Journal
BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY-COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING
Volume 3, Issue 7, Pages 618-625Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2017.10.003
Keywords
Amygdala; Anxiolysis; fMRI; Oxytocin; Plasma oxytocin; Structural MRI
Categories
Funding
- University of Virginia [1228522]
- National Science Foundation [1228522]
- Fetzer Institute [3335]
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie
- Division Of Behavioral and Cognitive Sci [1228522] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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BACKGROUND: Oxytocin is anxiolytic, and administration of synthetic oxytocin in humans reduces amygdala reactivity to negative stimuli. However, it is unknown whether endogenous oxytocin levels-which are heritable and stable across time-attenuate anxiety via similar mechanisms. METHODS: In this study, we used plasma assays and structural and functional neuroimaging to examine potential anxiolytic effects of endogenous oxytocin in 73 participants. RESULTS: We found that higher endogenous oxytocin levels are associated with reduced central amygdala volume and blood oxygen level-dependent activity in response to aversive stimuli. In contrast to previous reports, we found that oxytocin was not related to patterns of functional connectivity between the amygdala and other brain regions. CONCLUSIONS: Together, our results underscore the importance of considering individual differences in participants' endogenous oxytocin with respect to anxiety-related neural activity and neuromorphology.
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