytocin differ between sleep stages. This study thus investigated the changes in levels of oxytocin (OT) and cortisol (CT) across the night, and whether these levels differ between REM and N2 sleep when time SSO is controlled. 20 participants (10 males, 10 females, mean age = 20.45, SD = 2.01) were awakened 10 min into REM and N2 sleep periods in the sleep laboratory and gave saliva samples which were assayed for OT and CT. Levels of OT were relatively constant across the night, whereas CT increased significantly. REM and N2 did not differ significantly neither for OT nor for CT. The study has implications for models of sleep-dependent memory consolidation that incorporate the late sleep increase in cortisol as a functional component of memory consolidation, and also for the medical diagnostic assaying of OT during sleep.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Association of salivary-assessed oxytocin and cortisol levels with time of night and sleep stage

et al. 2012

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“…Besides its effects in social bonding and affiliation in mammals (Lim and Young, 2006), peripheral OT is involved in female reproduction (labor and milk letdown: Blanks and Thornton, 2003;Uvnäs-Moberg et al, 2001) and anxiety reduction (Olff et al, 2013). A broadening body of evidence indicates that these central and peripheral OT pathways can be coordinated (Carson et al, 2014;Carter et al, 2007;O'Byrne et al, 1990;Ross and Young, 2009;Wotjak et al, 1998) and may exert crosslinked effects (Ayers et al, 2011;Madden and Clutton-Brock, 2011;Witt et al, 1990). Other studies indicate independent control mechanisms of central and peripheral OT secretion (Amico et al, 1990;Rosenblum et al, 2002;Seckl and Lightman, 1987).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Oxytocin is associated with infant-care behavior and motivation in cooperatively breeding marmoset monkeys

Finkenwirth

Martins

Deschner

et al. 2016

Hormones and Behavior

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The neurohormone oxytocin (OT) is positively involved in the regulation of parenting and social bonding in mammals, and may thus also be important for the mediation of alloparental care. In cooperatively breeding marmosets, infants are raised in teamwork by parents and adult and subadult non-reproductive helpers (usually older siblings). Despite high intrinsic motivation, which may be mediated by hormonal priming, not all individuals are always equally able to contribute to infant-care due to competition among care-takers. Among the various care-taking behaviors, proactive food sharing may reflect motivational levels best, since it can be performed ad libitum by several individuals even if competition among surplus care-takers constrains access to infants. Our aim was to study the link between urinary OT levels and care-taking behaviors in group-living marmosets, while taking affiliation with other adults and infant age into account. Over eight reproductive cycles, 26 individuals were monitored for urinary baseline OT, care-taking behaviors (baby-licking, -grooming, -carrying, and proactive food sharing), and adult-directed affiliation. Mean OT levels were generally highest in female breeders and OT increased significantly in all individuals after birth. During early infancy, high urinary OT levels were associated with increased infant-licking but low levels of adult-affiliation, and during late infancy, with increased proactive food sharing. Our results show that, in marmoset parents and alloparents, OT is positively involved in the regulation of care-taking, thereby reflecting the changing needs during infant development. This particularly included behaviors that are more likely to reflect intrinsic care motivation, suggesting a positive link between OT and motivational regulation of infant-care. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Email: christa.finkenwirth@uzh.ch A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT AbstractThe neurohormone oxytocin (OT) is positively involved in the regulation of parenting and social bonding in mammals, and may thus also be important for the mediation of alloparental care. In cooperatively breeding marmosets, infants are raised in teamwork by parents and adult and subadult non-reproductive helpers (usually older siblings). Despite high intrinsic motivation, which may be mediated by hormonal priming, not all individuals are always equally able to contribute to infant-care due to competition among care-takers. Among the various care-taking behaviors, proactive food sharing may reflect motivational levels best, since it can be performed ad libi...

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“…Christensen et al and Ebstein et al [14,15] reported serious problems in the different published OXT levels in studies utilizing the OXT immunoassay kit from ENZO Life Science [16]. OXT levels were very high without use of the extraction protocol as recommended in the manufacturer's instructions for the OXT immunoassay kit (ENZO Life Science) [14,15].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, we suggest that the development of a high sensitivity and specificity assay that does not require an extraction protocol for OXT will be very important in OXT research as a biomarker of psychiatric disorders for ASD etc. [16]. Furthermore, many studies of OXT as a biomarker have reported to social recognition and memory [17], romantic love, trust, and fear in humans [18], and mind-reading in humans [19].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Cohort Study of the Level of Plasma Oxytocin associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Japanese Males, Females and Pregnant Females

Sano¹,

Watanabe²

2016

Clin Med Biochemistry Open Access

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Oxytocin (OXT), which is a nonapeptide hormone with amidation of the C-terminal carboxyl and an internal disulfide bridge between two cysteines, is secreted mainly from the posterior pituitary gland. Recently, OXT was shown to play important key roles in social interactions and social behavior. Specifically, a series of studies investigated the relationship between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and OXT. Few large-scale research reports have been published on plasma OXT levels in Japanese individuals. Investigation of a possible association between ASD and plasma OXT levels will be valuable for OXT research. Here, we measured plasma OXT levels in about 200 pregnant Japanese females during early gestation, the second trimester of pregnancy, the last trimester of pregnancy, and in the funiculus umbilical is shortly after delivery utilizing an OXT enzyme immunoassay kit. As a results, the average plasma OXT levels of 11 Japanese males 22-65 years old and 11 non-pregnant females 23-59 years old were 31.7 ± 10.2 and 25.3 ± 6.1 pg/mL, respectively. Moreover, OXT levels in plasma in early gestation, the second trimester of pregnancy, the last trimester of pregnancy, and the funiculus umbilicalis were 27.88 ± 10.88 (n=43), 33.06 ± 16.06 (n=111), 42.97 ± 35.96 (n=91) and 34.66 ± 22.42 pg/mL (n=130), respectively. Little information regarding plasma OXT levels among the Japanese population is available. We suggest that these results may be valuable on a broad scale in prospective cohorts when examining an association between the mother and the formative influence on her child with ASD, after conducting a follow-up determination of OXT levels in Japanese individuals.

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Oxytocin

Cited by 281 publications

References 25 publications

Association of salivary-assessed oxytocin and cortisol levels with time of night and sleep stage

Association of salivary-assessed oxytocin and cortisol levels with time of night and sleep stage

Oxytocin is associated with infant-care behavior and motivation in cooperatively breeding marmoset monkeys

A Cohort Study of the Level of Plasma Oxytocin associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Japanese Males, Females and Pregnant Females

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