Oxytocin attenuates social and non-social avoidance: Re-thinking the social specificity of Oxytocin

Harari-Dahan, Osnat; Bernstein, Amit

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.04.005

Cited by 18 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…In a previous study that examined the effects of intranasal OT on human AA behavior, OT was found to accelerate both approach and avoidance behavior towards emotionally negative stimuli such as disgusted faces ( Theodoridou et al, 2013 ; Harari-Dahan and Bernstein, 2017 ). Using similar paradigms, OT also facilitated approach towards angry faces with a direct gaze ( Radke et al, 2013 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oxytocin Facilitates Approach Behavior to Positive Social Stimuli via Decreasing Anterior Insula Activity

Yao

Zhao

Geng

et al. 2018

International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology

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BackgroundThe neuropeptide oxytocin can extensively modulate human social behavior and affective processing, and its effects can be interpreted in terms of mediating approach-avoidance motivational processes. However, little is known about how oxytocin mediates approach-avoidance behavior and particularly the underlying neural mechanisms.MethodsIn a randomized, double-blind, between-subject design, the present pharmaco-fMRI study used an approach-avoidance paradigm to investigate oxytocin’s effects on approach-avoidance behavior and associated neural mechanisms.ResultsResults revealed that oxytocin generally decreased activity in the right striatum irrespective of response (approach/avoidance) and social context, suggesting an inhibitory effect on motivational representation during both appetitive approach and aversive avoidance. Importantly, while on the behavioral level oxytocin selectively enhanced accuracy when approaching social positive stimuli, on the neural level it decreased left ventral and right dorsal anterior insula activity in response to social vs nonsocial positive stimuli compared with the placebo treatment. The left ventral anterior insula activity was negatively correlated with the corresponding accuracy difference scores in the oxytocin but not in the placebo group.ConclusionGiven the role of the ventral anterior insula in emotional processing and the dorsal anterior insula in salience processing, the oxytocin-induced suppression of activity in these regions may indicate that oxytocin is acting to reduce interference from hyper-activity in core regions of the emotional and salience networks when approaching salient positive social stimuli and thereby to promote social interaction. Thus, oxytocin may be of potential therapeutic benefit for psychiatric disorders exhibiting avoidance of social stimuli.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oxytocin Facilitates Approach Behavior to Positive Social Stimuli via Decreasing Anterior Insula Activity

Yao

Zhao

Geng

et al. 2018

International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology

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show abstract

“…These terms are now typically disregarded in the scientific literature [12], and oxytocin is generally considered to be a hormone that is involved in both prosocial and non-prosocial cognitive processes and behavior. However, this 'social' description has been disputed, and research demonstrates that oxytocin also modulates non-social cognition [13,14].…”

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confidence: 99%

An Allostatic Theory of Oxytocin

Quintana

Guastella

2020

Trends in Cognitive Sciences

159

104

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“…Other methods established to examine social avoidance in humans include go/no-go and social incentive delay tasks, often operationalized by implementing social or monetary rewards and the avoidance of punishment [18][19][20]. Harari-Dahan and Bernstein [21] utilized the Key-Presses Task [22], which allows participants to shorten or extend the viewing time of a given stimulus, thereby enabling subsequent examination of avoidance behavior. In a synopsis of the animal to human translational paradigms relevant for approach-avoidance conflict decision making, Kirlic, Young, and Aupperle [23] highlight two classes of tasks that probe social approach-avoidance conflicts: (1) social trust games involving monetary incentives by which levels of trust and cooperation with other players are assessed and (2) eye gaze tasks, given that the attentive focus on other facial expressions is crucial for enabling social interactions.…”

Section: Social Avoidance In the Healthy Human Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A genetic study associated genetic variants of the oxytocin gene with adolescent social anxiety symptoms and an epigenetic study revealed that, in SAD patients, reduced methylation of the oxytocin receptor (OXT-R) gene was related to increased symptom severity and to an elevated HPA axis response to social stress [99]. Nasal administration of oxytocin has been found to increase the social approach and decrease avoidance [21,[102][103][104], most likely by its inhibition of the amygdala [93,105,106]. It further counteracted SAD-associated alterations in the functional connectivity of various brain regions [96,107,108].…”

Section: Oxytocinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular and neurocircuitry mechanisms of social avoidance

Gellner

Voelter

Schmidt

et al. 2020

Cell. Mol. Life Sci.

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Humans and animals live in social relationships shaped by actions of approach and avoidance. Both are crucial for normal physical and mental development, survival, and well-being. Active withdrawal from social interaction is often induced by the perception of threat or unpleasant social experience and relies on adaptive mechanisms within neuronal networks associated with social behavior. In case of confrontation with overly strong or persistent stressors and/or dispositions of the affected individual, maladaptive processes in the neuronal circuitries and its associated transmitters and modulators lead to pathological social avoidance. This review focuses on active, fear-driven social avoidance, affected circuits within the mesocorticolimbic system and associated regions and a selection of molecular modulators that promise translational potential. A comprehensive review of human research in this field is followed by a reflection on animal studies that offer a broader and often more detailed range of analytical methodologies. Finally, we take a critical look at challenges that could be addressed in future translational research on fear-driven social avoidance.

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Oxytocin attenuates social and non-social avoidance: Re-thinking the social specificity of Oxytocin

Cited by 18 publications

References 62 publications

Oxytocin Facilitates Approach Behavior to Positive Social Stimuli via Decreasing Anterior Insula Activity

Oxytocin Facilitates Approach Behavior to Positive Social Stimuli via Decreasing Anterior Insula Activity

An Allostatic Theory of Oxytocin

Molecular and neurocircuitry mechanisms of social avoidance

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