Oxytocin and vasopressin support distinct configurations of social synchrony
Abstract
Social synchrony - the coordination of behavior between interacting partners during social contact - is learned within the parent-infant bond and appears in a unique form in mothers and fathers. In this study, we examined hormonal effects of OT and AVP on maternal and paternal behavioral patterns and detail the processes of parent-infant social synchrony as they combine with hormonal activity. Participants included 119 mothers and fathers (not couples) and their 4-6 month-old infants. Baseline OT and AVP were collected from parents and a 10-minute face-to-face interaction with the infant was filmed. Interactions were micro-coded for parent-child contact, social signals, and social- versus-object focused play. Proportions and lag-sequential patterns of social behaviors were computed. Mothers provided more affectionate contact, while fathers provided more stimulatory contact. Parents with high OT levels displayed significantly more affectionate contact compared to parents with low OT and constructed the interaction towards readiness for social engagement by increasing social salience in response to infant social gaze. In contrast, parents with high AVP engaged in stimulatory contact and tended to increase object-salience when infants showed bids for social engagement. OT levels were independently predicted by the amount of affectionate contact and the durations of gaze synchrony, whereas AVP levels were predicted by stimulatory contact, joint attention to objects, and the parent increasing object salience following infant social gaze. Results further specify how synchronous bio-behavioral processes with mother and father support the human infant's entry into the family unit and prepare the child for joining the larger social world. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Oxytocin and Social Behav.
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Many recent papers use an enzyme-linked immunoassay to measure plasma levels without extracting the samples.
“However, many recent papers use an enzyme‐linked immunoassay to measure plasma levels without extracting the samples.”
From Measuring Oxytocin and Vasopressin: Bioassays, Immunoassays and Random Numbers (2016) · cites this paper as [4]
More than 100 papers have recently been published using assays claimed to measure oxytocin and vasopressin in human plasma simply and reliably.
“more than 100 papers have recently been published using assays that have been claimed to measure oxytocin and vasopressin in human plasma simply and reliably”
From Measuring Oxytocin and Vasopressin: Bioassays, Immunoassays and Random Numbers (2016) · cites this paper as [4]
These papers report levels massively inconsistent with previous assays.
“but which report levels massively inconsistent with previous assays”
From Measuring Oxytocin and Vasopressin: Bioassays, Immunoassays and Random Numbers (2016) · cites this paper as [4]
The manufacturer's advice to extract plasma has been largely ignored; many studies have used the Enzo assay on unextracted human plasma, reporting mean concentrations of oxytocin and vasopressin typically 100-500 pg/ml, and those that diluted samples did so by less than the manufacturer's recommendations without confirming that their dilution was adequate.
“This advice has been largely ignored. Many studies have used this assay on unextracted human plasma, reporting mean concentrations of oxytocin and vasopressin of typically 100–500 pg/ml 3, 4, 5, 6, 114. Those that have diluted samples have done so by less than the manufacturer's recommendations, without confirming that their dilution is adequate.”
From Measuring Oxytocin and Vasopressin: Bioassays, Immunoassays and Random Numbers (2016) · cites this paper as [4]
None of the four studies cited in the Introduction as examples of the use of ELISAs to measure oxytocin and vasopressin in unextracted samples made any correction for multiple comparisons in their analyses.
“Indeed, none of the four studies cited in the Introduction 3, 4, 5, 6 as examples of the use of ELISAs to measure oxytocin and vasopressin in unextracted samples made any correction for multiple comparisons in their analyses.”
From Measuring Oxytocin and Vasopressin: Bioassays, Immunoassays and Random Numbers (2016) · cites this paper as [4]
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References 57 · Cited by 116
- Authors
- Apter-Levi, Y., Zagoory-Sharon, O., & Feldman, R.
- Affiliations
- Bar-Ilan University (IL)
- Corresponding author
- Feldman, Ruth
- ORCID
- Feldman, Ruth
- Venue
- Brain Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2014-09
- Volume
- 1580
- Pages
- 124-132
- ISSN
- 0006-8993 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2021167760
- Cited by
- 116
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 8
- FWCI
- 13.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Brain Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- German–Israeli Science Foundation (1114-101.4/2010)
- The I-CORE program of the planning and budgeting committee and the Israel Science Foundation (#51/11)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Keywords
- oxytocin, vasopressin, social synchrony, parent-infant interaction, maternal behavior, paternal behavior, joint attention, object salience, social engagement, infant social development
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Analysis of Variance, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Eye Movements, Father-Child Relations, Female, Humans, Infant, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Mother-Child Relations, Oxytocin, Play and Playthings, Social Behavior, Vasopressins, Eye Movement Measurements
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