Intranasal Oxytocin Affects Amygdala Functional Connectivity after Trauma Script-Driven Imagery in Distressed Recently Trauma-Exposed Individuals.
Approximately 10% of trauma-exposed individuals go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Neural emotion regulation may be etiologically involved in PTSD development. Oxytocin administration early post-trauma may be a promising avenue for PTSD prevention, as intranasal oxytocin has previously been found to affect emotion regulation networks in healthy individuals and psychiatric patients. In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled between-subjects functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) study, we assessed the effects of a single intranasal oxytocin administration (40 IU) on seed-based amygdala resting-state FC with emotion regulation areas (ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC)), and salience processing areas (insula, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC)) in 37 individuals within 11 days post trauma. Two resting-state scans were acquired; one after neutral- and one after trauma-script-driven imagery. We found that oxytocin administration reduced amygdala-left vlPFC FC after trauma script-driven imagery, compared with neutral script-driven imagery, whereas in PL-treated participants enhanced amygdala-left vlPFC FC was observed following trauma script-driven imagery. Irrespective of script condition, oxytocin increased amygdala-insula FC and decreased amygdala-vmPFC FC. These neural effects were accompanied by lower levels of sleepiness and higher flashback intensity in the oxytocin group after the trauma script. Together, our findings show that oxytocin administration may impede emotion regulation network functioning in response to trauma reminders in recently trauma-exposed individuals. Therefore, caution may be warranted in administering oxytocin to prevent PTSD in distressed, recently trauma-exposed individuals.
Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Brain Imaging Center, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Jessie L
JL
Frijling
Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Mirjam
M
van Zuiden
Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Brain Imaging Center, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Saskia B J
SB
Koch
Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Brain Imaging Center, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Laura
L
Nawijn
Department of Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Dick J
DJ
Veltman
Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Arq Psychotrauma Expert Group, Diemen, The Netherlands.
Miranda
M
Olff
D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D055815:Young Adult
D010121:Oxytocin