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Berceanu AI, Papasteri C, Sofonea A, Boldasu R, Nita D, Poalelungi C, Froemke R, Carcea I. Oxytocin predicts positive affect gains in a role-play interaction. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1258254. [PMID: 38873527 PMCID: PMC11169887 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1258254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Role-play, a key creative process in theatre, is used in therapeutic interventions to improve social skills, emotion regulation, and memory. Although role-play is widely used as a psychotherapeutic technique, its mechanisms of action are not fully understood. Methods Our study introduces a standardized controlled procedure for promoting role-play in the laboratory based on the portrayal of a fictional persona and examines its effects on anxiety, affect, prosocial attitudes, and salivary oxytocin dynamics in 38 participants. Results In our experiment, role-play significantly increased positive affect and prosocial attitudes and decreased anxiety compared to a control condition. Basal salivary oxytocin levels predicted higher gains in positive affect following role-play, suggesting a specific moderating effect of oxytocin. The fictional persona used in the procedure was rated as very happy by subjects, creating a positive social context for the role-play social interaction. Discussions We propose that the observed moderation effect of oxytocin in our study is specific to the role-play condition due to the capacity of role-play to generate an affective regulatory context based on congruency toward the emotional state of the fictional persona. Our findings indicate that basal oxytocin levels could predict specific outcomes of role-play in therapeutical setting. We discuss several psychological and biological mechanisms that could account for the observed effects of role-play and how oxytocin could act as a substrate for them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandru I. Berceanu
- Cognitive Development and Applied Psychology through Immersive Experiences, LDCAPEI, CINETic Centre, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
- Department for Animation and Interactivity, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Claudiu Papasteri
- Cognitive Development and Applied Psychology through Immersive Experiences, LDCAPEI, CINETic Centre, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Alexandra Sofonea
- Cognitive Development and Applied Psychology through Immersive Experiences, LDCAPEI, CINETic Centre, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Romina Boldasu
- Acting Department Theatre Faculty, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Diana Nita
- Cognitive Development and Applied Psychology through Immersive Experiences, LDCAPEI, CINETic Centre, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Cătălina Poalelungi
- Cognitive Development and Applied Psychology through Immersive Experiences, LDCAPEI, CINETic Centre, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
- National Institute of Endocrinology C. I. Parhon, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Robert Froemke
- Cognitive Development and Applied Psychology through Immersive Experiences, LDCAPEI, CINETic Centre, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
- Skirball Institute for Biomolecular, School of Medicine, New York University, NY, United States
| | - Ioana Carcea
- Cognitive Development and Applied Psychology through Immersive Experiences, LDCAPEI, CINETic Centre, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, Brain Health Institute, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, United States
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Santiago AF, Kosilo M, Cogoni C, Diogo V, Jerónimo R, Prata D. Oxytocin modulates neural activity during early perceptual salience attribution. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 161:106950. [PMID: 38194846 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Leading hypotheses of oxytocin's (OT) role in human cognition posit that it enhances salience attribution. However, whether OT exerts its effects predominantly in social (vs non-social) contexts remains debatable, and the time-course of intranasal OT's effects' on salience attribution processing is still unknown. We used the social Salience Attribution Task modified (sSAT) in a double-blind, placebo-controlled intranasal OT (inOT) administration, between-subjects design, with 54 male participants, to test existing theories of OT's role in cognition. Namely, we aimed to test whether inOT would differently affect salience attribution processing of social stimuli (expressing fearfulness) and non-social stimuli (fruits) made relevant via monetary reinforcement, and its neural processing time-course. During electroencephalography (EEG) recording, participants made speeded responses to emotional social (fearful faces) and non-emotional non-social (fruits) stimuli - which were matched for task-relevant motivational salience through their (color-dependent) probability of monetary reinforcement. InOT affected early (rather than late, P3b and LPP) EEG components, increasing N170 amplitude (p = .041) and P2b latency (p .001; albeit not of P1), regardless of stimuli's (emotional) socialness or reinforcement probability. Fear-related socialness affected salience attribution processing EEG (p .05) across time (N170, P2b and P3b), being later modulated by reinforcement probability (LPP). Our data suggest that OT's effects on neural activity during early perception, may exist irrespective of fear-related social- or reward-contexts. This partially supports the tri-phasic model of OT (which posits OT enhances salience attribution in an early perception stage regardless of socialness), and not the social salience nor the general approach-withdrawal hypotheses of OT, for early salience processing event-related potentials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreia F Santiago
- Instituto de Biofísica e Engenharia Biomédica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal; William James Center for Research, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Maciej Kosilo
- Instituto de Biofísica e Engenharia Biomédica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Carlotta Cogoni
- Instituto de Biofísica e Engenharia Biomédica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Vasco Diogo
- Instituto de Biofísica e Engenharia Biomédica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal; Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (Iscte-IUL), CIS_Iscte, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Rita Jerónimo
- Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (Iscte-IUL), CIS_Iscte, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Diana Prata
- Instituto de Biofísica e Engenharia Biomédica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal; Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.
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3
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Riva G, Wiederhold BK, Mantovani F. Searching for the Metaverse: Neuroscience of Physical and Digital Communities. CYBERPSYCHOLOGY, BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL NETWORKING 2024; 27:9-18. [PMID: 37057986 PMCID: PMC10794843 DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2023.0040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
Abstract
What distinguishes real-world communities from their online counterparts? Social and cognitive neuroscience research on social networks and collective intentionality will be used in the article to answer this question. Physical communities are born in places. And places engage "we-mode" neurobiological and cognitive processes as behavioral synchrony, shared attention, deliberate attunement, interbrain synchronization, and so on, which create coherent social networks of very different individuals who are supported by a "wisdom of crowd." Digital technologies remove physical boundaries, giving people more freedom to choose their activities and groups. At the same time, however, the lack of physical co-presence of community members significantly reduces their possibility of activating "we-mode" cognitive processes and social motivation. Because of this, unlike physical communities that allow interaction between people from varied origins and stories, digital communities are always made up of people who have the same interests and knowledge (communities of practice). This new situation disrupts the "wisdom of crowd," making the community more radical and less accurate (polarization effect), allowing influential users to wield disproportionate influence over the group's beliefs, and producing inequalities in the distribution of social capital. However, a new emergent technology-the Metaverse-has the potential to reverse this trend. Several studies have revealed that virtual and augmented reality-the major technologies underlying the Metaverse-can engage the same neurobiological and cognitive "we-mode" processes as real-world environments. If the many flaws in this technology are fixed, it might encourage people to engage in more meaningful and constructive interactions in online communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Riva
- Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy
- Humane Technology Lab, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
| | - Brenda K. Wiederhold
- Virtual Reality Medical Center, La Jolla, California, USA
- Virtual Reality Medical Institute, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Fabrizia Mantovani
- Centre for Studies in Communication Sciences “Luigi Anolli” (CESCOM), Department of Human Sciences for Education “Riccardo Massa,” University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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Marzoratti A, Liu ME, Krol KM, Sjobeck GR, Lipscomb DJ, Hofkens TL, Boker SM, Pelphrey KA, Connelly JJ, Evans TM. Epigenetic modification of the oxytocin receptor gene is associated with child-parent neural synchrony during competition. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 63:101302. [PMID: 37734257 PMCID: PMC10518595 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) occurs when neural electrical activity temporally aligns between individuals during social interactions. It has been used as a metric for interpersonal closeness, often during naturalistic child-parent interactions. This study evaluated whether other biological correlates of social processing predicted the prevalence of INS during child-parent interactions, and whether their observed cooperativity modulated this association. Child-parent dyads (n = 27) performed a visuospatial tower-building task in cooperative and competitive conditions. Neural activity was recorded using mobile electroencephalogram (EEG) headsets, and experimenters coded video-recordings post-hoc for behavioral attunement. DNA methylation of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTRm) was measured, an epigenetic modification associated with reduced oxytocin activity and socioemotional functioning. Greater INS during competition was associated with lower child OXTRm, while greater behavioral attunement during competition and cooperation was associated with higher parent OXTRm. These differential relationships suggest that interpersonal dynamics as measured by INS may be similarly reflected by other biological markers of social functioning, irrespective of observed behavior. Children's self-perceived communication skill also showed opposite associations with parent and child OXTRm, suggesting complex relationships between children's and their parents' social functioning. Our findings have implications for ongoing developmental research, supporting the utility of biological metrics in characterizing interpersonal relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Analia Marzoratti
- School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Megan E Liu
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Kathleen M Krol
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Gus R Sjobeck
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Daniel J Lipscomb
- School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Tara L Hofkens
- School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Steven M Boker
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Kevin A Pelphrey
- School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Jessica J Connelly
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Tanya M Evans
- School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
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Jongerius C, Hillen MA, Smets EMA, Mol MJ, Kooij ES, de Nood MA, Dalmaijer ES, Fliers E, Romijn JA, Quintana DS. Nasal oxytocin administration does not influence eye gaze or perceived relationship of male volunteers with physicians in a simulated online consultation: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Endocr Connect 2023; 12:e220377. [PMID: 37294605 PMCID: PMC10448572 DOI: 10.1530/ec-22-0377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The patient-physician relationship is a critical determinant of patient health outcomes. Verbal and non-verbal communication, such as eye gaze, are vital aspects of this bond. Neurobiological studies indicate that oxytocin may serve as a link between increased eye gaze and social bonding. Therefore, oxytocin signaling could serve as a key factor influencing eye gaze as well as the patient-physician relationship. We aimed to test the effects of oxytocin on gaze to the eyes of the physician and the patient-physician relationship by conducting a randomized placebo-controlled crossover trial in healthy volunteers with intranasally administered oxytocin (with a previously effective single dose of 24 IU, EudraCT number 2018-004081-34). The eye gaze of 68 male volunteers was studied using eye tracking during a simulated video call consultation with a physician, who provided information about vaccination against the human papillomavirus. Relationship outcomes, including trust, satisfaction, and perceived physician communication style, were measured using questionnaires and corrected for possible confounds (social anxiety and attachment orientation). Additional secondary outcome measures for the effect of oxytocin were recall of information and pupil diameter and exploratory outcomes included mood and anxiety measures. Oxytocin did not affect the eye-tracking parameters of volunteers' gaze toward the eyes of the physician. Moreover, oxytocin did not affect the parameters of bonding between volunteers and the physician nor other secondary and exploratory outcomes in this setting. Bayesian hypothesis testing provided evidence for the absence of effects. These results contradict the notion that oxytocin affects eye gaze patterns or bonding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Jongerius
- Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, Medical Psychology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health, Quality of Care, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marij A Hillen
- Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, Medical Psychology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health, Quality of Care, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ellen M A Smets
- Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, Medical Psychology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health, Quality of Care, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Mathijs J Mol
- Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, Medical Psychology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Eefje S Kooij
- Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, Medical Psychology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Maria A de Nood
- Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, Medical Psychology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Edwin S Dalmaijer
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Eric Fliers
- Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Amsterdam Gastroenterology, Endocrinology & Metabolism, Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Johannes A Romijn
- Department of Medicine, Amsterdam Gastroenterology, Endocrinology & Metabolism, Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Daniel S Quintana
- University of Oslo, Department of Psychology, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Rare Disorders and Disabilities, Oslo University Hospital, NevSom, Oslo, Norway
- University of Oslo, Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT) and KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Oslo, Norway
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6
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Handlin L, Novembre G, Lindholm H, Kämpe R, Paul E, Morrison I. Human endogenous oxytocin and its neural correlates show adaptive responses to social touch based on recent social context. eLife 2023; 12:81197. [PMID: 37157840 PMCID: PMC10168694 DOI: 10.7554/elife.81197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Both oxytocin (OT) and touch are key mediators of social attachment. In rodents, tactile stimulation elicits the endogenous release of OT, potentially facilitating attachment and other forms of prosocial behavior, yet the relationship between endogenous OT and neural modulation remains unexplored in humans. Using a serial sampling of plasma hormone levels during functional neuroimaging across two successive social interactions, we show that contextual circumstances of social touch influence not only current hormonal and brain responses but also later responses. Namely, touch from a male to his female romantic partner enhanced her subsequent OT release for touch from an unfamiliar stranger, yet females' OT responses to partner touch were dampened following stranger touch. Hypothalamus and dorsal raphe activation reflected plasma OT changes during the initial social interaction. In the subsequent interaction, precuneus and parietal-temporal cortex pathways tracked time- and context-dependent variables in an OT-dependent manner. This OT-dependent cortical modulation included a region of the medial prefrontal cortex that also covaried with plasma cortisol, suggesting an influence on stress responses. These findings demonstrate that modulation between hormones and the brain during human social interactions can flexibly adapt to features of social context over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda Handlin
- Department of Biomedicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden
| | - Giovanni Novembre
- Division of Neurobiology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Helene Lindholm
- Department of Biomedicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden
| | - Robin Kämpe
- Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization (CMIV) Linköping University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Elisabeth Paul
- Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization (CMIV) Linköping University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - India Morrison
- Division of Neurobiology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization (CMIV) Linköping University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden
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Beckenstrom AC, Coloma PM, Dawson GR, Finlayson AK, Malik A, Post A, Steiner MA, Potenza MN. Use of experimental medicine approaches for the development of novel psychiatric treatments based on orexin receptor modulation. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 147:105107. [PMID: 36828161 PMCID: PMC10165155 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
Abstract
Despite progress in understanding the pathological mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders, translation from animal models into clinical use remains a significant bottleneck. Preclinical studies have implicated the orexin neuropeptide system as a potential target for psychiatric disorders through its role in regulating emotional, cognitive, and behavioral processes. Clinical studies are investigating orexin modulation in addiction and mood disorders. Here we review performance-outcome measures (POMs) arising from experimental medicine research methods which may show promise as markers of efficacy of orexin receptor modulators in humans. POMs provide objective measures of brain function, complementing patient-reported or clinician-observed symptom evaluation, and aid the translation from preclinical to clinical research. Significant challenges include the development, validation, and operationalization of these measures. We suggest that collaborative networks comprising clinical practitioners, academics, individuals working in the pharmaceutical industry, drug regulators, patients, patient advocacy groups, and other relevant stakeholders may provide infrastructure to facilitate validation of experimental medicine approaches in translational research and in the implementation of these approaches in real-world clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy C Beckenstrom
- P1vital Ltd, Manor House, Howbery Business Park, Wallingford OX10 8BA, UK.
| | - Preciosa M Coloma
- Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Hegenheimermattweg 91, Allschwil 4123, Switzerland
| | - Gerard R Dawson
- P1vital Ltd, Manor House, Howbery Business Park, Wallingford OX10 8BA, UK
| | - Ailidh K Finlayson
- P1vital Ltd, Manor House, Howbery Business Park, Wallingford OX10 8BA, UK; Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Asad Malik
- P1vital Ltd, Manor House, Howbery Business Park, Wallingford OX10 8BA, UK
| | - Anke Post
- Corlieve Therapeutics, Swiss Innovation Park, Hegenheimermattweg 167A, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland
| | | | - Marc N Potenza
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience and the Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, 1 Church Street, Room 726, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park Street, New Haven, CT 06519, USA; Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Wethersfield, CT, USA; The Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, 100 College St, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
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Alaerts K, Bernaerts S, Wenderoth N. Effects of single- and multiple-dose oxytocin treatment on amygdala low-frequency BOLD fluctuations and BOLD spectral dynamics in autism. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:393. [PMID: 36127337 PMCID: PMC9489696 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-02158-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Prior neuroimaging clinical trials investigating the neural effects of intranasal administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin demonstrated a key role of the amygdala in oxytocin's neuromodulatory effects. These studies mostly demonstrated the acute effects of single-dose administrations, examining task-dependent effects of oxytocin on brain activity elicited during explicit experimental tasks or stimuli presentations. The increased consideration of oxytocin as a potential ameliorating treatment in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) requires a better understanding of how multiple-dose oxytocin administration affects intrinsic, task-free, amygdala function. In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial with between-subject design, 38 adult men with ASD underwent resting-state fMRI scanning before and after oxytocin or placebo treatment. Effects were assessed either after a single-dose administration, consisting of 24 international units, or after multiple-dose treatment, consisting of 4 weeks of once-daily nasal spray administrations. Compared to placebo, oxytocin induced a decrease in intrinsic resting-state BOLD signal amplitudes of the bilateral amygdala (fractional amplitudes of low-frequency fluctuations) and modulated cross-frequency interactions between adjacent BOLD frequency components. The right amygdala showed a pattern of reduced cross-frequency harmonicity, while the left amygdala showed a relative increase in harmonic cross-frequency interactions after oxytocin treatment. Notably, the direction and magnitude of BOLD spectral changes induced after a single-dose were qualitatively similar to treatment effects induced after multiple-dose treatment. Furthermore, the identified spectral changes in amygdalar BOLD amplitude and cross-frequency harmonicity were associated with improved feelings of tension, reflecting oxytocin's anxiolytic, stress-reducing neuromodulatory role. The observed effects of oxytocin on amygdalar BOLD spectral characteristics and associated behaviors contribute to a deeper mechanistic understanding of the intrinsic, task-free neuromodulatory dynamics that underlie single- and multiple-dose oxytocin treatment in ASD. European Clinical Trial Registry (Eudract 2014-000586-45).
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaat Alaerts
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Group Biomedical Sciences, Neuromodulation Laboratory, Neurorehabilitation Research Group, University of Leuven, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Sylvie Bernaerts
- grid.5596.f0000 0001 0668 7884Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Group Biomedical Sciences, Neuromodulation Laboratory, Neurorehabilitation Research Group, University of Leuven, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Nicole Wenderoth
- grid.5801.c0000 0001 2156 2780Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Neural Control of Movement Lab, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Qiao Z, Van der Donck S, Moerkerke M, Dlhosova T, Vettori S, Dzhelyova M, van Winkel R, Alaerts K, Boets B. Frequency-Tagging EEG of Superimposed Social and Non-Social Visual Stimulation Streams Provides No Support for Social Salience Enhancement after Intranasal Oxytocin Administration. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12091224. [PMID: 36138960 PMCID: PMC9496939 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12091224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2022] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The social salience hypothesis proposes that the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) can impact human social behavior by modulating the salience of social cues. Here, frequency-tagging EEG was used to quantify the neural responses to social versus non-social stimuli while administering a single dose of OT (24 IU) versus placebo treatment. Specifically, two streams of faces and houses were superimposed on one another, with each stream of stimuli tagged with a particular presentation rate (i.e., 6 and 7.5 Hz or vice versa). These distinctive frequency tags allowed unambiguously disentangling and objectively quantifying the respective neural responses elicited by the different streams of stimuli. This study involved a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial with 31 healthy adult men. Based on four trials of 60 s, we detected robust frequency-tagged neural responses in each individual, with entrainment to faces being more pronounced in lateral occipito-temporal regions and entrainment to houses being focused in medial occipital regions. However, contrary to our expectation, a single dose of OT did not modulate these stimulus-driven neural responses, not in terms of enhanced social processing nor in terms of generally enhanced information salience. Bayesian analyses formally confirmed these null findings. Possibly, the baseline ceiling level performance of these neurotypical adult participants as well as the personal irrelevance of the applied stimulation streams might have hindered the observation of any OT effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiling Qiao
- Center for Clinical Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Correspondence:
| | - Stephanie Van der Donck
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Matthijs Moerkerke
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tereza Dlhosova
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, 60200 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Sofie Vettori
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences Marc Jeannerod, UMR5229, CNRS, University Claude Bernard Lyon1, 69675 Bron, France
| | - Milena Dzhelyova
- Institute of Research in Psychological Sciences, Université de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Ruud van Winkel
- Center for Clinical Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- UPC, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6211 Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Kaat Alaerts
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Research Group for Neurorehabilitation, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bart Boets
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
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