Oxytocin, the peptide that bonds the sexes also divides them.
Facilitation of social attraction and bonding by the evolutionarily conserved neuropeptide oxytocin is well-established in female mammals. However, accumulating behavioral evidence suggests that oxytocin may have evolved sex-specific functional roles in the domain of human social cognition. A critical question is how oxytocin differentially modulates neural processing of social information in men and women, leading to divergent behavioral responses. Here we show that intranasal oxytocin treatment produces sex- and valence-dependent increases in amygdala activation when women view individuals identified as praising others but in men those who criticize them. Women subsequently show increased liking for the faces of these individuals, whereas in men it is reduced. Thus, oxytocin may act differentially via the amygdala to enhance the salience of positive social attributes in women but negative ones in men. We hypothesize that oxytocin may have evolved different but complementary roles to help ensure successful reproduction by encouraging mothers to promote a prosocial rearing environment for offspring and fathers to protect against antisocial influences.
Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, Ministry of Education, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China; School of Linguistics and Literature, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China;
Shan
S
Gao
Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, Ministry of Education, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China;
Benjamin
B
Becker
Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, Ministry of Education, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China;
Lizhu
L
Luo
Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, Ministry of Education, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China;
Yayuan
Y
Geng
Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, Ministry of Education, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China;
Weihua
W
Zhao
Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, Ministry of Education, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China;
Yu
Y
Yin
Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, Ministry of Education, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China; School of Linguistics and Literature, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China;
Jiehui
J
Hu
Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, Ministry of Education, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China; School of Linguistics and Literature, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China;
Zhao
Z
Gao
Huaxi Magnetic Resonance Research Centre, Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China;
Qiyong
Q
Gong
Division of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany.
Rene
R
Hurlemann
Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, Ministry of Education, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China;
Dezhong
D
Yao
Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, Ministry of Education, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China; kkendrick@uestc.edu.cn.
Keith M
KM
Kendrick
D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012919:Social Behavior; D066252:Sociological Factors; D055815:Young Adult
D010121:Oxytocin
amygdala; functional imaging; oxytocin; sex differences; social cognition