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De Dreu CKW, Kret ME. Oxytocin Conditions Intergroup Relations Through Upregulated In-Group Empathy, Cooperation, Conformity, and Defense. Biol Psychiatry 2016; 79:165-73. [PMID: 25908497 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.03.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 160] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2015] [Revised: 03/06/2015] [Accepted: 03/21/2015] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Humans live in, rely on, and contribute to groups. Evolution may have biologically prepared them to quickly identify others as belonging to the in-group (vs. not), to decode emotional states, and to empathize with in-group members; to learn and conform to group norms and cultural practices; to extend and reciprocate trust and cooperation; and to aggressively protect the in-group against outside threat. We review evidence that these components of human group psychology rest on and are modulated by the hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin. It appears that oxytocin motivates and enables humans to 1) like and empathize with others in their groups, 2) comply with group norms and cultural practices, and 3) extend and reciprocate trust and cooperation, which may give rise to intergroup discrimination and sometimes defensive aggression against threatening (members of) out-groups. We explore the possibility that deficiencies in (components of) group psychology, seen in autistic spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, and borderline personality and social anxiety disorders, may be reduced by oxytocin administration. Avenues for new research are highlighted, and implications for the role of oxytocin in cooperation and competition within and between groups are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carsten K W De Dreu
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.; Center for Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.; Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands..
| | - Mariska E Kret
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.; Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Peñagarikano O, Lázaro MT, Lu XH, Gordon A, Dong H, Lam HA, Peles E, Maidment NT, Murphy NP, Yang XW, Golshani P, Geschwind DH. Exogenous and evoked oxytocin restores social behavior in the Cntnap2 mouse model of autism. Sci Transl Med 2015; 7:271ra8. [PMID: 25609168 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3010257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 263] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Mouse models of neuropsychiatric diseases provide a platform for mechanistic understanding and development of new therapies. We previously demonstrated that knockout of the mouse homolog of CNTNAP2 (contactin-associated protein-like 2), in which mutations cause cortical dysplasia and focal epilepsy (CDFE) syndrome, displays many features that parallel those of the human disorder. Because CDFE has high penetrance for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we performed an in vivo screen for drugs that ameliorate abnormal social behavior in Cntnap2 mutant mice and found that acute administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin improved social deficits. We found a decrease in the number of oxytocin immunoreactive neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus in mutant mice and an overall decrease in brain oxytocin levels. Administration of a selective melanocortin receptor 4 agonist, which causes endogenous oxytocin release, also acutely rescued the social deficits, an effect blocked by an oxytocin antagonist. We confirmed that oxytocin neurons mediated the behavioral improvement by activating endogenous oxytocin neurons in the paraventricular hypothalamus with Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADD). Last, we showed that chronic early postnatal treatment with oxytocin led to more lasting behavioral recovery and restored oxytocin immunoreactivity in the PVN. These data demonstrate dysregulation of the oxytocin system in Cntnap2 knockout mice and suggest that there may be critical developmental windows for optimal treatment to rectify this deficit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Peñagarikano
- Program in Neurogenetics, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. Center for Autism Research and Treatment and Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - María T Lázaro
- Program in Neurogenetics, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Xiao-Hong Lu
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Aaron Gordon
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Hongmei Dong
- Program in Neurogenetics, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Hoa A Lam
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Elior Peles
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Nigel T Maidment
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Niall P Murphy
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - X William Yang
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Peyman Golshani
- Program in Neurogenetics, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90073, USA
| | - Daniel H Geschwind
- Program in Neurogenetics, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. Center for Autism Research and Treatment and Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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Carter GG, Wilkinson GS. Intranasal oxytocin increases social grooming and food sharing in the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus. Horm Behav 2015; 75:150-3. [PMID: 26475061 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2015] [Revised: 09/17/2015] [Accepted: 10/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Intranasal oxytocin (OT) delivery has been used to non-invasively manipulate mammalian cooperative behavior. Such manipulations can potentially provide insight into both shared and species-specific mechanisms underlying cooperation. Vampire bats are remarkable for their high rates of allogrooming and the presence of regurgitated food sharing among adults. We administered intranasal OT to highly familiar captive vampire bats of varying relatedness to test for an effect on allogrooming and food sharing. We found that intranasal OT did not have a detectable effect on food-sharing occurrence, but it did increase the size of regurgitated food donations when controlling for dyad and amount of allogrooming. Intranasal OT in females increased the amount of allogrooming per partner and across all partners per trial, but not the number of partners. We also found that the peak effect of OT treatments occurred 30-50min after administration, which is consistent with the reported latency for intranasal OT to affect relevant brain areas in rats and mice. Our results suggest that intranasal OT is a potential tool for influencing dyadic cooperative investments, but measuring prior social relationships may be necessary to interpret the results of hormonal manipulations of cooperative behavior and it may be difficult to alter partner choice in vampire bats using intranasal OT alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerald G Carter
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
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Abstract
Increasing evidence has shown that oxytocin (OT), a mammalian hormone, modifies the way social stimuli are perceived and the way they affect behavior. Thus, OT may serve as a treatment for psychiatric disorders, many of which are characterized by dysfunctional social behavior. To explore the neural mechanisms mediating the effects of OT in macaque monkeys, we investigated whether OT would modulate functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) responses in face-responsive regions (faces vs. blank screen) evoked by the perception of various facial expressions (neutral, fearful, aggressive, and appeasing). In the placebo condition, we found significantly increased activation for emotional (mainly fearful and appeasing) faces compared with neutral faces across the face-responsive regions. OT selectively, and differentially, altered fMRI responses to emotional expressions, significantly reducing responses to both fearful and aggressive faces in face-responsive regions while leaving responses to appeasing as well as neutral faces unchanged. We also found that OT administration selectively reduced functional coupling between the amygdala and areas in the occipital and inferior temporal cortex during the viewing of fearful and aggressive faces, but not during the viewing of neutral or appeasing faces. Taken together, our results indicate homologies between monkeys and humans in the neural circuits mediating the effects of OT. Thus, the monkey may be an ideal animal model to explore the development of OT-based pharmacological strategies for treating patients with dysfunctional social behavior.
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Nomi JS, Uddin LQ. Face processing in autism spectrum disorders: From brain regions to brain networks. Neuropsychologia 2015; 71:201-16. [PMID: 25829246 PMCID: PMC4506751 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.03.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2014] [Revised: 02/25/2015] [Accepted: 03/27/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by reduced attention to social stimuli including the human face. This hypo-responsiveness to stimuli that are engaging to typically developing individuals may result from dysfunctioning motivation, reward, and attention systems in the brain. Here we review an emerging neuroimaging literature that emphasizes a shift from focusing on hypo-activation of isolated brain regions such as the fusiform gyrus, amygdala, and superior temporal sulcus in ASD to a more holistic approach to understanding face perception as a process supported by distributed cortical and subcortical brain networks. We summarize evidence for atypical activation patterns within brain networks that may contribute to social deficits characteristic of the disorder. We conclude by pointing to gaps in the literature and future directions that will continue to shed light on aspects of face processing in autism that are still under-examined. In particular, we highlight the need for more developmental studies and studies examining ecologically valid and naturalistic social stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason S Nomi
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States.
| | - Lucina Q Uddin
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States; Neuroscience Program, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States.
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Delaveau P, Arzounian D, Rotgé JY, Nadel J, Fossati P. Does imitation act as an oxytocin nebulizer in autism spectrum disorder? Brain 2015; 138:e360. [PMID: 25797892 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awv060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Pauline Delaveau
- 1 Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR S1127, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle, ICM, Social and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, F-75013 Paris, France
| | - Dorothée Arzounian
- 1 Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR S1127, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle, ICM, Social and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, F-75013 Paris, France
| | - Jean-Yves Rotgé
- 1 Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR S1127, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle, ICM, Social and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, F-75013 Paris, France 2 AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, F-75013 Paris, France
| | - Jacqueline Nadel
- 1 Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR S1127, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle, ICM, Social and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, F-75013 Paris, France
| | - Philippe Fossati
- 1 Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR S1127, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle, ICM, Social and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, F-75013 Paris, France 2 AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, F-75013 Paris, France 3 Institut de recherche translationnelle en Neurosciences ICM-A-IHU, Paris, France
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Caria A, de Falco S. Anterior insular cortex regulation in autism spectrum disorders. Front Behav Neurosci 2015; 9:38. [PMID: 25798096 PMCID: PMC4351628 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2014] [Accepted: 02/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) comprise a heterogeneous set of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by dramatic impairments of interpersonal behavior, communication, and empathy. Recent neuroimaging studies suggested that ASD are disorders characterized by widespread abnormalities involving distributed brain network, though clear evidence of differences in large-scale brain network interactions underlying the cognitive and behavioral symptoms of ASD are still lacking. Consistent findings of anterior insula cortex hypoactivation and dysconnectivity during tasks related to emotional and social processing indicates its dysfunctional role in ASD. In parallel, increasing evidence showed that successful control of anterior insula activity can be attained using real-time fMRI paradigms. More importantly, successful regulation of this region was associated with changes in behavior and brain connectivity in both healthy individuals and psychiatric patients. Building on these results we here propose and discuss the use of real-time fMRI neurofeedback in ASD aiming at improving emotional and social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Caria
- Institut für Medizinische Psychologie und Verhaltensneurobiologie, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen Tübingen, Germany ; Fondazione Ospedale San Camillo IRCCS Venezia, Italy
| | - Simona de Falco
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento Rovereto, Italy
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Solyst JA, Buffalo EA. Social relevance drives viewing behavior independent of low-level salience in rhesus macaques. Front Neurosci 2014; 8:354. [PMID: 25414633 PMCID: PMC4220660 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2014.00354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2013] [Accepted: 10/14/2014] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Quantifying attention to social stimuli during the viewing of complex social scenes with eye tracking has proven to be a sensitive method in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders years before average clinical diagnosis. Rhesus macaques provide an ideal model for understanding the mechanisms underlying social viewing behavior, but to date no comparable behavioral task has been developed for use in monkeys. Using a novel scene-viewing task, we monitored the gaze of three rhesus macaques while they freely viewed well-controlled composed social scenes and analyzed the time spent viewing objects and monkeys. In each of six behavioral sessions, monkeys viewed a set of 90 images (540 unique scenes) with each image presented twice. In two-thirds of the repeated scenes, either a monkey or an object was replaced with a novel item (manipulated scenes). When viewing a repeated scene, monkeys made longer fixations and shorter saccades, shifting from a rapid orienting to global scene contents to a more local analysis of fewer items. In addition to this repetition effect, in manipulated scenes, monkeys demonstrated robust memory by spending more time viewing the replaced items. By analyzing attention to specific scene content, we found that monkeys strongly preferred to view conspecifics and that this was not related to their salience in terms of low-level image features. A model-free analysis of viewing statistics found that monkeys that were viewed earlier and longer had direct gaze and redder sex skin around their face and rump, two important visual social cues. These data provide a quantification of viewing strategy, memory and social preferences in rhesus macaques viewing complex social scenes, and they provide an important baseline with which to compare to the effects of therapeutics aimed at enhancing social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- James A Solyst
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Emory University Atlanta, GA, USA ; Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington Seattle, WA, USA ; Yerkes National Primate Research Center Atlanta, GA, USA ; Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Buffalo
- Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington Seattle, WA, USA ; Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington Seattle, WA, USA ; Center for Translational Social Neuroscience Atlanta, GA, USA
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Taylor AE, Lee HE, Buisman-Pijlman FTA. Oxytocin treatment in pediatric populations. Front Behav Neurosci 2014; 8:360. [PMID: 25360094 PMCID: PMC4199258 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2014] [Accepted: 09/29/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of endogenous oxytocin as neuromodulator of birth, lactation and social behaviors is well-recognized. Moreover, the use of oxytocin as a facilitator of social and other behaviors is becoming more and more accepted. Many positive effects have been attributed to intranasal oxytocin administration in animals and humans; with current research highlighting encouraging advances in its potential for use in mental health disorders. The new frontier will be investigating the effective use of oxytocin in pediatric populations. Limited animal data is available on this. Large-scale human studies focusing on autism are currently under way, but many other possibilities seem to lie in the future. However, we need to know more about the risks and effects of repeated use on the developing brain and body. This paper will provide an overview of the current understanding of the role of endogenous oxytocin and its related neuropeptide systems in influencing behaviors, in particular attachment, and will review (a) the literature on the use of intranasal oxytocin in young animals, children (age range birth-12 years) and adolescents (age range 13-19 years), (b) the expected benefits and risks based on the current research, and (c) the risks of oxytocin in children with severe psychopathology and early life trauma. The paper will conclude with a clinical perspective on these findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrienne E Taylor
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Women's and Children's Hospital Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Hsu-En Lee
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Women's and Children's Hospital Adelaide, SA, Australia ; School of Medicine, The University of Adelaide Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Femke T A Buisman-Pijlman
- Discipline of Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide Adelaide, SA, Australia
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Parr LA. Intranasal oxytocin enhances socially-reinforced learning in rhesus monkeys. Front Behav Neurosci 2014. [DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Burkart JM, Finkenwirth C. Marmosets as model species in neuroscience and evolutionary anthropology. Neurosci Res 2014; 93:8-19. [PMID: 25242577 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2014.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2014] [Revised: 08/27/2014] [Accepted: 08/27/2014] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Marmosets are increasingly used as model species by both neuroscientists and evolutionary anthropologists, but with a different rationale for doing so. Whereas neuroscientists stress that marmosets share many cognitive traits with humans due to common descent, anthropologists stress those traits shared with marmosets - and callitrichid monkeys in general - due to convergent evolution, as a consequence of the cooperative breeding system that characterizes both humans and callitrichids. Similarities in socio-cognitive abilities due to convergence, rather than homology, raise the question whether these similarities also extend to the proximate regulatory mechanisms, which is particularly relevant for neuroscientific investigations. In this review, we first provide an overview of the convergent adaptations to cooperative breeding at the psychological and cognitive level in primates, which bear important implications for our understanding of human cognitive evolution. In the second part, we zoom in on two of these convergent adaptations, proactive prosociality and social learning, and compare their proximate regulation in marmosets and humans with regard to oxytocin and cognitive top down regulation. Our analysis suggests considerable similarity in these regulatory mechanisms presumably because the convergent traits emerged due to small motivational changes that define how pre-existing cognitive mechanisms are quantitatively combined. This finding reconciles the prima facie contradictory rationale for using marmosets as high priority model species in neuroscience and anthropology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith M Burkart
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich - Irchel, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Christa Finkenwirth
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich - Irchel, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
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