The effects of oxytocin and vasopressin administration on fathers’ neural responses to infant crying: A randomized controlled within-subject study

Witte, Annemieke M.; Riem, Madelon M E; Knaap, Noa van der; Moor, Marleen H. M. de; IJzendoorn, M.H. van; Bakermans‐Kranenburg, Marian J.

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105731

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…In our non-clinical female sample, we found that OT reduced activation in the amygdala and increased activation in the insula and inferior frontal gyrus pars triangularis while listening to infant crying (Riem et al, 2011). The findings were later partly but not completely replicated in fathers with a first-born infant (Witte et al, 2022). Reduced activation in the neural circuitry for anxiety and aversion and increased activation in regions involved in empathy may promote responsiveness to infant crying.…”

Section: Mind Over Mattermentioning

confidence: 62%

“…How about randomised controlled trials manipulating hormonal levels, behaviour, or the brain, testing for their effects on the other domains? In randomised controlled trials manipulating hormones we have demonstrated effects on parenting or parenting-related behaviours in men and women (e.g., Alyousefi-van Dijk et al, 2019;Mah et al, 2017;Naber et al, 2010Naber et al, , 2013Witte et al, 2022) and on brain responses to infant signals (Riem et al, 2010(Riem et al, , 2011Thijssen et al, 2018;Witte et al, 2022).…”

Section: Causal Claims Not Yet Warrantedmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Matters of Significance

2024

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List of figures vii List of tables xi Preface xiii Acknowledgements xv Introduction: attachment theory in a nutshell 1 Part 1: The replication crisis and its remedies 7 1 Power failure in developmental research 9 2 A moratorium on self-reports 21 3 Meta-analyses searching for replicated evidence 33 Part 2: Translation to policy or practice 51 4 Video-feedback intervention (VIPP-SD) promotes sensitive parenting and secure attachment 53 5 Institutionalised child-rearing is structural neglect 63 6 Future generations can be saved from genocidal trauma: the case of the Holocaust 71 7 Jumping from 'is' to 'ought'? 81 Part 3: Busting myths is translation 9 It's all in the genome? 10 Attachment and parenting in the brain and hormones? 11 Is attachment culture specific? 12 Parenting shapes prosocial child development? 13 Is assessing attachment of individual children in applied practice valid? 14 SOS Children's Villages in the best interest of children? 15 Is adoption a modern, unethical in(ter)vention? Part 4: Protecting academic freedom promotes replication and translation 16 Limits to participant, public, and policymaker involvement 17 Caution: personal conflicts of interest 18 Academic freedom in 'safe spaces' Epilogue: replication, translation, and academic freedom Index vii List of figuresPrefaCe xiv need a small and reliable social network of individuals who offer the support they need in times of anxiety, stress, distress, or illness. Last, most children may recover from early issues with attachment (Chapter 14). A drastic change from a detrimental institutional environment to a supportive family environment leads to fast catch-up growth in most developmental domains, including attachment. According to attachment theory safe, stable and shared (Triple S) care is essential for child development.

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Section: Mind Over Mattermentioning

confidence: 62%

Section: Causal Claims Not Yet Warrantedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Matters of Significance

2024

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“…Physical infant contact may facilitate parental responsiveness by the release of hormones such as oxytocin (Feldman et al., 2007, 2010). Previous studies suggest that oxytocin may shape caregiving behavior by enhancing parental reflective functioning (Feeser et al., 2015; Wu et al., 2020), parent‐infant synchrony (Golds et al., 2022; Scatliffe et al., 2019) and altering responsiveness to infant distress signals (Riem et al., 2011; Witte et al., 2022). Further, infant carrying may influence neurobiological systems such as the amygdala (Riem et al., 2021), which are important for the processing of infant cues (Swain, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infant carrying: Associations with parental reflective functioning, parental bonding and parental responses to infant crying

Firk,

Großheinrich

2024

Infant Mental Health Journal

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Infant carrying may have beneficial effects on the parent‐infant relationship but only limited research has been conducted in this area. Therefore, the main aim of the current study was to investigate whether infant carrying is associated with parental reflective functioning, parental bonding, and parental (emotional) and behavioral responses to infant crying, key elements within the parent‐infant relationship, promoting infant development. Parents reporting high levels (N = 389) of infant carrying (six times a week or daily) and parents reporting low levels (N = 128) of infant carrying (less than once a week or not at all) who participated in an online survey about the developing parent‐infant relationship in Germany were included in the present study. Standardized questionnaires were used to assess parental reflective functioning, parental bonding impairments, and emotional responses to infant crying. Further insensitive (non‐responsive and hostile) behaviors in response to infant crying were assessed. Parents with high levels of infant carrying showed better parental reflective functioning, lower parental bonding problems, less negative emotions, and less insensitive behaviors in response to infant crying.

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“…Of all fathers participating in the present study, 57 fathers were administered a placebo nasal spray as part of a randomized doubleblind, placebo-controlled within-subject experiment testing the effects of oxytocin and vasopressin on fathers' neural reactivity to infant signals. 28 These fathers participated in three experimental conditions (oxytocin, vasopressin, and placebo) in counterbalanced order, with intervening periods of one to 2 weeks. The fMRI sessions took place at the Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Exclusion criteria included nonremovable metallic parts in their body, claustrophobia, self-reported neurological, neuroendocrine and psychiatric disorders, use of psychoactive medication, and alcohol/substance abuse. Fathers were participants of two substudies, 27,28 but not all fathers were eligible to undergo a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan (N = 10) and a few fathers withdrew or canceled fMRI participation (N = 5). Data of five participants were lost because of technical problems, and data of seven participants were missing because we had to temporarily stop our data collection process due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental protection in fathers with negative caregiving experiences: Heightened amygdala reactivity to infant threatening situations

Riem

Witte

Lotz

et al. 2023

J Neuroendocrinology

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Parental protection is an important, yet understudied, aspect of parenting behavior. Predictors of the quality of protection and potential underlying neural mechanisms are still unknown. In this study, we examined whether negative caregiving experiences in fathers’ own childhood are related to protective behavior and neural reactivity to infant threatening situations. Paternal protective behavior was measured with self‐ and partner‐reported protective behavior and behavioral observations in an experimental set‐up (auditory startling task) in 121 first‐time fathers (mean age child = 19.35 weeks, SD = 11.27). Neural activation during exposure to videos of infant‐threatening (vs. neutral) situations was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We found a significant and positive association between negative caregiving experiences and amygdala reactivity to infant‐threatening situations. A history of negative caregiving experiences was not significantly related to reported or observed paternal protective behavior. Our findings suggest that fathers with negative caregiving experiences show emotional hyperreactivity to cues of infant threat.

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The effects of oxytocin and vasopressin administration on fathers’ neural responses to infant crying: A randomized controlled within-subject study

Cited by 9 publications

References 76 publications

Matters of Significance

Matters of Significance

Infant carrying: Associations with parental reflective functioning, parental bonding and parental responses to infant crying

Parental protection in fathers with negative caregiving experiences: Heightened amygdala reactivity to infant threatening situations

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