| 1. |
- Cortes, Diana S., et al.
(författare)
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Mixed support for a causal link between single dose intranasal oxytocin and spiritual experiences: opposing effects depending on individual proclivities for absorption
- 2018
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Ingår i: Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1749-5016 .- 1749-5024. ; 13:9, s. 921-932
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Intranasal oxytocin (OT) has previously been found to increase spirituality, an effect moderated by OT-related genotypes. This pre-registered study sought to conceptually replicate and extend those findings. Using a single dose of intranasal OT vs placebo (PL), we investigated experimental treatment effects, and moderation by OT-related genotypes on spirituality, mystical experiences, and the sensed presence of a sentient being. A more exploratory aim was to test for interactions between treatment and the personality disposition absorption on these spirituality-related outcomes. A priming plus sensory deprivation procedure that has facilitated spiritual experiences in previous studies was used. The sample (N = 116) contained both sexes and was drawn from a relatively secular context. Results failed to conceptually replicate both the main effects of treatment and the treatment by genotype interactions on spirituality. Similarly, there were no such effects on mystical experiences or sensed presence. However, the data suggested an interaction between treatment and absorption. Relative to PL, OT seemed to enhance spiritual experiences in participants scoring low in absorption and dampen spirituality in participants scoring high in absorption.
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| 2. |
- Hovey, Daniel, et al.
(författare)
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Emotion recognition associated with polymorphism in oxytocinergic pathway gene ARNT2
- 2018
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Ingår i: Social Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1749-5024 .- 1749-5016. ; 13:2, s. 173-181
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ability to correctly understand the emotional expression of another person is essential for social relationships and appears to be a partly inherited trait. The neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin have been shown to influence this ability as well as face processing in humans. Here, recognition of the emotional content of faces and voices, separately and combined, was investigated in 492 subjects, genotyped for 25 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in eight genes encoding proteins important for oxytocin and vasopressin neurotransmission. The SNP rs4778599 in the gene encoding aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator 2 (ARNT2), a transcription factor that participates in the development of hypothalamic oxytocin and vasopressin neurons, showed an association that survived correction for multiple testing with emotion recognition of audio-visual stimuli in women (). This study demonstrates evidence for an association that further expands previous findings of oxytocin and vasopressin involvement in emotion recognition.
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| 3. |
- Hovey, Daniel
(författare)
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On oxytocin and social behavior
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Complex social cognitive processes underlie social behavior. Oxytocin has long been recognized as crucial in social behavior in animals, but its role in regulating human social cognition and behavior is less clear, particularly with regard to endogenous oxytocin. The aims of this thesis were to investigate (i) how endogenous oxytocin affects face and emotion recognition in humans, (ii) how it may modulate social impairments in autism spectrum disorder and antisocial behavior, (iii) how exogenous (intranasal) oxytocin may influence the salience of human faces, and finally (iv) the role of endogenous oxytocin in zebrafish social behavior. We investigated endogenous oxytocin by studying genetic variation in oxytocin-related genes, and found that oxytocin influences social cognition in humans, specifically via modulation of face recognition (Paper I) and via modulation of emotion recognition in women (Paper II). In addition, we found tentative associations between variation in oxytocin-related genes and autistic-like traits in the general population (Paper III), and showed that variation in the oxytocin receptor gene is associated with antisocial behavior in men (Paper IV). We also showed that exogenous (intranasal) oxytocin acts to increase the salience of human faces (Paper V), a mechanism that may underlie its behavioral effects. Finally, we demonstrated that an oxytocin receptor antagonist decreases social preference in adult and larval zebrafish (Paper VI). In conclusion, this thesis confirms the importance of endogenous oxytocin for social cognition in humans, and demonstrates one mechanism by which exogenous oxytocin may act. Furthermore, we established an animal model for future research on the oxytocin system.
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