Oxytocin modulates hemodynamic responses to monetary incentives in humans.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

Oxytocin is a neuropeptide widely recognized for its role in regulating social and reproductive behavior. Increasing evidence from animal models suggests that oxytocin also modulates reward circuitry in non-social contexts, but evidence in humans is lacking.

Objectives

We examined the effects of oxytocin administration on reward circuit function in 18 healthy men as they performed a monetary incentive task.

Methods

The blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging in the context of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial of intranasal oxytocin.

Results

We found that oxytocin increases the BOLD signal in the midbrain (substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area) during t

SUBMITTER: Mickey BJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5106343 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature