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.
Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS, Utrecht, The Netherlands. p.a.bos@uu.nl
Peter A
PA
Bos
Jaak
J
Panksepp
Rose-Marie
RM
Bluthé
Jack
J
van Honk
D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000502:physiology; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects*; D004645:Empathy / Q000187:drug effects; D004958:Estradiol / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009769:Object Attachment; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000502:physiology*; D012919:Social Behavior; D012938:Social Perception; D013739:Testosterone / Q000502:physiology*; D014667:Vasopressins / Q000502:physiology*
D014667:Vasopressins; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D013739:Testosterone; D004958:Estradiol; D010121:Oxytocin