Oxytocin and vasopressin levels are decreased in the plasma of male schizophrenia patients
Abstract
Objective: Impaired social functioning and autistic symptoms are characteristics of schizophrenia. The social hormones oxytocin (OT) and arginine-vasopressin (AVP) both modulate social interaction and therefore may be involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. We investigated whether men with schizophrenia show altered OT and AVP levels compared with healthy controls (HC) and whether autism symptoms are associated with OT levels. Methods: Forty-one men with non-acute schizophrenia and 45 matched HC were enroled. Schizophrenia was assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Blood samples were collected on 2 days, and plasma OT and AVP levels were measured by ELISA immunoassay. Results: The schizophrenia patients had significantly lower plasma OT levels than the HC; a similar trend was found for AVP. Plasma OT levels were associated with severe life events, fewer important attached persons, and a higher score on the PANSS negative scale; the most dominant PANSS items were ‘preoccupation’, ‘emotional withdrawal’, and ‘passive/apathetic social withdrawal’. Conclusion: These findings support an association between the social hormones OT and AVP and schizophrenia. We suggest that OT metabolism may be altered in schizophrenia, but other possible causes for decreased plasma OT levels in schizophrenia patients include decreased OT synthesis, mRNA expression, and translation. Especially the ‘autistic’ symptoms of schizophrenia seem to be closely linked to an altered metabolism of OT, the ‘attachment’ hormone.
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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 [3]
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 [3]
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 [3]
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 [3]
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 [3]
VP and OT are implicated in the etiology of schizophrenia, autism, depression, and borderline personality disorder, which show sex biases in prevalence, symptom severity, and treatment response.
“VP and OT have been implicated in the etiology of psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia (Jobst et al., 2014), autism (Yang et al., 2010; Xu et al., 2013; LoParo and Waldman, 2014), depression (Yuen et al., 2014), and borderline personality disorder (Bertsch et al., 2013), disorders which show sex biases in prevalence, symptom severity, and treatment responses.”
From Vasopressin and oxytocin receptor systems in the brain: Sex differences and sex-specific regulation of social behavior (2016) · cites this paper as Jobst et al., 2014
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“VP and OT systems have been implicated in sex-biased psychiatric disorders of social dysfunction, such as autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia(Green et al., 2001; Wu et al., 2005; Jacob et al., 2007; Campbell et al., 2011; Miller et al., 2013; Di Napoli et al., 2014; Golimbet et al., 2014; Jobst et al., 2014).”
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“Indeed, none of the four studies cited in the Introduction (3–6) as examples of the use of ELISAs to measure oxytocin and vasopressin in unextracted samples made any correction for multiple comparisons in their analyses.”
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- Authors
- Jobst, A., Dehning, S., Ruf, S., Notz, T., Buchheim, A., Henning-Fast, K., Meißner, D., Meyer, S., Bondy, B., Müller, N., & Zill, P.
- Affiliations
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (DE)
- Universität Innsbruck (AT)
- Corresponding author
- Jobst, Andrea
- Venue
- Acta Neuropsychiatrica
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2013-10-07
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 347-355
- ISSN
- 0924-2708 (ISSN-L)
- 1601-5215
- OpenAlex
- W1998913705
- Cited by
- 89
- References
- 45
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 7
- FWCI
- 10.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Acta Neuropsychiatrica (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Open access LMU (Ludwid Maxmilian's Universitat Munchen) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- schizophrenia, oxytocin, vasopressin, plasma hormone levels, autism symptoms, social functioning, attachment, negative symptoms, life events, social withdrawal
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Autistic Disorder, Humans, Male, Oxytocin, Schizophrenia, Schizophrenic Psychology, Vasopressins
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