Primary process affects and brain oxytocin

Neuromodulation of safety and surprise in the early stages of infant development: affective homeostatic regulation in bodily and mental functions

Developing a sense of internal safety and security depends mainly on others: numerous neuromodulators play a significant role in the homeostatic process, regulating the importance of proximity to a caregiver and experiencing feelings that enable us to regulate our interdependence with our conspecifics since birth. This array of neurofunctional structures have been called the SEPARATION DISTRESS system (now more commonly known as the PANIC/ GRIEF system). This emotional system is mainly involved in the production of depressive symptoms. The disruption of this essential emotional balance leads to the onset of feelings of panic followed by depression. We will focus on the neuropeptides that play a crucial role in social approach behavior in mammals, which enhance prosocial behavior and facilitate the consolidation of social bonds. We propose that most prosocial behaviors are regulated through the specific neuromodulators acting on salient intersubjective stimuli, reflecting an increased sense of inner confidence (safety) in social relationships. This review considers the neurofunctional link between the feelings that may ultimately be at the base of a sense of inner safety and the central neuromodulatory systems. This link may shed light on the clinical implications for the development of early mother-infant bonding and the depressive clinical consequences when this bond is disrupted, such as in post-partum depression, depressive feelings connected to, addiction, neurofunctional disorders, and psychological trauma.

Analyzing from Home: The Virtual Space as a Flexible Container

This manuscript explores the experience of teleanalysis for analyst and patient during the COVID-19 pandemic through the lenses of embodied intersubjective relating, the neurobiology of social engagement, and technologically mediated human interaction. At the beginning of the pandemic, many analytic dyads were embarking on remote work for the first time. More than a year later, we are facing the question of whether we will ever return to in-person work. In order to unpack this question, it is useful to consider how in-person analysis and in-person interaction more generally differ from remote interaction. Multiple nonverbal modalities are responsible for affective coregulation in intersubjective relating, including voice, body, and shared physical space. While conscious awareness tends to concentrate on auditory and visual inputs, other sensory inputs also impact affective experience. The impact of physical distance upon psychoanalytic treatment is compared with that of the couch. The shift in the balance of power introduced by teleanalysis is considered. Analyzing and being analyzed from home bend the frame of psychoanalysis, complicating notions about distance and intimacy and opening new spaces in which meaning can be cocreated. The COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity for psychoanalysis to engage more deeply with the questions raised by teleanalysis in order to enhance our understanding of its impact on treatment.

Methylphenidate administration promotes sociability and reduces aggression in a mouse model of callousness

RATIONALE

Deficits in empathy constitute a distinctive feature of several psychopathologies, including conduct disorder (CD). The co-occurrence of callous-unemotional (CU) traits, excess rates of aggression and violation of societal norms confers specific risk for adult psychopathy. To date, the off-label use of methylphenidate (MPH) constitutes the drug treatment of choice.

OBJECTIVES

Herein, we tested the therapeutic potential of MPH in a recently devised mouse model recapitulating the core phenotypic abnormalities of CD.

METHODS

Two subgroups of BALB/cJ male mice exhibiting opposite profiles of emotional contagion (i.e. socially transmitted adoption of another's emotional states) were investigated for reactive aggression, sociability, attention control, anxiety-related behaviours and locomotor activity, in response to MPH administration (0.0, 3.0 or 6.0 mg/kg).

RESULTS

Our data indicate that mice selected for excess callousness exhibit phenotypic abnormalities isomorphic to the symptoms of CD: stability of the low emotional contagion trait, increased aggression and reduced sociability. In accordance with our predictions, MPH reduced aggression and increased sociability in callous mice; yet, it failed to restore the low responsiveness to the emotions of a conspecific in pain, isomorphic to CU traits.

CONCLUSIONS

Although our data support the notion that MPH may contribute to the management of excess aggression in CD patients, additional studies shall identify specific treatments to target the callousness domain. The latter, unaffected by MPH in our experimental model, demands focused consideration whereby it constitutes a specifier associated with a worse prognosis.

Sex-Related Differences in Plasma Oxytocin Levels in Humans

Background:

Increasing evidence supports a key role of Oxytocin (OT) as a modulator of social relationships in mammals.

Objective:

The aim of the present study was to investigate possible sex-related differences in plasma OT levels in human beings.

Methods:

Forty-five healthy men and 45 women (mean age: 34.9 ± 6.2 years), were included in the study. Plasma preparation, peptide extraction and OT radioimmunoassay were carried out according to standardized methods.

Results:

The results showed that OT plasma levels (pg / ml, mean ± SD) were significantly higher in women than in men (4.53 ± 1.18 vs 1.53 ± 1.19, p ˂ 0.001).

Conclusions:

The present finding demonstrates sex-related differences in plasma OT levels in humans. It is tempting to hypothesize that such differences might be related to behaviours, attitudes, as well as susceptibility to stress response, resilience and social emotions specific of women and men.

Touch-induced face conditioning is mediated by genetic variation in opioid but not oxytocin receptors

Soft touch possesses strong prosocial effects that facilitate social bonding and group cohesion in animals. Touch activates opioids (OP) and oxytocin (OXT), two neuromodulators involved in affiliative behaviors and social bonding. We examined whether touch serves as an unconditioned reward in affective conditioning of human faces, a basic process in social bonding, and whether this process is mediated by variation in mu-OP (OPRM1) and OXT (rs53576) receptor genes. Participants viewed affectively-neutral human faces, half of which were paired with a brief soft brushing on the forearm as an unconditioned stimulus (US). Paired and unpaired faces were rated for positive affective and sensory features of touch. Variation in OPRM1 but not rs53576 significantly modulated strength and development of conditioning, indicating that touch-induced mu-OP but not OXT activity provides rewarding properties of a US in conditioning. Implications for touch-induced mu-OP activity in normal and disordered conditioned social bonding are discussed.

Positive Social Interactions in a Lifespan Perspective with a Focus on Opioidergic and Oxytocinergic Systems: Implications for Neuroprotection

In recent years, a growing interest has emerged in the beneficial effects of positive social interactions on health. The present work aims to review animal and human studies linking social interactions and health throughout the lifespan, with a focus on current knowledge of the possible mediating role of opioids and oxytocin. During the prenatal period, a positive social environment contributes to regulating maternal stress response and protecting the fetus from exposure to maternal active glucocorticoids. Throughout development, positive social contact with the caregiver acts as a “hidden regulator” and promotes infant neuroaffective development. Postnatal social neuroprotection interventions involving caregiver–infant physical contact seem to be crucial for rescuing preterm infants at risk for neurodevelopmental disorders. Attachment figures and friendships in adulthood continue to have a protective role for health and brain functioning, counteracting brain aging. In humans, implementation of meditative practices that promote compassionate motivation and prosocial behavior appears beneficial for health in adolescents and adults. Human and animal studies suggest the oxytocinergic and opioidergic systems are important mediators of the effects of social interactions. However, most of the studies focus on a specific phase of life (i.e., adulthood). Future studies should focus on the role of opioids and oxytocin in positive social interactions adopting a lifespan perspective.

Low empathy-like behaviour in male mice associates with impaired sociability, emotional memory, physiological stress reactivity and variations in neurobiological regulations

Deficits in empathy have been proposed to constitute a hallmark of several psychiatric disturbances like conduct disorder, antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders. Limited sensitivity to punishment, shallow or deficient affect and reduced physiological reactivity to environmental stressors have been often reported to co-occur with limited empathy and contribute to the onset of antisocial phenotypes. Empathy in its simplest form (i.e. emotional contagion) is addressed in preclinical models through the evaluation of the social transmission of emotional states: mice exposed to a painful stimulus display a higher response if in the presence of a familiar individual experiencing a higher degree of discomfort, than in isolation. In the present study, we investigated whether a reduction of emotional contagion can be considered a predictor of reduced sociality, sensitivity to punishment and physiological stress reactivity. To this aim, we first evaluated emotional contagion in a group of Balb/cJ mice and then discretised their values in four quartiles. The upper (i.e. Emotional Contagion Prone, ECP) and the lower (i.e. Emotional Contagion Resistant, ECR) quartiles constituted the experimental groups. Our results indicate that mice in the lower quartile are characterized by reduced sociability, impaired memory of negative events and dampened hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical reactivity to external stressors. Furthermore, in the absence of changes in oxytocin receptor density, we show that these mice exhibit elevated concentrations of oxytocin and vasopressin and reduced density of BDNF receptors in behaviourally-relevant brain areas. Thus, not only do present results translate to the preclinical investigation of psychiatric disturbances, but also they can contribute to the study of emotional contagion in terms of its adaptive significance.

The endocrinology of human caregiving and its intergenerational transmission

Variation in the quality of parental care has a tremendous impact on a child's social–emotional development. Research investigating the predictors of this variability in human caregiving behavior has mostly focused on learning mechanisms. Evidence is currently accumulating for the complementary underlying role of steroid hormones and neuropeptides. An overview is provided of the hormones and neuropeptides relevant for human caregiving behavior. Then the developmental factors are described that stimulate variability in sensitivity to these hormones and neuropeptides, which may result in variability in the behavioral repertoire of caregiving. The role of genetic variation in neuropeptide and steroid receptors, the role of testosterone and oxytocin during fetal development and parturition, and the impact of experienced caregiving in childhood on functioning of the neuroendocrine stress and oxytocin system are discussed. Besides providing a heuristic framework for further research on the ontogenetic development of human caregiving, a neuroendocrine model is also presented for the intergenerational transmission of caregiving practices. Insight into the underlying biological mechanisms that bring about maladaptive caregiving behavior, such as neglect and insensitive parenting, will hopefully result in more efficient approaches to reduce the high prevalence of such behavior and to minimize the impact on those affected.

As time goes by: Oxytocin influences the subjective perception of time in a social context

Time perception depends on an event's emotional relevance to the beholder; a subjective time dilation effect is associated with self-relevant, emotionally salient stimuli. Previous studies have revealed that oxytocin modulates the salience of social stimuli and attention to social cues. However, whether the oxytocin system is involved in human subjective time perception is unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether increased oxytocin levels would induce a time dilation effect for self-relevant, positive social cues. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-subject design, heterosexual men were administered intranasal oxytocin or placebo. After about 50min, participants completed a time-bisection task in which they estimated lengths of exposure to happy female faces (self-relevant positive stimuli, based on sexual orientation), emotionally neutral and negative female faces (control), and happy, neutral, and negative male faces (control). Oxytocin induced a subjective time dilation effect for happy female faces and a time compression effect for happy male faces. Our results provide evidence that oxytocin influences time perception, a primary form of human subjectivity.

Virtual Reality for Enhanced Ecological Validity and Experimental Control in the Clinical, Affective and Social Neurosciences

An essential tension can be found between researchers interested in ecological validity and those concerned with maintaining experimental control. Research in the human neurosciences often involves the use of simple and static stimuli lacking many of the potentially important aspects of real world activities and interactions. While this research is valuable, there is a growing interest in the human neurosciences to use cues about target states in the real world via multimodal scenarios that involve visual, semantic, and prosodic information. These scenarios should include dynamic stimuli presented concurrently or serially in a manner that allows researchers to assess the integrative processes carried out by perceivers over time. Furthermore, there is growing interest in contextually embedded stimuli that can constrain participant interpretations of cues about a target’s internal states. Virtual reality environments proffer assessment paradigms that combine the experimental control of laboratory measures with emotionally engaging background narratives to enhance affective experience and social interactions. The present review highlights the potential of virtual reality environments for enhanced ecological validity in the clinical, affective, and social neurosciences.

Oxytocin modulates meta-mood as a function of age and sex

Attending to and understanding one’s own feelings are components of meta-mood and constitute important socio-affective skills across the entire lifespan. Growing evidence suggests a modulatory role of the neuropeptide oxytocin on various socio-affective processes. Going beyond previous work that almost exclusively examined young men and perceptions of emotions in others, the current study investigated effects of intranasal oxytocin on meta-mood in young and older men and women. In a double-blind between-group design, participants were randomly assigned to self-administer either intranasal oxytocin or a placebo before responding to items from the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS) about attention to feelings and clarity of feelings. In contrast to older women, oxytocin relative to placebo increased attention to feelings in older men. Oxytocin relative to placebo enhanced meta-mood in young female participants but reduced it in older female participants. This pattern of findings supports an age- and sex-differential modulatory function of the neuropeptide oxytocin on meta-mood, possibly associated with neurobiological differences with age and sex.

Intranasal adminsitration of oxytocin in postnatal depression: implications for psychodynamic psychotherapy from a randomized double-blind pilot study

Oxytocin is a neuropeptide that is active in the central nervous system and is generally considered to be involved in prosocial behaviors and feelings. In light of its documented positive effect on maternal behavior, we designed a study to ascertain whether oxytocin exerts any therapeutic effects on depressive symptoms in women affected by maternal postnatal depression. A group of 16 mothers were recruited in a randomized double-blind study: the women agreed to take part in a brief course of psychoanalytic psychotherapy (12 sessions, once a week) while also being administered, during the 12-weeks period, a daily dose of intranasal oxytocin (or a placebo). The pre-treatment evaluation also included a personality assessment of the major primary-process emotional command systems described by Panksepp () and a semi-quantitative assessment by the therapist of the mother's depressive symptoms and of her personality. No significant effect on depressive symptomatology was found following the administration of oxytocin (as compared to a placebo) during the period of psychotherapy. Nevertheless, a personality trait evaluation of the mothers, conducted in our overall sample group, showed a decrease in the narcissistic trait only within the group who took oxytocin. The depressive (dysphoric) trait was in fact significantly affected by psychotherapy (this effect was only present in the placebo group so it may reflect a positive placebo effect enhancing the favorable influence of psychotherapy on depressive symptoms) but not in the presence of oxytocin. Therefore, the neuropeptide would appear to play some role in the modulation of cerebral functions involved in the self-centered (narcissistic) dimension of the suffering that can occur with postnatal depression. Based on these results, there was support for our hypothesis that what is generally defined as postnatal depression may include disturbances of narcissistic affective balance, and oxytocin supplementation can counteract that type of affective disturbance. The resulting improvements in well-being, reflected in better self-centering in post-partuent mothers, may in turn facilitate better interpersonal acceptance of (and interactions with) the child and thereby, improved recognition of the child's needs.

Oxytocin reduces neural activity in the pain circuitry when seeing pain in others

Our empathetic abilities allow us to feel the pain of others. This phenomenon of vicarious feeling arises because the neural circuitry of feeling pain and seeing pain in others is shared. The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) is considered a robust facilitator of empathy, as intranasal OXT studies have repeatedly been shown to improve cognitive empathy (e.g. mind reading and emotion recognition). However, OXT has not yet been shown to increase neural empathic responses to pain in others, a core aspect of affective empathy. Effects of OXT on empathy for pain are difficult to predict, because OXT evidently has pain-reducing properties. Accordingly, OXT might paradoxically decrease empathy for pain. Here, using functional neuroimaging we show robust activation in the neural circuitry of pain (insula and sensorimotor regions) when subjects observe pain in others. Crucially, this empathy-related activation in the neural circuitry of pain is strongly reduced after intranasal OXT, specifically in the left insula. OXT on the basis of our neuroimaging data thus remarkably decreases empathy for pain, but further research including behavioral measures is necessary to draw definite conclusions.

Intranasal oxytocin enhances positive self-attribution in healthy men

OBJECTIVE

A growing body of studies consistently demonstrates that social responsiveness toward others is influenced by the neurohormone oxytocin. However, the potential role of oxytocin for self-perception remains relatively unexplored. Thus, we investigated whether oxytocin administration influences the self-attribution of positive and negative adjectives at the early, effortful stage of self-related information processing.

METHODS

Sixty healthy male participants received either 24I.U. oxytocin or a placebo in a randomized double-blind study before completing a sorting task, in which they were instructed to co-classify, as fast as possible, positive and negative adjectives into either self or non-self categories.

RESULTS

Oxytocin-treated participants reported stronger positive attitudes toward themselves compared to placebo.

CONCLUSIONS

The present findings demonstrate that oxytocin administration influences the early stage of self-related information processing and suggests that the oxytocinergic system might be involved in psychopathological conditions characterized by a negative representation of self.

Oxytocin's impact on social face processing is stronger in homosexual than heterosexual men

Oxytocin is an evolutionarily highly preserved neuropeptide that contributes to the regulation of social interactions including the processing of facial stimuli. We hypothesized that its improving effect on social approach behavior depends on perceived sexual features and, consequently, on sexual orientation. In 19 homosexual and 18 heterosexual healthy young men, we investigated the acute effect of intranasal oxytocin (24IU) and placebo, respectively, on the processing of social stimuli as assessed by ratings of trustworthiness, attractiveness and approachability for male and female faces. Faces were each presented with a neutral, a happy, and an angry expression, respectively. In heterosexual subjects, the effect of oxytocin administration was restricted to a decrease in ratings of trustworthiness for angry female faces (p<0.02). In contrast, in homosexual men oxytocin administration robustly increased ratings of attractiveness and approachability for male faces regardless of the facial expression (all p ≤ 0.05), as well as ratings of approachability for happy female faces (p<0.01). Results indicate that homosexual in comparison to heterosexual men display higher sensitivity to oxytocin's enhancing impact on social approach tendencies, suggesting that differences in sexual orientation imply differential oxytocinergic signaling.

Oxytocin sharpens self-other perceptual boundary

Recent cross-species research has demonstrated that the neurohormone oxytocin plays a key role in social interaction and cognitive processing of others' emotions. Whereas oxytocin has been shown to influence social approach, trust, and bond formation, a potential role of the oxytocinergic system in blurring or enhancing the ability to differentiate between one's self and other's related stimuli is unknown. Thus, we investigated whether oxytocin affects the ability to differentiate between self- and other-related stimuli using a facial morphing procedure. In a placebo-controlled, double-blind study, 44 healthy men received either 24 IU oxytocin or placebo intranasally. After 45 min, we measured participants' ability to differentiate their own identity while viewing a photo of themselves morphing into the photo of an unfamiliar face. Oxytocin administration shortened the latency of self-other differentiation. Additionally, when asked to rate the pleasantness of the unmorphed photos, the oxytocin-treated participants rated their own and the unfamiliar face as comparably pleasant. Oxytocin increases the ability to recognize differences between self and others and increases positive evaluation of others. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that impaired oxytocin signaling may be involved in the development and manifestation of human psychopathologies in which self-recognition is altered.

Intranasal oxytocin selectively attenuates rhesus monkeys' attention to negative facial expressions

Intranasal oxytocin (IN-OT) modulates social perception and cognition in humans and could be an effective pharmacotherapy for treating social impairments associated with neuropsychiatric disorders, like autism. However, it is unknown how IN-OT modulates social cognition, its effect after repeated use, or its impact on the developing brain. Animal models are urgently needed. This study examined the effect of IN-OT on social perception in monkeys using tasks that reveal some of the social impairments seen in autism. Six rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta, 4 males) received a 48 IU dose of OT or saline placebo using a pediatric nebulizer. An hour later, they performed a computerized task (the dot-probe task) to measure their attentional bias to social, emotional, and nonsocial images. Results showed that IN-OT significantly reduced monkeys' attention to negative facial expressions, but not neutral faces or clip art images and, additionally, showed a trend to enhance monkeys' attention to direct vs. averted gaze faces. This study is the first to demonstrate an effect of IN-OT on social perception in monkeys, IN-OT selectively reduced monkey's attention to negative facial expressions, but not neutral social or nonsocial images. These findings complement several reports in humans showing that IN-OT reduces the aversive quality of social images suggesting that, like humans, monkey social perception is mediated by the oxytocinergic system. Importantly, these results in monkeys suggest that IN-OT does not dampen the emotional salience of social stimuli, but rather acts to affect the evaluation of emotional images during the early stages of information processing.

Toward a cross-species understanding of empathy

Although signs of empathy have now been well documented in non-human primates, only during the past few years have systematic observations suggested that a primal form of empathy exists in rodents. Thus, the study of empathy in animals has started in earnest. Here we review recent studies indicating that rodents are able to share states of fear, and highlight how affective neuroscience approaches to the study of primary-process emotional systems can help to delineate how primal empathy is constituted in mammalian brains. Cross-species evolutionary approaches to understanding the neural circuitry of emotional 'contagion' or 'resonance' between nearby animals, together with the underlying neurochemistries, may help to clarify the origins of human empathy.

Oxytocin modulates neural reactivity to children's faces as a function of social salience

Oxytocin (OT) enhances social behaviors such as attachment and parental caretaking. Neural correlates of maternal attachment are found in reward-related brain regions, for example, in the globus pallidus (GP). The present work investigates the effects of OT on the neural correlates of parental attachment. Fathers viewed pictures of their own child (oC), a familiar child (fC), and an unfamiliar child (uC) after intranasal application of OT vs placebo. OT reduced activation and functional connectivity of the left GP with reward- and attachment-related regions responsive to pictures of the oC and the uC. The present results emphasize the key role of OT in human parental attachment and suggest that OT reduces neural reactivity to social cues as a function of social salience. Our results together with previous findings speak to a selective reduction of neural reactivity to social stimuli, irrespective of their valence. We argue that one major pathway by which OT exerts its positive effects on affiliative and social behaviors is the attenuation of automatic neural responses, which in turn leads to increased approach behaviors and decreased social avoidance.

Acute effects of steroid hormones and neuropeptides on human social-emotional behavior: a review of single administration studies

Steroids and peptides mediate a diverse array of animal social behaviors. Human research is restricted by technical-ethical limitations, and models of the neuroendocrine regulation of social-emotional behavior are therefore mainly limited to non-human species, often under the assumption that human social-emotional behavior is emancipated from hormonal control. Development of acute hormone administration procedures in human research, together with the advent of novel non-invasive neuroimaging techniques, have opened up opportunities to systematically study the neuroendocrinology of human social-emotional behavior. Here, we review all placebo-controlled single hormone administration studies addressing human social-emotional behavior, involving the steroids testosterone and estradiol, and the peptides oxytocin and vasopressin. These studies demonstrate substantial hormonal control over human social-emotional behavior and give insights into the underlying neural mechanisms. Finally, we propose a theoretical model that synthesizes detailed knowledge of the neuroendocrinology of social-emotional behavior in animals with the recently gained data from humans described in our review.

What is Basic about Basic Emotions? Lasting Lessons from Affective Neuroscience

A cross-species affective neuroscience strategy for understanding the primary-process (basic) emotions is defended. The need for analyzing the brain and mind in terms of evolutionary stratification of functions into at least primary (instinctual), secondary (learned), and tertiary (thought-related) processes is advanced. When viewed in this context, the contentious battles between basic-emotion theorists and dimensional-constructivist approaches can be seen to be largely nonsubstantial differences among investigators working at different levels of analysis.

Rethinking the cognitive revolution from a neural perspective: how overuse/misuse of the term 'cognition' and the neglect of affective controls in behavioral neuroscience could be delaying progress in understanding the BrainMind

Words such as cognition, motivation and emotion powerfully guide theory development and the overall aims and goals of behavioral neuroscience research. Once such concepts are accepted generally as natural aspects of the brain, their influence can be pervasive and long lasting. Importantly, the choice of conceptual terms used to describe and study mental/neural functions can also constrain research by forcing the results into seemingly useful 'conceptual' categories that have no discrete reality in the brain. Since the popularly named 'cognitive revolution' in psychological science came to fruition in the early 1970s, the term cognitive or cognition has been perhaps the most widely used conceptual term in behavioral neuroscience. These terms, similar to other conceptual terms, have potential value if utilized appropriately. We argue that recently the term cognition has been both overused and misused. This has led to problems in developing a usable shared definition for the term and to promotion of possible misdirections in research within behavioral neuroscience. In addition, we argue that cognitive-guided research influenced primarily by top-down (cortical toward subcortical) perspectives without concurrent non-cognitive modes of bottom-up developmental thinking, could hinder progress in the search for new treatments and medications for psychiatric illnesses and neurobehavioral disorders. Overall, linkages of animal research insights to human psychology may be better served by bottom-up (subcortical to cortical) affective and motivational 'state-control' perspectives, simply because the lower networks of the brain are foundational for the construction of higher 'information-processing' aspects of mind. Moving forward, rapidly expanding new techniques and creative methods in neuroscience along with more accurate brain concepts, may help guide the development of new therapeutics and hopefully more accurate ways to describe and explain brain-behavior relationships.