Oxytocin Effects on Brain Functioning in Humans

Maternal History of Adversity and Subsequent Mother-Child Interactions at Early Ages: A Systematic Review

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can negatively impact physical, emotional, cognitive, and social development, consequently affecting the next generation. The aim of the present study was to systematically review evidence from empirical studies on the association between maternal history of adversity in childhood (maltreatment and household dysfunction) and subsequent mother-child interactions at an early age. A search was performed in the PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Scopus, LILACS, and SciELO databases to identify studies, including measures of maternal childhood adversities and mother-child interaction, published between 2016 and 2022. Twenty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that in 90% of the studies, maternal childhood adversities negatively impacted subsequent mother-child interactions in early childhood, reducing maternal displays of affection, emotional availability, sensitivity, mother-child communication, and bonding. Biological factors (e.g., genetic and hormonal) and maternal emotional recognition moderated these associations. In addition, biological factors (i.e., neurobiological and hormonal) and psychosocial factors (e.g., depression, executive functioning, and violence) acted as mediators. Preventive interventions should be implemented to break out of the intergenerational cycle of violence that impacts mother-child interactions.

Oxytocin Enhancement of Emotional Empathy: Generalization Across Cultures and Effects on Amygdala Activity

Accumulating evidence suggests that the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) can enhance empathy although it is unclear which specific behavioral and neural aspects are influenced, and whether the effects are modulated by culture, sex, and trait autism. Based on previous findings in Caucasian men, we hypothesized that a single intranasal dose of OXT would specifically enhance emotional empathy (EE) via modulatory effects on the amygdala in an Asian (Chinese) population and explored the modulatory role of sex and trait autism on the effects. We first conducted a double-blind, randomized between-subject design experiment using a modified version of the multifaceted empathy task to determine whether OXT’s facilitation of EE can be replicated in Chinese men (n = 60). To further explore neural mechanisms behind and potential sex differences, functional MRI and skin conductance measures were acquired in an independent experiment incorporating men and women (n = 72). OXT enhanced EE across experiments and sex, an effect that was accompanied by reduced amygdala activity and increased skin conductance responses. On the network level OXT enhanced functional coupling of the right amygdala with the insula and posterior cingulate cortex for positive valence stimuli but attenuated coupling for negative valence stimuli. The effect of OXT on amygdala functional connectivity with the insula was modulated by trait autism. Overall, our findings provide further support for the role of OXT in facilitating EE and demonstrate that effects are independent of culture and sex and involve modulatory effects on the amygdala and its interactions with other key empathy regions.