Effect of a single dose of des-glycinamide-[Arg8]vasopressin or oxytocin on cognitive processes in young healthy subjects

doi:10.1016/0196-9781(92)90075-E

Peptides

Volume 13, Issue 3, May–June 1992, Pages 461-468

https://doi.org/10.1016/0196-9781(92)90075-E Get rights and content

Abstract

A single dose of des-glycinamide-[Arg⁸]vasopressin (DGAVP, 2 mg intranasal) or oxytocin (OXT, 20 IU intranasal) was given to female and male volunteers, respectively, in a placebo-controlled double-blind trial. Memory, vigilance, attention, and mood were tested starting 10 minutes after treatment. The DGAVP dose improved delayed recognition of abstract words when measured 1 week after treatment and reduced the intercept of a memory comparison task (Sternberg paradigm). A trend was present for DGAVP and OXT to affect learning, i.e., storage processes of verbal memory in an opposite way; DGAVP improved, while OXT attenuated initial storage and the rate of storage. No treatment effects on visual memory and vigilance were found. Of the mood measures, vigor was reduced immediately after treatment with OXT.

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Cited by (60)

Endogenous oxytocin levels are associated with impaired social cognition and neurocognition in schizophrenia
2019, Journal of Psychiatric Research
Citation Excerpt :
Cacciotti-Saija et al. (2015) and Guastella et al. (2015) evaluated other aspects of general cognition (e.g., immediate memory, language, attention, visuospatial construction, delayed memory) and found no benefits of OT. Beneficial effects of OT on general cognition have not been observed in the general population, for which OT has an impairing effect on memory (Bruins et al., 1992). Few studies have examined whether individuals with SZ have abnormalities in endogenous OT levels and whether these levels are associated with performance on social cognition tasks.
Intranasal administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has yielded inconsistent effects on social cognition and general cognition in individuals with schizophrenia (SZ). Few studies have examined whether endogenous peripheral OT levels are also associated with social and general cognition in SZ. The current study examined whether plasma OT levels are associated with performance on a higher-order social cognition measure (i.e., a task that requires inferential processes and knowledge not directly presented in social stimuli), as well as domains of general cognition. Participants included 30 individuals with SZ and 21 demographically matched healthy controls (CN). The MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery was administered to assess neuropsychological impairment in relation to 7 domains (processing speed, attention/vigilance, working memory, verbal learning, visual learning, reasoning/problem solving, and social cognition). Plasma OT levels were measured via radioimmunoassay. SZ had significantly lower endogenous OT levels and poorer MCCB performance on all 7 domains than CN. In CN and SZ, lower endogenous OT was associated with poorer social cognition. In SZ, lower endogenous OT was also associated with poorer processing speed and working memory. The significant association between OT and social cognition in both CN and SZ highlights the importance of endogenous OT levels as a biological predictor of social cognition, irrespective of clinical status. Significant associations between plasma OT and general neurocognition may reflect either an anxiolytic effect of plasma OT that results in better neurocognitive performance, or OT's action on dopamine and enhancement of dopamine tone that results in improved cognition.
Oxytocin effects in schizophrenia: Reconciling mixed findings and moving forward
2017, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that causes major functional impairment. Current pharmacologic treatments are inadequate, particularly for addressing negative and cognitive symptoms of the disorder. Oxytocin, a neuropeptide known to moderate social behaviors, has been investigated as a potential therapeutic for schizophrenia in recent years. Results have been decidedly mixed, leading to controversy regarding oxytocin’s utility. In this review, we outline several considerations for interpreting the extant literature and propose a focused agenda for future work that builds on the most compelling findings regarding oxytocin effects in schizophrenia to date. Specifically, we examine underlying causes of heterogeneity in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) conducted thus far and highlight the complexity of the human oxytocin system. We then review evidence of oxytocin’s effects on specific deficits in schizophrenia, arguing for further study using objective, precise outcome measures in order to determine whether oxytocin has the potential to improve functional impairment in schizophrenia.
Oxytocin and postpartum depression
2017, Revue Sage - Femme
La dépression du post-partum (DPP) est fréquente (10 %) avec un retentissement important sur la mère et son nouveau-né. Au niveau hormonal, la mauvaise régulation du taux d’ocytocine a un rôle clef dans la dépression. En thérapeutique, l’oxytocine est utilisée depuis peu en psychiatrie par voie intranasale ou intraveineuse notamment dans les troubles de l’humeur. Or, en obstétrique, cette molécule est administrée lors de l’accouchement. L’objectif de ce travail était de déterminer si l’oxytocine par voie intraveineuse pouvait influencer l’équilibre thymique de la mère dans le post-partum.
Revue de littérature après consultation des banques de données Pubmed et Sciencedirect avec les mots clefs : oxytocin, post-partum depression, pregnancy, social behavior.
Les effets de l’ocytocine dans la DPP s’intègrent dans un mécanisme plurifactoriel (hormonal et social) qui influence les effets hormonaux de l’ocytocine. L’oxytocine administrée en thérapeutique a pu donner des résultats probants en psychiatrie, la voie et le mode d’administration optimal ne sont pas connus. La DPP est associée à l’oxytocine administrée lors du travail. Les mécanismes physiopathologiques ne sont pas encore élucidés.
Il n’est pas exclu que l’oxytocine administrée lors de l’accouchement ait un lien avec la régulation de l’ocytocine endogène mais aucune étude n’a pu déterminer s’il s’agissait d’une relation de cause ou de conséquence.
Postpartum depression (PPD) is prevalent (about 10%) with a major impact on the mother and child health. At the hormonal level, poor regulation of oxytocin rate has a key role in depression. Recently, oxytocin has been used on psychiatric therapy, intranasal or intravenously, particularly in mood disorders. But, in obstetrics, this molecule is administered during childbirth. The objective of this study was to determine if intravenous administration of oxytocin could influence thymic state of the mother in the postpartum period.
Literature review, after consultation of Pubmed and Sciencedirect databases, with the following keywords: oxytocin, postpartum depression, pregnancy, social behavior.
The effects of oxytocin in the PPD are part of a multifactorial mechanism (hormonal and social) that influences the hormonal effects of oxytocin. Oxytocin use in therapeutic was able to give conclusive results in psychiatry, the way and the optimal method of administration are not known. PPD is associated with administrated oxytocin during labour. Physiopathology remains unknown.
It is possible that oxytocin administered during childbirth is related with the onset or worsening of the PPD without defining if it's a cause or a consequence.
Oxytocin and postpartum depression
2016, Journal de Gynecologie Obstetrique et Biologie de la Reproduction
La dépression du post-partum (DPP) est fréquente (10 %) avec un retentissement important sur la mère et son nouveau-né. Au niveau hormonal, la mauvaise régulation du taux d’ocytocine a un rôle clef dans la dépression. En thérapeutique, l’oxytocine est utilisée depuis peu en psychiatrie par voie intranasale ou intraveineuse notamment dans les troubles de l’humeur. Or, en obstétrique, cette molécule est administrée lors de l’accouchement. L’objectif de ce travail était de déterminer si l’oxytocine par voie intraveineuse pouvait influencer l’équilibre thymique de la mère dans le post-partum.
Revue de littérature après consultation des banques de données Pubmed et Sciencedirect avec les mots clefs : oxytocin, post-partum depression, pregnancy, social behavior.
Les effets de l’ocytocine dans la DPP s’intègrent dans un mécanisme plurifactoriel (hormonal et social) qui influence les effets hormonaux de l’ocytocine. L’oxytocine administrée en thérapeutique a pu donner des résultats probants en psychiatrie, la voie et le mode d’administration optimal ne sont pas connus. La DPP est associée à l’oxytocine administrée lors du travail. Les mécanismes physiopathologiques ne sont pas encore élucidés.
Il n’est pas exclu que l’oxytocine administrée lors de l’accouchement ait un lien avec la régulation de l’ocytocine endogène mais aucune étude n’a pu déterminer s’il s’agissait d’une relation de cause ou de conséquence.
Postpartum depression (PPD) is prevalent (about 10%) with a major impact on the mother and child health. At the hormonal level, poor regulation of oxytocin rate has a key role in depression. Recently, oxytocin has been used on psychiatric therapy, intranasal or intravenously, particularly in mood disorders. But, in obstetrics, this molecule is administered during childbirth. The objective of this study was to determine if intravenous administration of oxytocin could influence thymic state of the mother in the postpartum period.
Literature review, after consultation of Pubmed and Sciencedirect databases, with the following keywords: oxytocin, postpartum depression, pregnancy, social behavior.
The effects of oxytocin in the PPD are part of a multifactorial mechanism (hormonal and social) that influences the hormonal effects of oxytocin. Oxytocin use in therapeutic was able to give conclusive results in psychiatry, the way and the optimal method of administration are not known. PPD is associated with administrated oxytocin during labour. Physiopathology remains unknown.
It is possible that oxytocin administered during childbirth is related with the onset or worsening of the PPD without defining if it's a cause or a consequence.
Oxytocin and the modulation of pain experience: Implications for chronic pain management
2015, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
In an acute environment pain has potential protective benefits. However when pain becomes chronic this protective effect is lost and the pain becomes an encumbrance. Previously unheralded substances are being investigated in an attempt to alleviate the burden of living with chronic pain. Oxytocin, a neuropeptide hormone, is one prospective pharmacotherapeutic agent gaining popularity. Oxytocin has the potential to modulate the pain experience due to its ubiquitous involvement in central and peripheral psychological and physiological processes, and thus offers promise as a therapeutic agent. In this review, we discuss previous effective applications of oxytocin in pain-free clinical populations and its potential use in the modulation of pain experience. We also address the slowly growing body of literature investigating the administration of oxytocin in clinical and experimentally induced pain in order to investigate the potential mechanisms of its reported analgesic actions. We conclude that oxytocin offers a potential novel avenue for modulating the experience of pain, and that further research into this area is required to map its therapeutic benefit.
Schizophrenia and alcohol dependence: Diverse clinical effects of oxytocin and their evolutionary origins
2014, Brain Research
Citation Excerpt :
Over the past decade, human studies in which OT was administered in a nasal spray have found a wide range of pro-social effects (MacDonald and MacDonald, 2010). The advent of these studies was probably delayed by the inconsistent results of early studies employing the intranasal route of administration to determine if OT had amnestic effects previously found in animals (Ferrier et al., 1980; Fehm-Wolfsdorf and Born, 1991; Bruins et al., 1992) and by the negative results of two clinical trials testing whether sustained daily intranasal OT treatment improved symptoms in obsessive-compulsive disorder (den Boer and Westenberg, 1992; Epperson et al., 1996). The current era of studying OT effects on human social behavior was ushered in by a particularly elegant and highly influential experiment conducted by Kosfeld et al. (2005) which demonstrated that a single intranasal dose of OT significantly increased interpersonal trust.
Beginning in 1979 with the first report that central administration of oxytocin stimulates maternal behavior in virgin rats, decades of animal research and more recent human studies have demonstrated that oxytocin has many pro-social effects. These many findings suggest that oxytocin may be an effective treatment for social deficits that are hallmark features of disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. Effects in preclinical animal models also imply that oxytocin may be an efficacious pharmacotherapy in a wide range of psychiatric disorders including psychoses and addictions. To date, 3 small clinical trials found that daily intranasal oxytocin treatment for 2–8 weeks significantly reduced psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia. Two of these trials also found improvement in social cognition or neurocognition, areas in which patients have significant deficiencies that do not respond to conventional antipsychotic treatment and contribute to disability. In another small trial, intranasal oxytocin potently blocked alcohol withdrawal. After reviewing the rationale for these trials, they are described in more detail. Questions are then asked followed by discussions of the large gaps in our knowledge about brain oxytocin systems in humans. The hope is to highlight important directions for future investigations of the role of oxytocin in the pathophysiology of psychotic disorders and addictions and to extend clinical research in these areas. Heretofore unrecognized roles for which oxytocin may have been selected during the evolution of placental mammalian maternal–infant and other social attachments are considered as possible origins of oxytocin antipsychotic and antiaddiction effects.
This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Oxytocin and Social Behav.

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ArticleEffect of a single dose of des-glycinamide-[Arg8]vasopressin or oxytocin on cognitive processes in young healthy subjects

Abstract

Intranasal oxytocin in obsessive-compulsive disorder: A case report

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Vasopressin analog (DDAVP) facilitates concept learning in human males

Peptides

Vasopressin analog influences the performance of males on a reaction time task

Peptides

Vasopressin analog (DDAVP) improves memory in human males

Peptides

Oxytocin, vasopressin and memory: Opposite effects on consolidation and retrieval processes

Brain Res.

Memory information processing and depression

Information processing in depression and anxiety

Psychol. Med.

Influence of des-glycinamide-(Arg8)-vasopressin on memory processes in healthy subjects

Neuropsychobiology

Spontaneous remembering after recall failure

Science

Behavioral effects of intraventricularly administered vasopressin and vasopressin fragments

Life Sci.

Vasopressin and memory consolidation

Central actions of neurohypophysial hormones

Human memory and neurohypophyseal hormones: Opposite effects of vasopressin and oxytocin

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Vasopressin but not oxytocin enhances cortical arousal: An integrative hypothesis on behavioral effects of neurohypophyseal hormones

Psychopharmacology (Berlin)

Influence of oxytocin on human memory processes

Life Sci.

Effects of vasopressin and desmopressin on memory

Neuropsychobiology

A paper and pencil version of the Sternberg Memory Comparison Task

Influence of oxytocin on human memory processes: Validation by a control study

Life Sci.

Effects of lysine-vasopressin and 1-deamino-8-D-arginine-vasopressin on memory in healthy individuals and diabetes insipidus patients

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Effects of desglycinamide-arginine-vasopressin (DG-AVP) on memory processes in diabetes insipidus patients and nondiabetic subjects

Acta Endocrinol. (Copenh.)

Article
Effect of a single dose of des-glycinamide-[Arg⁸]vasopressin or oxytocin on cognitive processes in young healthy subjects