Cerebrospinal fluid oxytocin, life history of aggression, and personality disorder

Background: Data from animal studies have identified oxytocin as an important modulator of social aggression. We have previously reported on a relationship between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of vasopressin and life history of aggressive behavior, a finding that is consistent with animal data. We hypothesized that CSF Oxytocin levels would be inversely related to dimensional measures of lifetime aggression. Methods: Lumbar CSF for morning basal levels of oxytocin was obtained from 58 consenting subjects with and without DSM-IV personality disorders. Aggression was assessed dimensionally using an interview instrument (Life History of Aggression (LHA)). The primary analysis was conducted using a linear regression model predicting variance in CSF Oxytocin concentration, including the predictors of LHA score, Sex, Height, and the presence or absence of personality disorder. Results: The model predicting variance in CSF Oxytocin concentration including LHA score was statistically significant, after removal of a single multivariate outlier. Inclusion of the outlier resulted in a most likely spurious interaction between Sex and LHA score. Presence or absence of personality disorder was not associated with variance in CSF Oxytocin levels. Exploratory analyses revealed a possible inverse relationship between CSF Oxytocin level and history of suicidal behavior. Conclusions: As hypothesized, CSF Oxytocin levels were inversely correlated with life history of aggression. This represents the first such report of a relationship between oxytocin levels and aggression. The correlational, cross-sectional study design precludes causal inferences, but the data are consistent with the known effects of oxytocin on aggressive behavior in animals. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.