Oxytocin Modulates Neural Reactivity to Children's Faces as a Function of Social Salience

Abstract

Oxytocin (OT) enhances social behaviors such as attachment and parental caretaking. Neural correlates of maternal attachment are found in reward-related brain regions, for example, in the globus pallidus (GP). The present work investigates the effects of OT on the neural correlates of parental attachment. Fathers viewed pictures of their own child (oC), a familiar child (fC), and an unfamiliar child (uC) after intranasal application of OT vs placebo. OT reduced activation and functional connectivity of the left GP with reward- and attachment-related regions responsive to pictures of the oC and the uC. The present results emphasize the key role of OT in human parental attachment and suggest that OT reduces neural reactivity to social cues as a function of social salience. Our results together with previous findings speak to a selective reduction of neural reactivity to social stimuli, irrespective of their valence. We argue that one major pathway by which OT exerts its positive effects on affiliative and social behaviors is the attenuation of automatic neural responses, which in turn leads to increased approach behaviors and decreased social avoidance.

Natural variation in maternal sensitivity is reflected in maternal brain responses to infant stimuli.

“…This is consistent with previous findings using baby cry and visual stimuli (Atzil et al, 2012;Ho et al, 2014;Kim et al, 2011;Phelps, 2004;Swain et al, 2008;Wittfoth-Schardt et al, 2012). …”

Neurophysiological effects of acute oxytocin administration: systematic review and meta-analysis of placebo-controlled imaging studies

“…25 We examined 6 studies addressing the reward system after OXT administration. 23,25,30,32,35,39 We found that OXT administration has an effect over reward-related learning in that it seems to increase activation associated with reward-related learning in the caudate while decreasing learning effects. It has a similar influence on activation in the putamen, but is specific to learning during social interactions.…”

“…23,25,30,32,35,39 The basal ganglia are important areas for reward processing in the brain and comprise the GP, 32 47 and play an important role in rewardbased learning by interpreting actions and their corresponding outcomes to make future decisions.…”

“…Four studies have addressed the role of the caudate after OXT administration. 23,32,35,39 The correlation between action and outcome in terms of action contingency appears to be activated exclusively within the left caudate, and activation correlates with prediction error during instrumental conditioning. 52,53 On the other hand, bilateral activation of the caudate is observed in games involving trust where increased activity was related to an "intention to trust."…”

“…49 The caudate is also of interest in other studies incorporating the processing of social stimuli, such as novel and familiar faces. A study by Wittfoth-Schardt and colleagues 39 involved a father viewing pictures of his own child, a familiar child and an unfamiliar child after being administered OXT. They reported that ‡Excluded from analysis other than that of the amygdala because no direction of effects were reported.…”