Dataset Information

Effects of intranasal oxytocin and vasopressin on cooperative behavior and associated brain activity in men.

ABSTRACT: The neural mechanisms supporting social bonds between adult men remain uncertain. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we investigate the impact of intranasally administered oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP) on behavior and brain activity among men in the context of an iterated Prisoner's Dilemma game, which models a real-life social situation. fMRI results show that, relative to both AVP and placebo, OT increases the caudate nucleus response to reciprocated cooperation, which may augment the reward of reciprocated cooperation and/or facilitate learning that another person can be trusted. OT also enhances left amygdala activation in response to reciprocated cooperation. Behaviorally, OT was associated with increased rates of cooperation following unreciprocated cooperation in the previous round compared with AVP. AVP strongly increased cooperation in response to a cooperative gesture by the partner compared with both placebo and OT. In response to reciprocated cooperation, AVP increased activation in a region spanning known vasopressin circuitry implicated in affiliative behaviors in other species. Finally, both OT and AVP increase amygdala functional connectivity with the anterior insula relative to placebo, which may increase the amygdala's ability to elicit visceral somatic markers that guide decision making. These findings extend our knowledge of the neural and behavioral effects of OT and AVP to the context of genuine social interactions.

SUBMITTER: Rilling JK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3251702 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Effects of intranasal oxytocin and vasopressin on cooperative behavior and associated brain activity in men.

Rilling James K JK DeMarco Ashley C AC Hackett Patrick D PD Thompson Richmond R Ditzen Beate B Patel Rajan R Pagnoni Giuseppe G

Psychoneuroendocrinology 20110812 4

The neural mechanisms supporting social bonds between adult men remain uncertain. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we investigate the impact of intranasally administered oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP) on behavior and brain activity among men in the context of an iterated Prisoner's Dilemma game, which models a real-life social situation. fMRI results show that, relative to both AVP and placebo, OT increases the caudate nucleus response to reciprocated cooperation, which may a ...[more]

PMID: 21840129

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Project description:Recent studies support the hypothesis that the adverse effects of early-life adversity and transgenerational stress on neural plasticity and behavior are mediated by inflammation. The objective of the present study was to investigate the immune and behavioral programing effects of intranasal (IN) vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OXT) treatment of chronic social stress (CSS)-exposed F1 dams on F2 juvenile female offspring. It was hypothesized that maternal AVP and OXT treatment would have preventative effects on social stress-induced deficits in offspring anxiety and social behavior and that these effects would be associated with changes in interferon-? (IFN?). Control and CSS-exposed F1 dams were administered IN saline, AVP, or OXT during lactation and the F2 juvenile female offspring were assessed for basal plasma IFN? and perseverative, anxiety, and social behavior. CSS F2 female juvenile offspring had elevated IFN? levels and exhibited increased repetitive/perseverative and anxiety behaviors and deficits in social behavior. These effects were modulated by AVP and OXT in a context- and behavior-dependent manner, with OXT exhibiting preventative effects on repetitive and anxiety behaviors and AVP possessing preventative effects on social behavior deficits and anxiety. Basal IFN? levels were elevated in the F2 offspring of OXT-treated F1 dams, but IFN? was not correlated with the behavioral effects. These results support the hypothesis that maternal AVP and OXT treatment have context- and behavior-specific effects on peripheral IFN? levels and perseverative, anxiety, and social behaviors in the female offspring of early-life social stress-exposed dams. Both maternal AVP and OXT are effective at preventing social stress-induced increases in self-directed measures of anxiety, and AVP is particularly effective at preventing impairments in overall social contact. OXT is specifically effective at preventing repetitive/perseverative behaviors, yet is ineffective at preventing deficits in overall social behavior.

Dataset Information

Effects of intranasal oxytocin and vasopressin on cooperative behavior and associated brain activity in men.

Publications

Effects of intranasal oxytocin and vasopressin on cooperative behavior and associated brain activity in men.

Similar Datasets

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