Oxytocin Facilitates Pavlovian Fear Learning in Males.
In human evolution, social group living and Pavlovian fear conditioning have evolved as adaptive mechanisms promoting survival and reproductive success. The evolutionarily conserved hypothalamic peptide oxytocin is a key modulator of human sociality, but its effects on fear conditioning are still elusive. In the present randomized controlled study involving 97 healthy male subjects, we therefore employed functional magnetic resonance imaging and simultaneous skin conductance response (SCR) measures to characterize the modulatory influence of intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) on Pavlovian fear conditioning. We found that the peptide strengthened conditioning on both the behavioral and neural levels. Specifically, subjects exhibited faster task-related responses and enhanced SCRs to fear-associated stimuli in the late phase of conditioning, which was paralleled by heightened activity in cingulate cortex subregions in the absence of changes in amygdala function. This speaks against amygdalocentric views of oxytocin having pure anxiolytic-like effects. Instead, it suggests that the peptide enables extremely rapid and flexible adaptation to fear signals in social contexts, which may confer clear evolutionary advantages but could also elevate vulnerability for the pathological sequelae of interpersonal trauma.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.|Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Monika
M
Eckstein
Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.|Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Dirk
D
Scheele
Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.|Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Alexandra
A
Patin
Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.|Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Katrin
K
Preckel
Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.|Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Benjamin
B
Becker
Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.|Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Annika
A
Walter
Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany.
Katharina
K
Domschke
Schaller Research Group on Neuropeptides, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Valery
V
Grinevich
Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.|German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.
Wolfgang
W
Maier
Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.|Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
René
R
Hurlemann
D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005239:Fear / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
D010121:Oxytocin