The DOI matches its Crossref record; 201 of the 203 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
NEUROENDOCRINE PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL ATTACHMENT AND LOVE
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to review existing behavioral and neuroendocrine perspectives on social attachment and love. Both love and social attachments function to facilitate reproduction, provide a sense of safety, and reduce anxiety or stress. Because social attachment is an essential component of love, understanding attachment formation is an important step toward identifying the neurobiological substrates of love. Studies of pair bonding in monogamous rodents, such as prairie voles, and maternal attachment in precocial ungulates offer the most accessible animal models for the study of mechanisms underlying selective social attachments and the propensity to develop social bonds. Parental behavior and sexual behavior, even in the absence of selective social behaviors, are associated with the concept of love; the analysis of reproductive behaviors, which is far more extensive than our understanding of social attachment, also suggests neuroendocrine substrates for love. A review of these literatures reveals a recurrent association between high levels of activity in the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and the subsequent expression of social behaviors and attachments. Positive social behaviors, including social bonds, may reduce HPA axis activity, while in some cases negative social interactions can have the opposite effect. Central neuropeptides, and especially oxytocin and vasopressin have been implicated both in social bonding and in the central control of the HPA axis. In prairie voles, which show clear evidence of pair bonds, oxytocin is capable of increasing positive social behaviors and both oxytocin and social interactions reduce activity in the HPA axis. Social interactions and attachment involve endocrine systems capable of decreasing HPA reactivity and modulating the autonomic nervous system, perhaps accounting for health benefits that are attributed to loving relationships.
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In the citing paper
“Animal model research points to a strong relationship between socially monogamous attachment behaviors and the expression of oxytocin within the brain—along with that of an affiliated peptide, vasopressin, and a suite of auxiliary hormones and neurotransmitters including dopamine.”
From Could intranasal oxytocin be used to enhance relationships? Research imperatives, clinical policy, and ethical considerations (2013) · cites this paper as [35]
In the citing paper
“Notably, anatomical investigations into the mating patterns of two closely-related species of vole—the monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) and the polygamous montane vole (Microtus montanus)—suggest that their dissimilar bonding strategies may turn upon systematic differences in the distribution of oxytocin and vasopressin receptor neurons in their brains [35].”
From Could intranasal oxytocin be used to enhance relationships? Research imperatives, clinical policy, and ethical considerations (2013) · cites this paper as [35]
In the citing paper
“OT is a nonapeptide hormone associated with affiliative bonding in mammals (Insel et al., 1997) that is known to mediate social behavior, pair-bonding, and parental attachment across a variety of species (Carter, 1998).”
From Oxytocin during the initial stages of romantic attachment: Relations to couples’ interactive reciprocity (2012) · cites this paper as Carter, 1998
In the citing paper
“The current findings lend some support to evolutionary models suggesting that parental and romantic attachment share some underlying mechanisms and are mediated by the oxytocinergic system (Carter, 1998; Feldman, in press).”
From Oxytocin during the initial stages of romantic attachment: Relations to couples’ interactive reciprocity (2012) · cites this paper as Carter, 1998
In the citing paper
“positive effects are likely mediated by increased secretion of the neuropeptide oxytocin [6,[16], [17], [18], [19]].”
From Self-soothing touch and being hugged reduce cortisol responses to stress: A randomized controlled trial on stress, physical touch, and social identity (2021) · cites this paper as [16]
In the citing paper
“In humans, parenting effort is promoted by long-term bonding between romantic partners, which in turn is mediated by many of the same neurobiological mechanisms underlying parent-child attachment (Carter, 1998; Lancaster and Kaplan, 2009; Pedersen et al., 2005)”
From The Adaptive Calibration Model of stress responsivity (2011) · cites this paper as Carter, 1998
In the citing paper
“Research has repeatedly implicated the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) as one of the key hormones involved in parent-infant bonding in mammals, as well as in a range of social and affiliative behaviors (3–7).”
From Oxytocin and the development of parenting in humans (2010) · cites this paper as [3]
In the citing paper
“Several studies in human mothers have shown that peripheral OT release during birth, breastfeeding, and skin-to-skin contact between mothers and newborns is related to higher maternal responsiveness, lower maternal stress, and more optimal motherinfant bond (3,26).”
From Oxytocin and the development of parenting in humans (2010) · cites this paper as [3]
In the citing paper
“The natural establishment of pairbonds in prairie voles is usually accompanied by extensive sexual behavior over one to two days (Carter 1998) which also induces ovulation in females.”
From Variation in oxytocin is related to variation in affiliative behavior in monogamous, pairbonded tamarins (2010) · cites this paper as Carter 1998
In the citing paper
“Such overarching involvement of OT in social and affiliative processes is thought to stem from the hormone's central involvement in the formation of the parent-infant bond, which, in turn, enhances physiological and behavioral systems that underpin human social engagement throughout life (3,26,27).”
From Oxytocin administration to parent enhances infant physiological and behavioral readiness for social engagement (2012) · cites this paper as [26]
In the citing paper
“The neuropeptide oxytocin plays a central role in attachment formation, affiliation and social behavior (Carter, 1998).”
From Oxytocin effects on complex brain networks are moderated by experiences of maternal love withdrawal (2013) · cites this paper as Carter, 1998
In the citing paper
“Taken together, these findings suggest that OT may facilitate social interactions by lowering social vigilance and reducing social stress (Carter, 1998; Chang et al., 2013b; Ebitz et al., 2013; Neumann et al., 2000b; Uvnäs-Moberg et al., 1994).”
From Oxytocin and social cognition in rhesus macaques: Implications for understanding and treating human psychopathology (2014) · cites this paper as Carter, 1998
In the citing paper
“Adult sociosexual bonds in socially monogamous species function not only to facilitate reproduction, but to also reduce potentially deleterious health outcomes due to stress/anxiety (Carter, 1998).”
From Marmosets treated with oxytocin are more socially attractive to their long-term mate (2015) · cites this paper as Carter, 1998
Citations
Cites
Items 201–201 of 201
Wang (1996) · doi:10.1002/(sici)1096-9861(19960318)366:4
Flagged first, then by citations
2 of the 203 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- DeVries, 1997, Oxytocin can suppress the HPA axis in prairie voles, Society for Neuroscience Abstracts, 22, 1851
- Vaccari, 1996, Neonatal exposure to arginine vasopressin alters adult vasopressin V1a and oxytocin receptor mRNA expression in rat brain, Society for Neuroscience Abstracts, 26, 81
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Oxytocin increases trust in humans
Kosfeld, M., Heinrichs, M., Zak, P. J., Fischbacher, U., & Fehr, E. (2005) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature03701 · Cited by 3,690
Porges, S. W. (2007) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2006.06.009 · Cited by 3,415
Biobehavioral responses to stress in females: Tend-and-befriend, not fight-or-flight.
Taylor, S. E., Klein, L. C., Lewis, B. P., Gruenewald, T. L., Gurung, R. A. R., & Updegraff, J. A. (2000) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.107.3.411 · Cited by 3,308
The oxytocin receptor system: structure, function, and regulation
Gimpl, G., & Fahrenholz, F. (2001) · Physiological Reviews · doi:10.1152/physrev.2001.81.2.629 · Cited by 3,089
Compassion: an evolutionary analysis and empirical review
Goetz, J. L., Keltner, D., & Simon-Thomas, E. (2010) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0018807 · Cited by 2,200
Metadata
- Authors
- Sue Carter, C.
- Venue
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1998-11
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 779-818
- ISSN
- 0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2171095353
- Cited by
- 1,425
- References
- 203
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 44 · 2020: 56 · 2019: 48 · 2018: 45 · 2017: 103 · 2016: 70 · 2015: 85 · 2014: 76 · 2013: 82 · 2012: 82
- FWCI
- 32.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- social attachment, love, neuroendocrinology, pair bonding, Microtus ochrogaster, maternal attachment, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, oxytocin, vasopressin, social bonding, reproductive behavior, autonomic nervous system, stress reduction, monogamy
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Child, Biological Evolution, Female, Humans, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Love, Male, Neurosecretory Systems, Object Attachment, Pair Bond, Parent-Child Relations, Pituitary-Adrenal System, Sexual Behavior, Social Behavior
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