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Cited by 65Neuroendocrine regulation and behaviorNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesOlfactory and Sensory Function Studies

Oxytocin blurs the self-other distinction during trait judgments and reduces medial prefrontal cortex responses: Oxytocin Blurs Self-Other Distinction

Open access
Zhao, Weihua, Yao, Shuxia, Li, Qin, Geng, Yayuan, Ma, Xiaole, Luo, Lizhu, Xu, Lei, Kendrick, Keith M·2016·Human Brain Mapping
DOI 10.1002/hbm.23190PMC PMC6867482
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Abstract

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) may act either to increase or blur the distinction between self and other and thereby promote either more selfish or altruistic behaviors. To attempt to distinguish between these two possibilities we performed a double-blind, between-subject, placebo-controlled design study to investigate the effect of intranasal OXT on self and other (mother, classmate, or stranger) trait judgments in conjunction with functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results showed that OXT reduced response times for making both self and other judgments, but also reduced the accuracy of their subsequent recall, thereby abolishing the normal self-bias observed in this task. OXT also abolished the positive correlation between response and self-esteem scale scores seen in the PLC group, suggesting that its effects were strongest in individuals with higher levels of self-esteem. A whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis revealed that OXT also reduced responses during both self and other trait judgments in the dorsal (dmPFC) and ventral (vmPFC) medial prefrontal cortex. A subsequent region of interest analysis revealed that behavioral performance and self-esteem scale scores were associated with dmPFC activation and its functional connectivity with the anterior cingulate and between the vmPFC and posterior cingulate. Thus overall, while OXT may improve speed of decision making in self -vs. other trait judgments it also blunts the normal bias towards remembering self-attributes and reduces mPFC responses and connectivity with other cortical midline regions involved in self-processing. This is consistent with the view that OXT can reduce self-centered behavior. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2512-2527, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

Intranasal oxytocin in healthy Chinese men sped up self- and other-trait judgments but reduced later recall accuracy, abolishing the usual self-bias. These behavioral effects were accompanied by reduced medial prefrontal cortex responses and altered mPFC connectivity with cortical midline regions.

Key findings

  • Oxytocin reduced reaction times across trait-judgment conditions: significant main effect of treatment [F(1,36)=4.63, P=0.038], with the strongest post hoc effect for stranger judgments [t=6.39, P=0.016, Cohen’s d=0.82]; in the placebo group, stranger judgments were slower than self, mother, and classmate judgments.
  • Oxytocin reduced subsequent recognition accuracy and weakened the self-bias: overall OXT vs. PLC recognition difference [t(36)=3.02, P=0.005, Cohen’s d=0.95]; positive self and mother adjectives were remembered better in PLC than OXT (self: t=2.14, P=0.039; mother: t=2.25, P=0.031), and negative self and stranger adjectives were also better in PLC (self: t=2.74, P=0.01; stranger: t=2.43, P=0.02).
  • Oxytocin reduced mPFC responses: whole-brain analysis showed a main effect of treatment (PLC > OXT) in mPFC; dmPFC ROI showed a treatment main effect [F(1,36)=4.65, P=0.038], and vmPFC showed a marginal treatment main effect [F(1,36)=3.58, P=0.067], with PLC greater activation across conditions.
  • Oxytocin altered functional connectivity and self-esteem associations: dmPFC–ACC connectivity decreased during self judgments and dmPFC–hippocampus during mother judgments; vmPFC–PCC/precuneus connectivity decreased during self judgments. In PLC, trait-judgment RT correlated positively with self-esteem for self [r=0.539, P=0.014] and mother [r=0.477, P=0.034], but not under OXT [self: r=−0.196, P=0.436; mother: r=−0.328, P=0.183].

Methods

  • Double-blind, between-subject, placebo-controlled fMRI study in 41 male Chinese university students; 3 excluded for excessive head movement, leaving OXT n=18 and PLC n=20. Participants received 40 IU intranasal oxytocin or placebo, and the task began 45 min later.
  • Trait-judgment task: participants judged whether positive and negative Chinese trait adjectives described themselves, their mother, a classmate, a stranger, or the font; 48 words per judgment condition were used in scanning, followed by a surprise old/new memory test with 160 old and 160 new adjectives.
  • fMRI analysis used SPM8 with whole-brain ANOVA/t-tests (P<0.01, FDR corrected, ≥10 voxels), dmPFC and vmPFC ROI analyses, and generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) connectivity analyses; behavioral and neural measures were correlated with reaction time and questionnaire scores including self-esteem, inclusion of other in self, and self-construal.

Limitations

  • Stated in the paper: the study included only male subjects, and recent studies have reported gender differences in oxytocin effects, so effects in females may differ. The authors also note possible cultural contributions because participants were from a collectivist culture, though no cultural differences in intranasal oxytocin responses have yet been found.
  • Evident from the text: the final sample was small (38 subjects), and several key behavioral effects were marginal or trend-level, including the condition × treatment interaction for reaction time [F(3,108)=2.56, P=0.059] and several post hoc comparisons.
  • Evident from the text: whole-brain and ROI analyses found no treatment × condition interaction, so the claim that oxytocin specifically blurs self–other distinctions rests mainly on reduced self-bias in recall and on condition-level activation/connectivity patterns rather than a clear interaction.

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Registry

Crossref · 10.1002/hbm.23190

Cites

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Claims the paper makes

0 of 62 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

  • Findingown data

    OXT abolished the positive correlation between response and self-esteem scale scores seen in the PLC group.

    “OXT also abolished the positive correlation between response and self-esteem scale scores seen in the PLC group, suggesting that its effects were strongest in individuals with higher levels of self-esteem.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    OXT reduced the accuracy of subsequent recall of trait judgments.

    “Results showed that OXT reduced response times for making both self and other judgments, but also reduced the accuracy of their subsequent recall, thereby abolishing the normal self-bias observed in this task.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    Self-esteem scale scores were associated with functional connectivity between the vmPFC and posterior cingulate.

    “A subsequent region of interest analysis revealed that behavioral performance and self-esteem scale scores were associated with dmPFC activation and its functional connectivity with the anterior cingulate and between the vmPFC and posterior cingulate.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Findingown data

    There was a significant main effect of treatment on trait-judgment reaction time.

    “There was a significant main effect of treatment [F (1,36) 5 4.63, P 5 0.038, g 2 5 0.114] and a marginal significant main effect of valence and medium effect size [F (1,108) 5 2.87, P 5 0.09, g 2 5 0.074].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Findingown data

    Behavioral performance and self-esteem scale scores were associated with dmPFC activation and its functional connectivity with the anterior cingulate.

    “A subsequent region of interest analysis revealed that behavioral performance and self-esteem scale scores were associated with dmPFC activation and its functional connectivity with the anterior cingulate and between the vmPFC and posterior cingulate.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • May combine two claims. 35
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 34

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    OXT tended to decrease reaction time compared with PLC across all conditions, with significant reduction only for stranger traits.

    “Thus OXT tended to decrease RT compared with PLC across all conditions, although only with stranger traits did it achieve significance (self: t 5 3.35, P 5 0.076, Cohen's d 5 0.59; mother: t 5 2.33, P 5 0.13; classmate: t 5 3.92, P 5 0.055, Cohen's d 5 0.64; stranger: t 5 6.39, P 5 0.016, Cohen's d 5 0.82).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The contrast between self versus mother yielded a significant difference in left ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and self versus stranger in right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, with greater activation in placebo than oxytocin.

    “The contrast between self-vs.mother yielded a significant difference in left vmPFC and self-vs.unfamiliar other (stranger) in the right dmPFC (SVC) (PLC > OXT; see Fig. 3d).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Whole brain analysis revealed a main effect of condition with significant activation differences in superior frontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, and medial prefrontal cortex, but there was no interaction between treatment and condition.

    “Whole brain analysis revealed a main effect of condition with significant activation differences in superior frontal gyrus (SFG 24, 59, 4/21, 26, 49), medial frontal gyrus (MFG 227, 23, 49/42, 47, 211), mPFC (26, 35, 40) and II and Fig. 3a), but there was no interaction between treatment and condition.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingown data

    The connectivity strength between dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex was not significantly correlated with reaction time in either the oxytocin or placebo group.

    “The connectivity strength between dmPFC and ACC was not significantly correlated with RT in either OXT or PLC group (OXT: r < 0.458, P > 0.065; PLC: r < 0.373, P > 0.105 in all cases).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Two-way ANOVA for dorsomedial prefrontal cortex ROI showed main effects of condition and treatment due to oxytocin decreasing dorsomedial prefrontal cortex activation, but there was no treatment by condition interaction.

    “Two-way ANOVA for dmPFC ROI results showed main effects of condition [F (3,108) 5 3.84, P 5 0.012, g 2 5 0.096] and treatment [F (1,36) 5 4.65, P 5 0.038, g 2 5 0.114] due to OXT decreasing dmPFC activation, but there was no treatment 3 condition interaction [F (3,108) 5 0.035, P 5 0.853].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In the placebo group, for negative valence trait adjectives, recognition accuracy was significantly greater for self versus mother, but not for classmate or stranger.

    “For negative valence trait adjectives in the PLC group accuracy was significantly greater for self-vs.mother (P 5 0.038, Cohen's d 5 0.59) but not for classmate (P 5 0.453) and stranger (P 5 0.573)”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingown data

    There was no association between reaction time and subsequent accuracy in either the placebo or oxytocin groups.

    “A correlation analysis revealed that there was no association between RT and subsequent accuracy in either the PLC (positive trait adjectives: r 5 20.012, P 5 0.959; negative trait adjectives: r 5 20.079, P 5 0.74 or OXT (positive trait adjectives: r 5 20.094, P 5 0.709; negative trait adjectives: r 5 20.038, P 5 0.88) groups.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The correlation coefficient for dorsomedial prefrontal cortex activation and self-esteem in the oxytocin group was significantly greater than in the placebo group in self and classmate conditions and marginally in the stranger condition.

    “Fisher z-transformation results showed that the correlation coefficient in the OXT group was significant greater than in the PLC group in self (z 5 2.14, P 5 0.03) and classmate (z 5 2.28, P 5 0.02) conditions and marginally in the stranger one (z 5 1.84, P 5 0.06).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In the oxytocin group, positive valence self-trait adjectives were remembered significantly better than mother and classmate conditions, but not stranger.

    “whereas in the OXT group only for self-vs.mother (P 5 0.006, Cohen's d 5 0.92) and classmate (P 5 0.035, Cohen's d 5 0.66).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In the oxytocin group, the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex showed decreased functional connectivity with the anterior cingulate cortex during the self condition and with the hippocampus in the mother condition compared with placebo.

    “The PPI analysis revealed that in the OXT group the dmPFC (26,46,20) showed decreased functional connectivity with the ACC (15, 29, 25) during the self condition and with the hippocampus (233,222,217) in the mother condition compared with PLC (see Fig. 5a-c).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and reaction time was not significantly correlated with any conditions across the two groups.

    “However, activation in the vmPFC and RT was not significantly correlated with any conditions across the two groups”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Reaction times to negative but not positive valence stranger trait judgments were significantly longer than for self and mother, but not classmate.

    “In addition, RTs to negative but not positive valence stranger trait judgments were significantly longer than for self (P 5 0.013, Cohen's d 5 0.38) and mother (P 5 0.003, Cohen's d 5 0.52), but not for classmate (P 5 0.27).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    For the font judgment condition, there was no significant difference between placebo and oxytocin groups for either reaction time or recognition accuracy.

    “For the font judgment (bold-vs.light-faced) condition there was no significant difference between the PLC and OXT group for either RT [t (36) 50.165,P 5 0.87] or recognition accuracy [t (36) 50.032,P 5 0.97].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    These behavioral effects were associated with reduced mPFC activation associated with self-vs.other referential processing and with a reduction in functional connectivity between dmPFC and ACC when making self-trait judgments.

    “These behavioral effects were associated with reduced mPFC activation associated with self-vs.other referential processing and with a reduction in functional connectivity between dmPFC and ACC when making self-trait judgments.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    OXT's established role in promoting affiliative behavior and social bonds is more consistent with it acting to decrease self-interest and to increase interest in others.

    “Indeed, OXT's established role in promoting affiliative behavior and social bonds [Bartz et al., 2011;Bethlehem et al., 2013;Guastella and MacLeod, 2012;Striepens et al., 2011] would seem more consistent with it acting to decrease self-interest and to increase interest in others.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Bartz et al., 2011

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    • cites Bethlehem et al., 2013 source

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    • cites Guastella and MacLeod, 2012 source

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    Study design and conductown data

    Old and new adjectives used during the memory test did not differ significantly in valence intensity or arousal.

    “between old (160) and new (160) adjectives used during the memory test for valence intensity (t 5 0.95, P 5 0.34) and arousal (t 5 0.01, P 5 0.99), or”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    OXT may sharpen the self-other perceptual boundary by increasing the ability to discriminate between one's own face and that of an unfamiliar person.

    “Another study has reported that OXT may sharpen self-other perceptual boundary by showing in a morphing paradigm that it increased the ability of subjects to discriminate between their own face (self) and that of an unfamiliar person (other) [Colonnello et al., 2013].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Colonnello et al., 2013 source

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    Premisecitation

    Self-perception can be modulated by self-esteem.

    “Self-perception can be modulated by self-esteem which can influence perception of social standing and evaluations individuals make about their personal worth [Somerville et al., 2010].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Somerville et al., 2010 source

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  • May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductown data

    There were no significant differences between the OXT and PLC treatment groups in age or personality, emotion state, anxiety, self-esteem, or self-construct scores.

    “Table I shows that there were no significant differences between the OXT and PLC treatment groups in terms of age or personality (NEO-Five Factor Inventory), emotion state (Positive and Negative Affective Schedule), anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), self-esteem (SES), or selfconstruct (Self Construal Scale) scores.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Intranasal OXT has been reported to increase memories for positive self-attributes.

    “Thus intranasal OXT has been reported to increase memories for positive selfattributes [Colonnello and Heinrichs, 2014] and selfreported ratings of one's own extraversion and openness to experiences [Cardoso et al., 2012].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Colonnello and Heinrichs, 2014

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    • cites Cardoso et al., 2012 source

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  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductown data

    Judgment and memory adjectives did not differ significantly in valence intensity or arousal.

    “There was also no significant difference between judgment (240) and memory (160) adjectives for valence intensity (t 5 0.56, P 5 0.58) and arousal (t 5 0.01, P 5 0.99), or”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Several studies have reported OXT effects on DMN regions associated with self-processing, including increased activation in the ACC and precuneus during self-processing of disgust and in the insula for both self and other processing.

    “Several studies have reported OXT effects on DMN regions associated with self-processing, including increased activation in both the ACC and precuneus during self-processing of disgust and in the insula for both self and other processing [Scheele et al., 2014a,b].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Scheele et al., 2014a,b

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  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    OXT was found to decrease the differential amplitudes of a frontocentral positivity at 220 to 280 ms (P200) in the area of the mPFC and ACC during self-vs.-valence judgments.

    “In another event related potential study, OXT was found to decrease the differential amplitudes of a frontocentral positivity at 220 to 280 ms (P200) in the area of the mPFC and ACC during self-vs.valence-judgments (self-referential processing) [Liu et al., 2013].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Liu et al., 2013 source

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    Premisecitation

    Individuals with high self-esteem tend to have a self-positivity bias.

    “Individuals with high self-esteem tend to have a self-positivity bias [Tao et al., 2012] and increasingly research is showing overlap between neural substrates in the cortical midline system involved in selfreferential processing and self-esteem [Frewen et al., 2013;Yang et al., 2012Yang et al., , 2014]].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Tao et al., 2012 source

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    Study design and conductown data

    Positive and negative trait adjectives did not differ significantly in valence intensity or arousal.

    “Ratings by this separate group of subjects revealed no significant difference between positive (200) and negative (200) trait-adjectives for valence intensity (t 5 1.6, P 5 0.1) and arousal (t 5 0.86, P 5 0.4).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    OXT has been found to increase taking another-but not a self-perspective in a pain perception context.

    “OXT has also been found to increase taking another-but not a self-perspective in a pain perception context [Abu-Akel et al., 2015]”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Abu-Akel et al., 2015 source

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    Premisecitation

    OXT effects are influenced by a number of other personality traits as well as context.

    “While there is no evidence to date that OXT effects may be modulated by levels of selfesteem there is growing evidence that they are influenced by a number of other different personality traits as well as context [Bartz et al., 2011].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Bartz et al., 2011

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    Premisecitation

    OXT effects have been reported to be modified by trait forgiveness, autism, and depression trait scores.

    “For example, OXT effects have been reported to be modified by trait forgiveness [Yao et al., 2014] and autism [Bartz et al., 2010;Scheele et al., 2014a;Xu et al., 2015] and depression”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Yao et al., 2014 source

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    • cites Bartz et al., 2010 source

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    • cites Scheele et al., 2014a

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    Interpretationown data

    The behavioral effects of oxytocin were associated with reduced dorsomedial and ventromedial prefrontal cortex responses and functional connectivity between them and other cortical midline regions.

    “These behavioral effects of OXT were associated with reduced dmPFC and vmPFC responses and functional connectivity between them and other cortical midline regions (vmPFC-precuneus/PCC, dmPFC-ACC/ hippocampus) important for self-vs.other processing”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Berkovich-Ohana, 2012 source

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    • cites Qin and Northoff, 2011 source

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    • cites Sheline et al., 2009 source

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    Premisecitation

    As traits are incorporated into the self-schema, subsequent memory for them is increased.

    “In other words, as traits are incorporated into the self-schema subsequent memory for them is increased [Molnar-Szakacs and Uddin, 2013].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Molnar-Szakacs and Uddin, 2013

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    Interpretationown data

    The expected self-bias in remembering positive valence trait items was present, and this self-bias was significantly weakened by oxytocin treatment.

    “Overall this confirmed the presence of the expected self-bias in remembering positive valence trait items [Mu and Han, 2010;Symons and Johnson, 1997] and that this self-bias was significantly weakened by OXT treatment.”
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    • cites Mu and Han, 2010

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    • cites Symons and Johnson, 1997 source

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    Premisecitation

    The ventromedial prefrontal cortex has been implicated with the subjective value of rewards and has been hypothesized to play a role in assigning personal value or significance to self-related contents.

    “The vmPFC in particular has been implicated with the subjective value of rewards [Levy and Glimcher, 2012;Sescousse et al., 2013] and has been hypothesized to play a role in assigning personal value or significance to selfrelated contents [see D 'Argembeau, 2013].”
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    • cites Levy and Glimcher, 2012 source

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    • cites Sescousse et al., 2013 source

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    • cites D 'Argembeau, 2013

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  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Oxytocin reduces reaction times for making both self and other trait judgments, suggestive of improved decision making, but also reduced their subsequent recall, thereby preventing the normal advantage for remembering self-attributed traits.

    “Overall our findings showed that while OXT reduces RTs for making both self and other trait judgments, suggestive of improved decision making, it also reduced their subsequent recall, thereby preventing the normal advantage for remembering selfattributed traits.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    The medial prefrontal cortex has been shown to be engaged during tasks which require making specific judgments about both one's own traits and those of others.

    “The mPFC has been shown to be engaged during tasks which require making specific judgments about both one's own traits and those of others' [Cikara et al., 2014;Kim andJohnson, 2012, 2014;Yang et al., 2012].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Cikara et al., 2014 source

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    • cites Kim andJohnson, 2012, 2014

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    • cites Yang et al., 2012 source

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  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Both behavioral and neural findings support an action of oxytocin in decreasing the distinction between self and other at both behavioral and neural levels.

    “Thus both behavioral and neural findings support an action of OXT in decreasing the distinction between self and other at both behavioral and neural levels.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Self-descriptiveness judgment reaction times are shortened by reduced task difficulty and by the degree of certainty in the decision made.

    “Selfdescriptiveness judgment RTs are shortened by reduced task difficulty [Meffert et al., 2013] and by the degree of certainty in the decision made [D' Argembeau et al., 2012].”
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    • cites Meffert et al., 2013 source

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    • cites D' Argembeau et al., 2012

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    Interpretationown data

    Behavioral and neural oxytocin effects were modulated by trait self-esteem although not by inclusion of other in self.

    “Furthermore, behavioral and neural OXT effects were modulated by trait self-esteem although not by that of inclusion of other in self.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Oxytocin treatment clearly weakened the self-versus-other bias in recall accuracy, suggesting that it was blurring the self-other distinction rather than sharpening it.

    “Indeed, OXT treatment clearly weakened the self-vs.other bias in recall accuracy suggesting that it was blurring the self-other distinction rather than sharpening it.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The magnitude of medial prefrontal cortex activation reflects both the personal importance attributed to self-representations and the degree of interest in self-reflection.

    “Thus the magnitude of mPFC activation reflects both the personal importance attributed to self-representations and the degree of interest in self-reflection [D' Argembeau et al., 2012;D'Argembeau and Salmon, 2012].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites D' Argembeau et al., 2012

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    • cites D'Argembeau and Salmon, 2012

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    Premisecitation

    Activity in the dmPFC has been consistently associated with tasks related to social cognition, theory of mind (perspective-taking), episodic memory retrieval, and face emotion processing.

    “Activity in the dmPFC has been consistently associated with tasks related to social cognition, theory of mind (i.e., perspective-taking), episodic memory retrieval, as well as face emotion processing [Bzdok et al., 2013].”
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    • cites Bzdok et al., 2013 source

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  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The OXT receptor (rs53576) polymorphism is associated with emotional social support seeking in Americans but not in Koreans.

    “A recent genetic study has also reported that while the OXT receptor (rs53576) polymorphism is associated with emotional social support seeking in Americans, it is not in Koreans [Kim et al., 2010].”
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    • cites Kim et al., 2010 source

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    Interpretationreasoning

    OXT may make individuals better at judging both self- and other-trait attributes while at the same time making them less self-centered by reducing their interest in assessing differences between themselves and others.

    “In short, while OXT may make individuals better at judging both self and other-trait attributes it may at the same time make them less self-centered by reducing their interest in assessing the differences between themselves and others.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

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    Study design and conductnone given

    The current study only included male subjects.

    “A limitation of the current study is that it only included male subjects”
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  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Low self-esteem individuals have stronger functional connectivity between mPFC and ACC than high-esteem ones in the context of a social exclusion task.

    “with lowesteem individuals reported to have stronger functional connectivity between mPFC and ACC than high-esteem ones in the context of a social exclusion task [Onoda et al., 2010].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Onoda et al., 2010 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Remembered items induced activation in dmPFC, lateral prefrontal cortex, and bilateral hippocampus/parahippocampal gyrus compared to forgotten items.

    “Macrae et al. [2004] found remembered items induced activation in dmPFC, lateral prefrontal cortex, and bilateral hippocampus/parahippocampal gyrus when compared to forgotten items”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Macrae et al., 2004 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    vmPFC (versus dmPFC) was more consistently associated with reward processing and general cognition, while dmPFC (versus vmPFC) was more consistently associated with episodic memory retrieval and theory-of-mind processing.

    “In addition, the vmPFC (versus dmPFC) was more consistently associated with reward processing and general cognition, while the dmPFC (versus vmPFC) was more consistently associated with (episodic) memory retrieval and theory-of-mind processing.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Bzdok et al., 2013 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    ACC and dmPFC appeared only with increasing degrees of self-relatedness during emotional processing.

    “the latter two appearing only with increasing degrees of self-relatedness during emotional processing.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Phan et al., 2002 source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Phan et al., 2004 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Activity in vmPFC is consistently associated with tasks related to general cognition, social cognition, and emotion and reward processing.

    “Moreover, activity in the vmPFC was consistently associated with tasks related to general cognition, social cognition, as well as emotion and reward processing [Bzdok et al., 2013].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Bzdok et al., 2013 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Several recent studies have reported gender differences in OXT effects.

    “several recent studies have reported gender differences in OXT effects [Scheele et al., 2014b;Yao et al., 2014].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Scheele et al., 2014b

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Yao et al., 2014 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Overall, vmPFC appears more associated with processing approach- and avoidance-relevant stimuli, whereas dmPFC is more connected with higher associative cortical areas involved in processing mental states and episodic memory.

    “Thus overall the vmPFC appears to be more associated with processing approach-and avoidance-relevant stimuli whereas the dmPFC is more connected with higher associative cortical areas involved in processing mental states and episodic memory [Bzdok et al., 2013].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Bzdok et al., 2013 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    The more self-related the picture content was appraised, the more activation was observed in anterior CMS regions including vmPFC, ACC, and dmPFC.

    “In other words, the more self-related the picture content was appraised, the more activation was observed in these regions [Phan et al., 2002[Phan et al., , 2004]].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Phan et al., 2002 source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Phan et al., 2004 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    The self-descriptive versus nonself-descriptive contrast revealed activation in dmPFC during retrieval of visually presented self- and nonself-related adjectives describing personality traits.

    “while the self-descriptive versus nonselfdescriptive contrast revealed activation in the dmPFC during the retrieval of visually presented self-and nonselfrelated adjectives describing personality traits [Macrae et al., 2004].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Macrae et al., 2004 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Regions associated with self-relatedness were located in the anterior CMS, including vmPFC, ACC, and dmPFC.

    “Regions associated with self-relatedness were located in the anterior CMS including vmPFC, ACC, and dmPFC”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Phan et al., 2002 source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Phan et al., 2004 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Compared with Western cultures, Asian collectivist cultures typically exhibit a more interdependent and extended sense of self, and therefore a weaker self-other distinction.

    “Compared with Western cultures where individuals have a more independent sense of self, and therefore more marked self-other distinctions, Asian collectivist cultures typically exhibit a much more interdependent and extended sense of self, and therefore a weaker self-other distinction”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Aron et al., 2004 source

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    • cites Belk, 1988 source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Markus and Kitayama, 1991 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    The dmPFC and ACC form a continuum in coding information for self-relevance in both cognitive and emotional domains.

    “It has been proposed by Northoff et al. [2006] that the dmPFC and ACC form a continuum in coding information for self-relevance in both cognitive and emotional domains [Northoff et al., 2006;Wagner et al., 2013].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Northoff et al., 2006 source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Wagner et al., 2013 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    OXT effects in weakening functional connectivity between dmPFC and ACC might particularly contribute to reduced recognition memory accuracy for self-trait judgments, thereby blurring the distinction between self and other.

    “Thus, OXT effects in weakening functional connectivity between these two regions might particularly contribute to reduced recognition memory accuracy for self-trait judgments, thereby blurring the distinction between self and other.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Emotional pictures' degree of self-relatedness parametrically modulated subsequent resting state signal changes in various CMS regions, including vmPFC, dmPFC, and PCC/precuneus.

    “One study reported that the emotional pictures' degree of self-relatedness parametrically modulated subsequent resting state signal changes in various CMS regions, including vmPFC, dmPFC, and PCC/precuneus [Schneider et al., 2008].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Schneider et al., 2008 source

      Not checked in the free run.

57 of 57

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    No evidence to date indicates that OXT effects are modulated by levels of self-esteem.

    “While there is no evidence to date that OXT effects may be modulated by levels of selfesteem there is growing evidence that they are influenced by a number of other different personality traits as well as context [Bartz et al., 2011].”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    There is an inherent emotional component to self-relevant processing.

    “Since there is an inherent emotional component to self-relevant processing, stronger connectivity between ACC and mPFC may contribute to the memory bias for self-trait judgments.”
2 of 2

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Increased OXT reduces activity in vmPFC, accelerates response to social cues, reduces recall accuracy, and blurs boundaries between self and others.

    “Increased OXT reduces activity in vmPFC, accelerates the response to social cues, reduces recall accuracy, and blurs the boundaries between self and others (Zhao et al., 2016).”

    From Music's context-dependent influence on oxytocin, social bonding, and emotion regulation: a systematic review (2026) · cites this paper as Zhao et al., 2016

    The Discussion reports reduced vmPFC responses, shorter response times, and poorer subsequent recall during self- and other-trait judgments, and interprets these findings as blurring the self–other distinction. The claim broadens the faster responses to social cues generally, whereas the study reports them specifically for trait judgments. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Brett, 2002, Region of interest analysis using the MarsBar toolbox for SPM 99, Neuroimage, 16, S497
  2. Costa, 1989, The Neo-PI/Neo-FFI Manual Supplement, 105
  3. Wang, 2005, Explorations of Chinese Personality

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Zhao, W., Yao, S., Li, Q., Geng, Y., Ma, X., Luo, L., Xu, L., & Kendrick, K. M.
Affiliations
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (CN)
Corresponding author
Kendrick, Keith M
ORCID
Venue
Human Brain Mapping
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2016-03-26
Volume
37
Issue
7
Pages
2512-2527
ISSN
1065-9471 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1002/hbm.23190
PMC
PMC6867482
OpenAlex
W2305533550
Semantic Scholar
bfdcf73bb73739eb080f1f9fb3d77545db9b1127
Cited by
65
References
85
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 8
FWCI
12.05
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
doi.wiley.com/10.1002/tdm_license_1.1 (tdm)
Locations
  • Human Brain Mapping (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Natural Science Foundation of China (31530032)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
Keywords
oxytocin, self-other distinction, trait judgments, self-bias, self-esteem, medial prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, self-processing, altruism, decision-making
MeSH terms
Administration, Intranasal, Brain Mapping, Double-Blind Method, Humans, Judgment, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Neutralization Tests, Oxytocin, Psychotropic Drugs, Reaction Time, Mental Recall, Self Concept, Social Perception, Prefrontal Cortex, Young Adult

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Claims read by deepseek-v4.1-flash under definition version 3 (extract-v3) on 2026-10-10.

Classified by jev-1.13-20260917 (gold-guideline-v0.2) on 2026-10-10.

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