Cited by 210Neuroendocrine regulation and behaviorMemory and Neural MechanismsNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Oxytocin facilitates the extinction of conditioned fear in humans

Eckstein, Monika, Becker, Benjamin, Scheele, Dirk, Scholz, Claudia, Preckel, Katrin, Schlaepfer, Thomas E., Grinevich, Valery, Kendrick, Keith M. +2 more·2015·Biological Psychiatry

Abstract

Background Current neurocircuitry models of anxiety disorders posit a lack of inhibitory tone in the amygdala during acquisition of Pavlovian fear responses and deficient encoding of extinction responses in amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex circuits. Competition between these two responses often results in a return of fear, limiting control over anxiety. However, one hypothesis holds that a pharmacologic strategy aimed at reducing amygdala activity while simultaneously augmenting medial prefrontal cortex function could facilitate the extinction of conditioned fear.Methods Key among the endogenous inhibitors of amygdala activity in response to social fear signals is the hypothalamic peptide oxytocin. To address the question whether oxytocin can strengthen Pavlovian extinction beyond its role in controlling social fear, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment with 62 healthy male participants in a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled design. Specifically, subjects were exposed to a Pavlovian fear conditioning paradigm before receiving an intranasal dose (24 IU) of synthetic oxytocin or placebo.Results Oxytocin, when administered intranasally after Pavlovian fear conditioning, was found to increase electrodermal responses and prefrontal cortex signals to conditioned fear in the early phase of extinction and to enhance the decline of skin conductance responses in the late phase of extinction. Oxytocin also evoked an unspecific inhibition of amygdalar responses in both phases.Conclusions Collectively, our findings identify oxytocin as a differentially acting modulator of neural hubs involved in Pavlovian extinction. This specific profile of oxytocin action may open up new avenues for enhancing extinction-based therapies for anxiety disorders.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.10.015

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Authors
Eckstein, M., Becker, B., Scheele, D., Scholz, C., Preckel, K., Schlaepfer, T. E., Grinevich, V., Kendrick, K. M., Maier, W., & Hurlemann, R.
Affiliations
  • University of Bonn (DE)
  • German Cancer Research Center (DE)
  • University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (CN)
Venue
Biological Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2015-08
Volume
78
Issue
3
Pages
194-202
ISSN
0006-3223 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2159597393
Cited by
210
References
76
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 23
FWCI
31.56
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Biological Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DZNE Pub (submittedVersion)
  • MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Ministry of Innovation, Science, Research and Technology of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
  • Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (91132720)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
oxytocin, fear extinction, fear conditioning, amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, anxiety disorders, skin conductance response, intranasal administration, social fear
MeSH terms
Adult, Amygdala, Conditioning, Classical, Double-Blind Method, Fear, Galvanic Skin Response, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Oxytocin, Prefrontal Cortex, Young Adult, Healthy Volunteers

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