title: Sex, receptors, and attachment: a review of individual factors influencing response to oxytocin.
abstract: As discussed in the larger review in this special issue (MacDonald and Feifel), intranasal oxytocin (OT) is demonstrating a growing potential as a therapeutic agent in psychiatry. Importantly, research suggests that a variety of individual factors may influence a person's response to OT. In this mini-review, I provide a review of three: (1) sex and hormonal status; (2) genetic variation in aspects of the OT system (i.e., OT receptors); and (3) attachment history. Each of these factors will be important to monitor as we strive to develop a richer understanding of OT's role in human development, brain-based disease, and the potential for individualized, OT-targeted treatments.
authors: Department of Psychiatry, University of California Medical Center San Diego, CA, USA.
authors: Kai S
authors: KS
authors: Macdonald
keywords: CD38/ADP-ribosyl cyclase activity; attachment; oxytocin; oxytocin receptor gene; sex factors