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Oxytocin Modulates Neural Circuitry for Social Cognition and Fear in Humans

Peter Kirsch, Christine Esslinger, Qiang Chen, Daniela Mier, Stefanie Lis, Sarina Siddhanti, Harald Gruppe, Venkata S. Mattay, Bernd Gallhofer and Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg
Journal of Neuroscience 7 December 2005, 25 (49) 11489-11493; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3984-05.2005
Peter Kirsch
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Christine Esslinger
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Qiang Chen
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Daniela Mier
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Stefanie Lis
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Sarina Siddhanti
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Harald Gruppe
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Venkata S. Mattay
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Bernd Gallhofer
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Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg
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    Figure 1.

    Oxytocin effects on amygdala activation. A, Rendering on normal coronal MRI at the level of the anterior commissure (in neurological orientation: the brain left is on the viewer's left). The response to face stimuli is on the left, and the response to scene stimuli is on the right. Top, Placebo; bottom, oxytocin. See Table 2 for statistical information. B, Significantly higher activation under placebo than oxytocin (main effect of drug condition). See Table 2 for statistical information. C, Plot of BOLD in the amygdala ROI (ANOVA; significant main effect of drug condition: F(1,56) = 4.2, p = 0.045; main effect of task and drug-by-task interaction were not significant).

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    Figure 2.

    Significant decrease in coupling of the amygdala to the midbrain under oxytocin. A, Maps of significant difference in connectivity from the amygdala to the midbrain, in neurological orientation. See Table 2 for statistical information. B, Plot of oxytocin effect on correlation with the amygdala (Pearson's r) at the midbrain location showing maximum linkage to the amygdala during the placebo condition (coordinates: -6, -24, -15), highly significant decrease under oxytocin (p < 0.004; t test).

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    Table 1.

    Behavioral data

    Placebo before scan Placebo after/during scan Oxytocin before scan Oxytocin after/during scan t test (after/during scanning)
    Faces task
    Accuracy (%) 98.8% (13.3) 99.1% (1.7) p = 0.77
    Reaction time (ms) 1094 (205) 1105 (194) p = 0.91
    Scene task
    Accuracy (%) 99.7% (1.0) 100% (0.0) p = 1.00
    Reaction time (ms) 898 (171) 899 (140) p = 0.99
    STAXIa
    State 10.1 (0.4) 10.2 (0.8) 10.6 (1.8) 10.3 (0.8) p = 0.33
    Trait 17.7 (3.8) 18.3 (3.6) p = 0.23
    MDBFb
    Arousal 31.3 (6.3) 34.1 (6.0) 33.9 (4.8) 34.1 (6.8) p = 0.96
    Wakefulness 30.1 (9.2) 24.1 (8.9) 32.5 (6.6) 26.2 (7.4) p = 0.28
    Emotional valencec 34.2 (4.8) 35.0 (4.5) 35.5 (3.7) 35.6 (5.4) p = 0.56
    SAMd
    Arousal 3.7 (0.98) 4.3 (0.70) 3.8 (0.68) 4.1 (0.96) p = 0.42
    Dominance 3.5 (0.64) 3.6 (0.63) 3.8 (0.56) 3.6 (0.83) p = 1.00
    Emotional valencec 1.9 (0.92) 1.5 (0.64) 1.6 (0.51) 1.7 (0.80) p = 0.04
    • A nominally significant reduction in valence in the SAM was not seen in the MDBF. The mean (SD) is shown. ANOVA of drug-by-time of application interactions did not identify any significant effects. Wakefulness (MDBF) was significantly reduced after the scan.

    • ↵ a Data are from Spielberger (1988).

    • ↵ b One subject failed to fill out a questionnaire for the MDBF (Steyer et al., 1994).

    • ↵ c Higher equals more positive.

    • ↵ d Data are from Bradley and Lang (1994).

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    Table 2.

    Significant differences in amygdala activation and connectivity

    Area Talairach coordinates T value
    Activation
    Placebo > oxytocin
    Left amygdala (main effect) −24, 3, −24 2.59
    Left amygdala (faces task) −24, 3, −24 2.12
    Left amygdala (scenes task) −21, 0, −24 1.88*
    Connectivity
    Placebo > oxytocin
    Midbrain 9, −27, −15 3.50
    Midbrain −18, −18, −12 2.75
    • All reported voxels are significant at p < 0.05, corrected for multiple comparisons within the amygdala ROI (activation) or brainstem ROI (connectivity), except for *p = 0.077, corrected. Coordinates are in millimeters relative to the anterior commissure in the space defined by the MNI template.

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The Journal of Neuroscience: 25 (49)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 25, Issue 49
7 Dec 2005
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Oxytocin Modulates Neural Circuitry for Social Cognition and Fear in Humans
Peter Kirsch, Christine Esslinger, Qiang Chen, Daniela Mier, Stefanie Lis, Sarina Siddhanti, Harald Gruppe, Venkata S. Mattay, Bernd Gallhofer, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg
Journal of Neuroscience 7 December 2005, 25 (49) 11489-11493; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3984-05.2005

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Oxytocin Modulates Neural Circuitry for Social Cognition and Fear in Humans
Peter Kirsch, Christine Esslinger, Qiang Chen, Daniela Mier, Stefanie Lis, Sarina Siddhanti, Harald Gruppe, Venkata S. Mattay, Bernd Gallhofer, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg
Journal of Neuroscience 7 December 2005, 25 (49) 11489-11493; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3984-05.2005
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