Post-retrieval oxytocin facilitates next day extinction of threat memory in humans.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

Memories can return to a labile state and become amenable to modification by pharmacological and behavioral manipulations after retrieval. This process may reduce the impact of aversive memories and provide a promising therapeutic technique for the treatment of anxiety disorders. A growing body of evidence suggests that the mammalian neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) plays a role in the regulation of emotional memories in animals. However, the effects of OT on threat memory in humans remain largely unknown.

Objectives

This study aimed to investigate the effects of OT administration following threat memory retrieval on subsequent memory expression in human participants.

Methods

In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, between-subject design, 61 healthy hum

SUBMITTER: Hu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6374199 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature