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Early experience in humans is associated with changes in neuropeptides critical for regulating social behavior
Open accessAbstract
The formation of social attachments is a critical component of human relationships. Infants begin to bond to their caregivers from the moment of birth, and these social bonds continue to provide regulatory emotional functions throughout adulthood. It is difficult to examine the interactions between social experience and the biological origins of these complex behaviors because children undergo both brain development and accumulate social experience at the same time. We had a rare opportunity to examine children who were reared in extremely aberrant social environments where they were deprived of the kind of care-giving typical for our species. The present experiment in nature provides insight into the role of early experience on the brain systems underlying the development of emotional behavior. These data indicate that the vasopressin and oxytocin neuropeptide systems, which are critical in the establishment of social bonds and the regulation of emotional behaviors, are affected by early social experience. The results of this experiment suggest a potential mechanism whose atypical function may explain the pervasive social and emotional difficulties observed in many children who have experienced aberrant care-giving. The present findings are consistent with the view that there is a critical role for early experience in the development of the brain systems underlying basic aspects of human social behavior.
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“The discrepancy between measurements in unextracted and extracted plasma is two orders of magnitude, but when Wismer Fries et al. reported that urinary excretion of oxytocin and vasopressin in orphans was affected by early neglect, they reported levels that were, for both peptides, nearly a million fold too high, after applying a method that was neither sensitive enough or selective enough to”
From Intranasal Oxytocin: Myths and Delusions (2016) · cites this paper as [72]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Unlike birth children, adopted children do not show an increase in oxytocin levels after playing a physical contact game with their mothers (Wismer Fries et al., 2005).”
From The evolved nest, oxytocin functioning, and prosocial development (2023) · cites this paper as Wismer Fries et al., 2005
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Studies comparing children from orphanages to children under typical conditions demonstrate that the buffering effect of oxytocin and social support are dependent upon early experience.”
From The evolved nest, oxytocin functioning, and prosocial development (2023) · cites this paper as Wismer Fries et al., 2005
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn the citing paper
“The oxytocin system of children who have suffered severe neglect appeared less responsive to contact with bond partners (Fries et al., 2005).”
From Endogenous peripheral oxytocin measures can give insight into the dynamics of social relationships: a review (2014) · cites this paper as Fries et al., 2005
In the citing paper
“In other human studies, Fries et al. (2005) showed that children who played with their principle carer rather than with strangers showed higher urinary oxytocin levels whereas orphans who had suffered severe neglect showed no change in urinary oxytocin levels across conditions.”
From Endogenous peripheral oxytocin measures can give insight into the dynamics of social relationships: a review (2014) · cites this paper as Fries et al., 2005
In the citing paper
“Lower than normal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of OXT were measured in adult women with a history of childhood trauma and abuse (31), as well as in the urine of socially deprived children interacting with their mothers (32) [but see also (33)], indicating that early-life adversity has long-lasting impact on OXT signaling.”
From Dissecting the Role of Oxytocin in the Formation and Loss of Social Relationships (2016) · cites this paper as [32]
In the citing paper
“In a previous study children who experienced early severe neglect did not show a change in oxytocin levels after physical contact with their mother, whereas oxytocin levels were increased in children who were reared in a loving family (Fries et al., 2005).”
From Oxytocin effects on complex brain networks are moderated by experiences of maternal love withdrawal (2013) · cites this paper as Fries et al., 2005
In the citing paper
“This is convergent with studies showing that oxytocin has an important role in initiating the ''touch circuitry'' between parents and infants in the first months of parenthood (Feldman et al., 2010) and with studies showing that this circuitry is disrupted in children who experienced early neglect (Fries et al., 2005).”
From Oxytocin effects on complex brain networks are moderated by experiences of maternal love withdrawal (2013) · cites this paper as Fries et al., 2005
In the citing paper
“Similarly, human children who are neglected by their parents immediately after birth also show significantly reduced urinary OT levels later on (on average age of 4.5 years old) (Wismer-Fries et al., 2005).”
From Oxytocin and social cognition in rhesus macaques: Implications for understanding and treating human psychopathology (2014) · cites this paper as Wismer-Fries et al., 2005
In the citing paper
“In addition, children adopted out of institutions showed lower levels of oxytocin and vasopressin following interaction with their mothers compared with controls (Wismer Fries et al, 2005), indicating potential deficits in responses to social interaction.”
From Deviations from the expectable environment in early childhood and emerging psychopathology (2015) · cites this paper as Wismer Fries et al, 2005
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Metadata
- Authors
- Fries, A. B. W., Ziegler, T. E., Kurian, J. R., Jacoris, S., & Pollak, S. D.
- Affiliations
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Corresponding author
- Pollak, Seth D.
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2005-11-22
- Volume
- 102
- Issue
- 47
- Pages
- 17237-17240
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC1287978
- OpenAlex
- W1635412086
- Cited by
- 570
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 28 · 2016: 44 · 2015: 32 · 2014: 36 · 2013: 33 · 2012: 38
- FWCI
- 35.24
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Waisman Center (P30 HD03352, HD03352)
- National Institutes of Health (HD033.52)
- U.S. Public Health Service (R01 035215)
- National Institute of Mental Health (T32MH18931, R01MH068858, T32MH018931, R01MH061285)
- National Center for Research Resources (P51RR000167)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P30HD03352., P30HD003352)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Human-Animal Interaction Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Keywords
- early social experience, social deprivation, vasopressin, oxytocin, neuropeptides, social attachment, emotional behavior, brain development, children, social bonding, emotional problems
- MeSH terms
- Child Abuse, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Life Change Events, Male, Neuropeptides, Neurophysins, Oxytocin, Protein Precursors, Social Behavior, Socialization, Vasopressins
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