The DOI matches its Crossref record; 31 of the 32 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Oxytocin enhances the encoding of positive social memories in humans.
Abstract
Background In nonhuman mammals, oxytocin has a critical role in social recognition and the development of long-term bonds. There has been limited research evaluating effects of oxytocin on the encoding and recognition of faces in humans.Methods In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, between-subject design, we administered oxytocin (24 IU) or a placebo to 69 healthy human male volunteers and then presented 36 happy, angry, or neutral human faces. Participants returned the following day to make "remember," "know," or "new" judgments for a mix of 72 new and previously seen faces.Results Oxytocin-administered participants were more likely to make remember and know judgments for previously seen happy faces compared with angry and neutral human faces. In contrast, oxytocin did not influence judgments for faces that had not been presented previously.Conclusions This study shows that the administration of oxytocin to male humans enhances the encoding of positive social information to make it more memorable. Results suggest that oxytocin could enhance social approach, intimacy, and bonding in male humans by strengthening encoding to make the recall of positive social information more likely.
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“For example, in the case of autism—a disorder known for its symptomatic social deficits—oxytocin administration increases eye-contact [49], emotion understanding [50], and the effectiveness of decision-making in social contexts [49].”
From Could intranasal oxytocin be used to enhance relationships? Research imperatives, clinical policy, and ethical considerations (2013) · cites this paper as [50]
In the citing paper
“Additionally, in humans, exogenously administered oxytocin enhances the encoding of social memory, both of positive [30] and negative [31] events, suggesting that higher oxytocin levels improve memorization of social interactions.”
From Food sharing is linked to urinary oxytocin levels and bonding in related and unrelated wild chimpanzees (2014) · cites this paper as [30]
In the citing paper
“It increases the accuracy of people's perceptual judgments of others' emotions and intentions (Domes et al., 2007), improves recognition memory (Savaskan et al., 2008) and stimulates eye contact (Guastella et al., 2008).”
From The effect of oxytocin on cooperation in a prisoner's dilemma depends on the social context and a person's social value orientation (2014) · cites this paper as Guastella et al., 2008
In the citing paper
“we have demonstrated that emotion discrimination abilities in mice are dependent on the OXT system”
From Oxytocin Signaling in the Central Amygdala Modulates Emotion Discrimination in Mice (2019) · cites this paper as [9]
In the citing paper
“OXT has been associated with social cognitive functions, such as emotion recognition [8-10, 33-36, 38, 39].”
From Oxytocin Signaling in the Central Amygdala Modulates Emotion Discrimination in Mice (2019) · cites this paper as [9]
In the citing paper
“A succession of studies reported modest improvements in social cognition after use of nasal oxytocin spray in both neurotypical16, 17, 18 and psychiatric19, 20, 21 populations”
In the citing paper
“This validated stimulus set [47] has been used in numerous social cognitive reaction time studies [48], [5], [49]”
From A direct examination of the effect of intranasal administration of oxytocin on approach-avoidance motor responses to emotional stimuli (2013) · cites this paper as [48]
In the citing paper
“Consistent with previous observations that OT can enhance processing of positive facial emotion (Guastella et al., 2008; Marsh et al., 2010; Domes et al., 2013; Xu et al., 2015)”
From Oxytocin facilitates approach behavior to positive social stimuli via decreasing anterior insula activity (2018) · cites this paper as Guastella et al., 2008
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Metadata
- Authors
- Guastella, A. J., Mitchell, P. B., & Mathews, F.
- Affiliations
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- Venue
- Biological Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2008-08
- Volume
- 64
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 256-258
- ISSN
- 0006-3223 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2060494670
- Cited by
- 352
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 36 · 2013: 29 · 2012: 28
- FWCI
- 40.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Biological Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Keywords
- oxytocin, social memory, face recognition (cognition), memory encoding, positive emotions, happy faces, social bonding, social approach, memory retrieval
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Double-Blind Method, Emotions, Humans, Male, Memory, Neuropsychological Tests, Oxytocics, Oxytocin, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Photic Stimulation, Social Behavior
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