Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner’s face
Open accessAbstract
The hypothalamic peptide oxytocin (OXT) has been identified as a key modulator of pair-bonding in men, but its effects in women are still elusive. Moreover, there is substantial evidence that hormonal contraception (HC) influences partner preferences and sexual satisfaction, which constitute core domains of OXT function. We thus hypothesized that OXT effects on partner-related behavioral and neural responses could be significantly altered in women using HC. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study involving 40 pair-bonded women, 21 of whom were using HC, we investigated whether a 24-IU nasal dose of OXT would modulate brain reward responses evoked by the romantic partner's face relative to the faces of familiar and unfamiliar people. Treatment with OXT increased the perceived attractiveness of the partner relative to other men, which was paralleled by elevated responses in reward-associated regions, including the nucleus accumbens. These effects of OXT were absent in women using HC. Our results confirm and extend previous findings in men that OXT interacts with the brain reward system to reinforce partner value representations, indicating a common OXT-dependent mechanism underlying partner attraction in both sexes. This mechanism may be disturbed in women using HC, suggesting that gonadal steroids could alter partner-specific OXT effects.
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Written from the paper’s full text.
TL;DR
In 40 pair-bonded women, intranasal oxytocin increased the perceived attractiveness of the partner and partner-specific nucleus accumbens/ventral tegmental area responses in freely cycling women, but not in women using hormonal contraception. The findings suggest hormonal contraceptives may suppress oxytocin’s partner-specific reward effects.
Key findings
- Oxytocin (24 IU) enhanced the positive attractiveness bias for the partner in freely cycling women (t(16) = 2.56, P = 0.02, d = 0.37) but not in women using hormonal contraception (t(16) = 0.66, P = 0.52, d = 0.11); the repeated-measures ANOVA showed a main effect of treatment (F(1,32) = 5.53, P = 0.03, η² = 0.15), no main effect of HC (F(1,32) = 0.07, P = 0.79), and a non-significant treatment × HC interaction (F(1,32) = 2.18, P = 0.15).
- Oxytocin increased partner-specific NAcc and VTA responses in freely cycling women (NAcc left t(136) = 3.60, P_FWE < 0.01; right t(136) = 3.68, P_FWE < 0.01; VTA left t(136) = 3.71, P_FWE < 0.01; right t(136) = 4.06, P_FWE < 0.01), and this effect was significantly stronger than in women using HC (NAcc left t(37) = 3.20, P_FWE = 0.04; right t(37) = 4.32, P_FWE < 0.01; VTA left t(37) = 3.24, P_FWE = 0.04; right t(37) = 3.12, P_FWE = 0.057).
- Baseline endogenous oxytocin concentrations positively correlated with partner-specific striatal responses across all women, including left NAcc (t(36) = 3.50, P_FWE = 0.03) and right NAcc (t(36) = 3.48, P_FWE = 0.03); there was no main effect of HC and no significant group difference in the partner-specific contrast [Partner_PLC > Familiar_PLC].
- Oxytocin increased bilateral precuneus activity across all stimuli (left t(38) = 3.94 and 3.76, P_FWE < 0.01; right t(38) = 4.01 and 3.99, P_FWE = 0.03), with no significant deactivations under oxytocin compared with placebo.
Methods
- Double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject randomized fMRI study of 40 healthy right-handed adult women (mean age 24.38 ± 3.26 years), 21 using hormonal contraception and 19 not using HC; all were in a heterosexual romantic relationship (mean duration 33.58 ± 28.09 months).
- Participants received intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) or placebo 30 min before fMRI and passively viewed photographs of their partner, matched unknown men, a familiar woman, and matched unknown women; after scanning they rated all photographs for attractiveness and arousal, and saliva samples were collected before spray administration and after the experiment.
- fMRI data were analyzed with SPM8; whole-brain analyses used P < 0.05 FWE-corrected, and region-of-interest analyses used 10-mm-radius masks for NAcc and VTA with P < 0.05 FWE-corrected; a flexible factorial model included treatment (OXT vs PLC) and bond (partner, unfamiliar, familiar) factors.
Limitations
- The paper states that the sample size did not allow differentiation between different types or generations of hormonal contraception, that women were not tested during ovulation, that exploratory menstrual-cycle-phase analyses were limited by small subgroup sizes, and that the interval between treatment sessions was not constant (minimum 1 day, maximum 127 days/4 months).
- The paper notes that the behavioral treatment × HC interaction did not reach significance, suggesting larger samples may be needed to detect behavioral partner-specific oxytocin effects in women using HC.
- Evident from the text: fMRI data were unavailable for one subject in the no-HC group and behavioral data were unavailable for three participants in each group; the study used an acute single-dose oxytocin design, so it cannot directly address chronic mechanisms or long-term consequences of HC use.
Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.
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Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
13 of 37 cited sources checked · 9 supported · 0 flagged · accuracy not yet measured
- Premisecitation
Hormonal contraception (HC) use alters women's pair-bonding behavior.
“Importantly, HC use alters women's pair-bonding behavior, evident in decreased attractiveness ratings of masculine faces (Little et al., 2013), reduced neural response to the expectation of erotic stimuli (Abler et al., 2013), a preference shift towards olfactory cues of genetic similarity (Roberts et al., 2008) and increased sexual jealousy (Geary et al., 2001).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim2 of 3 sources checked - Findingown data
OXT did not alter the positive bias for the familiar person.
“Importantly, OXT did not alter the positive bias for the familiar person (all Ps > 0.56, cf. Figure 1), suggesting that, in line with our previous findings in men (Scheele et al., 2013), OXT specifically influenced perception related to pair-bonding.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked- cites Scheele et al., 2013 source
- Premisecitation
Oxytocin (OXT) is a key modulator of pair-bonding in men.
“The hypothalamic peptide oxytocin (OXT) has been identified as a key modulator of pair-bonding in men, but its effects in women are still elusive.”
- Also stated in: § Introduction · hedged
“Multiple lines of evidence suggest that the hypothalamic peptide oxytocin (OXT) is a key factor modulating pair-bonding behaviors (Young and Wang, 2004;Hurlemann and Scheele, 2016).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 2 sources checked - Also stated in: § Introduction · hedged
- Findingown data
The OXT-induced augmentation of partner-specific responses in the nucleus accumbens was significantly stronger in men than in women who used hormonal contraception.
“In fact, a comparison of the OXT effects in women with our previous data obtained in men (Scheele et al., 2013) showed that the OXTinduced augmentation of partner-specific responses in the NAcc (left: À9, 2, 1, t (39) ¼ 3.22, P FWE ¼ 0.04 and À15, 11, À2, t (39) ¼ 3.19, P FWE ¼ 0.04; right: 18, 8, À2, t (39) ¼ 4.35, P FWE < 0.01) was significantly stronger in men than in women who used HC.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked- cites Scheele et al., 2013 source
- Interpretationown data
OXT specifically influenced perception related to pair-bonding.
“Importantly, OXT did not alter the positive bias for the familiar person (all Ps > 0.56, cf. Figure 1), suggesting that, in line with our previous findings in men (Scheele et al., 2013), OXT specifically influenced perception related to pair-bonding.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked- cites Scheele et al., 2013 source
- Interpretationreasoning
The increased incidence of major depression, panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder linked to bereavement and profound grief after the loss of a partner are at least partially mediated by OXT.
“As such, it seems likely that the increased incidence for major depression, panic disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder (Keyes et al., 2014), as well as the substantially increased risk of acute myocardial infarction (Mostofsky et al., 2012) linked to bereavement and profound grief after the loss of a partner, are also at least partially mediated by a”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim2 of 2 sources checked- cites Keyes et al., 2014 source
- cites Mostofsky et al., 2012 source
The Results report a 21.1-fold increase in acute myocardial infarction onset within 24 hours of the death of a significant person. The Discussion says none of the participants who lost a spouse did so within the day before MI onset, so the study does not establish that acute increase specifically after the loss of a partner. The citing sentence attributes the depression and other psychiatric-disorder claim to Keyes et al.; its proposed mediation is the citing authors’ inference, not a finding attributed to Mostofsky et al. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
- Findingown data
Baseline serum levels of estradiol and progesterone were significantly higher in freely cycling women than in women using hormonal contraception.
“As expected, baseline serum levels of estradiol and progesterone were significantly higher in freely cycling women than in women using HC (cf. Supplementary Table S2).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
Baseline endogenous OXT concentrations positively correlated with partner-specific neural responses in the left and right lentiform nucleus.
“Interestingly, on the wholebrain level, we detected positive correlations between baseline endogenous OXT concentrations and partner-specific neural responses [Partner PLC > Familiar PLC ] in the left (peak MNI x, y, z: À24, 14, À8, t (36) ¼ 4.81 and À21, À7, À8, t (36) ¼ 4.03, k ¼ 302, P FWE < 0.01) and right (30, 5, À11, t (36) ¼ 3.95 and 39, 11, À11, t (36) ¼ 3.69, k ¼ 212, P FWE ¼ 0.02) lentif”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
In freely cycling women, OXT elicited stronger activations in the bilateral nucleus accumbens ROI and ventral tegmental area ROI.
“However, when we conducted the analysis separately for freely cycling women and women using HC, we observed that OXT elicited stronger activations in the bilateral NAcc ROI (left: À6, À4, À8, t (136) ¼ 3.60, P FWE < 0.01; right: 6, À1, À11, t (136) ¼ 3.68, P FWE < 0.01, and 15, 2, À11, t (136) ¼ 2.99, P FWE ¼ 0.04) and VTA ROI (left: À6, À4, À11, t (136) ¼ 3.71, P FWE < 0.01; right: 6, À4, À11, t”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
Treatment with OXT increased the perceived attractiveness of the partner relative to other men.
“Treatment with OXT increased the perceived attractiveness of the partner relative to other men, which was paralleled by elevated responses in reward-associated regions, including the nucleus accumbens.”
- Also stated in: § Discussion · plain
“The intranasal administration of OXT selectively enhanced attractiveness ratings of the partners relative to other men.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Also stated in: § Discussion · plain
- Findingown data
There was a trend for a positive correlation between baseline endogenous OXT concentrations and the OXT effect on the attractiveness-based positive partner bias in women using hormonal contraception.
“Interestingly, there was a trend for a positive correlation between baseline endogenous OXT concentrations and the OXT effect on the attractiveness-based positive partner bias in women using HC (r ¼ 0.44, P ¼ 0.08), but not in freely cycling women (r ¼ 0.31, P ¼ 0.23).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
The behavioral effect of OXT on attractiveness ratings was paralleled by increased nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area responses.
“This behavioral effect of OXT was paralleled by increased NAcc and VTA responses, suggesting that OXT interacts with the brain reward system to reinforce partner value representations.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
OXT treatment elevated responses in reward-associated regions including the nucleus accumbens.
“Treatment with OXT increased the perceived attractiveness of the partner relative to other men, which was paralleled by elevated responses in reward-associated regions, including the nucleus accumbens.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
The intranasal administration of OXT selectively enhanced attractiveness ratings of the partners relative to other men.
“The intranasal administration of OXT selectively enhanced attractiveness ratings of the partners relative to other men.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
The correlation between peripheral OXT concentrations and neural responses to the partner in the nucleus accumbens was comparable between women using and not using hormonal contraception.
“The correlation between peripheral OXT concentrations and neural responses to the partner in the NAcc was also comparable between women using and not using HC.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
OXT enhanced the positive attractiveness bias in freely cycling women.
“Nevertheless, an exploratory analysis with paired t-tests revealed that OXT enhanced this positive attractiveness bias in freely cycling women (t (16) ¼ 2.56, P ¼ 0.02, d ¼ 0.37, cf. Figure 1), but not in women using HC (t (16) ¼ 0.66, P ¼ 0.52, d ¼ 0.11).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
There was no significant correlation between baseline endogenous OXT concentrations and the OXT effect on the attractiveness-based positive partner bias in freely cycling women.
“Interestingly, there was a trend for a positive correlation between baseline endogenous OXT concentrations and the OXT effect on the attractiveness-based positive partner bias in women using HC (r ¼ 0.44, P ¼ 0.08), but not in freely cycling women (r ¼ 0.31, P ¼ 0.23).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
OXT did not enhance the positive attractiveness bias in women using hormonal contraception.
“Nevertheless, an exploratory analysis with paired t-tests revealed that OXT enhanced this positive attractiveness bias in freely cycling women (t (16) ¼ 2.56, P ¼ 0.02, d ¼ 0.37, cf. Figure 1), but not in women using HC (t (16) ¼ 0.66, P ¼ 0.52, d ¼ 0.11).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
Endogenous OXT concentrations at baseline positively predicted striatal responses to the romantic partners' faces in all female participants.
“Our results indicate that endogenous OXT concentrations at baseline positively predicted striatal responses to the romantic partners' faces in all female participants.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
The OXT effects did not significantly differ between freely cycling women and men.
“In contrast, the OXT effects did not significantly differ between freely cycling women and men.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
There were no significant OXT effects for the whole sample.
“There were no significant OXT effects for the whole sample.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
The OXT-induced activity increase was significantly stronger in freely cycling women than in women using hormonal contraception in the nucleus accumbens ROI and ventral tegmental area ROI.
“Intriguingly, this OXT-induced activity increase was significantly stronger in freely cycling women than in women using HC both in the NAcc ROI (left: À12, À1, 4, t (37) ¼ 3.20, P FWE ¼ 0.04; right: 18, 8,À5, t (37) ¼ 4.32, P FWE < 0.01 and 15, 2, À11, t (37) ¼ 3.51, P FWE ¼ 0.02, cf. Figure 3A) and VTA ROI (left: À3, À4, À11, t (37) ¼ 3.24, P FWE ¼ 0.04; right: 6, À4, À11, t (37) ¼ 3.12, P FWE ¼”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
Baseline endogenous OXT concentrations positively correlated with activation in a striatal cluster including the left and right nucleus accumbens.
“A ROI-analysis also revealed a similar positive correlation with activation in a striatal cluster including the left (À9, 8, À2, t (36) ¼ 3.50, P FWE ¼ 0.03) and right (15, 11, À5, t (36) ¼ 3.48, P FWE ¼ 0.03) NAcc (cf. Figure 2).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
Across all stimuli, OXT enhanced activity in the left and right precuneus.
“Across all stimuli, OXT enhanced activity in the left (À15, À55, 46, t (38) ¼ 3.94 and À48, À61, 31, t (38) ¼ 3.76, k ¼ 348, P FWE < 0.01) and right (24, À70, 37, t (38) ¼ 4.01 and 30, À61, 46, t (38) ¼ 3.99, k ¼ 223, P FWE ¼ 0.03) precuneus.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
There were no significant deactivations under OXT compared with placebo.
“There were no significant deactivations under OXT compared with PLC.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
We observed a trend for stronger effects of OXT in women with higher endogenous baseline OXT levels in the HC group.
“we observed a trend for stronger effects of OXT in women with higher endogenous baseline OXT levels in the HC group”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Baseline salivary OXT concentrations reflect central OXT levels.
- Findingown data
OXT had no effect on the neural response to the familiar person in women not using HC.
“OXT had no effect on the neural response to the familiar person [(Familiar OXT > Control OXT ) > (Familiar PLC > Control PLC )] in women not using HC”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Intranasal OXT administration elevates central OXT concentrations sufficiently to affect brain reward responses.
- Findingown data
In an exploratory analysis, we did not detect a differential OXT effect depending on the menstrual cycle phase (follicular vs luteal phase).
“In an exploratory analysis, we did not detect a differential OXT effect depending on the menstrual cycle phase (i.e.follicular vs luteal phase)”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
We observed partner-specific OXT effects rather than general familiarity-related effects in women not using HC.
“We observed partner-specific OXT effects rather than general familiarity-related effects in women not using HC.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Intranasal OXT administration elevates central OXT concentrations sufficiently to affect brain reward responses.
- Findingown data
OXT increased activations in the bilateral precuneus across all stimulus types in both groups of women.
“In this study, OXT also increased activations in the bilateral precuneus across all stimulus types in both groups of women.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
On the behavioral level, the interaction of treatment and HC did not reach significance.
“on the behavioral level the interaction of treatment and HC did not reach significance.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
We did not detect any differences in OXT baseline levels between women using and not using HC.
“We did not detect any differences in OXT baseline levels between women using and not using HC”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Baseline salivary OXT concentrations reflect central OXT levels.
- Findingown data
In women using HC, OXT increased activity in the bilateral medial frontal gyrus, right superior frontal gyrus, and left NAcc for the familiar person contrast.
“we detected significant increases in activity in the bilateral medial frontal gyrus (left: À12, 38, 40, t (160) ¼ 4.10, k ¼ 910, P FWE < 0.01; right: 12, 17, 31, t (160) ¼ 3.99, k ¼ 910, P FWE < 0.01), right superior frontal gyrus (9, 50, 37, t (160) ¼ 3.91, k ¼ 910, P FWE < 0.01) and left NAcc (À18, 5, À8, t (160) ¼ 3.24, P FWE ¼ 0.02) in women using HC.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Intranasal OXT administration elevates central OXT concentrations sufficiently to affect brain reward responses.
- Findingown data
Correlations between OXT levels and neural responses were evident in all women.
“correlations between OXT levels and neural responses were evident in all women.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Baseline salivary OXT concentrations reflect central OXT levels.
- Findingown data
OXT effects on responses in the NAcc and VTA to the familiar person were only evident in women using HC.
“OXT effects on responses in the NAcc and VTA to the familiar person were only evident in women using HC.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Intranasal OXT administration elevates central OXT concentrations sufficiently to affect brain reward responses.
- Findingown data
We did not observe any OXT effect on attractiveness or arousal ratings of the familiar person.
“We did not observe any OXT effect on attractiveness or arousal ratings of the familiar person”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
There were trend significant effects of OXT in the right NAcc and right VTA in women using HC.
“There were also trend significant effects in the right NAcc (18, 8, À8, t (160) ¼ 2.68, P FWE ¼ 0.09) and right VTA (12, À13, À8, t (160) ¼ 2.78, P FWE ¼ 0.08).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Intranasal OXT administration elevates central OXT concentrations sufficiently to affect brain reward responses.
- Findingown data
Baseline salivary OXT concentrations of all participants irrespective of HC positively correlated with neural response to the partner compared with the familiar person in the left and right striatum.
“Baseline salivary OXT concentrations of all participants irrespective of HC positively correlated with neural response to the partner compared with the familiar person in the left and right striatum”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Baseline salivary OXT concentrations reflect central OXT levels.
- Findingown data
Intranasal OXT significantly increased the positive partner bias for attractiveness in women not using HC.
“it significantly increased the positive partner bias for attractiveness in women not using HC (i.e. the absolute difference in ratings of the male partner versus other non-familiar men).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Intranasal OXT administration elevates central OXT concentrations sufficiently to affect brain reward responses.
- Findingown data
Intranasal OXT yielded no behavioral effect in women using HC.
“The intranasal administration of OXT yielded no behavioral effect in women using HC”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Intranasal OXT administration elevates central OXT concentrations sufficiently to affect brain reward responses.
- Findingown data
The effect of intranasal OXT on neural response to the partner's face compared with a familiar person in the bilateral striatum and ventral tegmental area was significantly stronger in women not using HC than in women using HC.
“The effect of intranasal OXT on neural response to the partner's face compared with a familiar person in the bilateral striatum”
- Also stated in: § Discussion · plain
“was significantly stronger in women not using HC than in women using HC.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Intranasal OXT administration elevates central OXT concentrations sufficiently to affect brain reward responses.
- Also stated in: § Discussion · plain
- Findingown data
The OXT effect in the NAcc and VTA was even significantly more pronounced in women using HC than in freely cycling women.
“this OXT effect in the NAcc (left: À18, 5, À8, t (37) ¼ 3.25, P FWE ¼ 0.04; right: 18, 8, À8, t (37) ¼ 3.67, P FWE ¼ 0.01) and VTA (left: À3, À4, À11, t (37) ¼ 3.43, P FWE ¼ 0.03; right: 0, À4, À11, t (37) ¼ 3.29, P FWE ¼ 0.04) was even significantly more pronounced in women using HC than in freely cycling women.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Intranasal OXT administration elevates central OXT concentrations sufficiently to affect brain reward responses.
- Interpretationown data
The OXT-dependent mechanism underlying partner attraction may be disturbed in women using hormonal contraception.
“This mechanism may be disturbed in women using HC, suggesting that gonadal steroids could alter partner-specific OXT effects.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: OXT proximally interacts with striatal circuits to create a rewarding neural representation of the partner's face.
- Interpretationreasoning
Gonadal steroids could alter partner-specific OXT effects.
“This mechanism may be disturbed in women using HC, suggesting that gonadal steroids could alter partner-specific OXT effects.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: OXT proximally interacts with striatal circuits to create a rewarding neural representation of the partner's face.
- Interpretationown data
The partner-specific modulatory effects of OXT are antagonized by gonadal steroids.
“Strikingly, however, this mechanism was disturbed in those women using HC, indicating that the partner-specific modulatory effects of OXT are antagonized by gonadal steroids.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: OXT proximally interacts with striatal circuits to create a rewarding neural representation of the partner's face.
- Interpretationown data
OXT interacts with the brain reward system to reinforce partner value representations.
“Our results confirm and extend previous findings in men that OXT interacts with the brain reward system to reinforce partner value representations, indicating a common OXT-dependent mechanism underlying partner attraction in both sexes.”
- Also stated in: § Discussion · hedged
“This behavioral effect of OXT was paralleled by increased NAcc and VTA responses, suggesting that OXT interacts with the brain reward system to reinforce partner value representations.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: OXT proximally interacts with striatal circuits to create a rewarding neural representation of the partner's face.
- Also stated in: § Discussion · hedged
- Study design and conductown data
Women using and not using hormonal contraception were comparable regarding demographics and relationship characteristics.
“Women who used HC and who did not use HC did not differ with regard to sociodemographic variables, baseline neuropsychological performance or relationship characteristics (cf.Supplementary Tables S1 and S3).”
- Also stated in: § Discussion · plain
“Importantly, this differential OXT effect cannot be attributed to a priori differences between women using and not using HC because both groups were comparable regarding demographics and relationship characteristics.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Also stated in: § Discussion · plain
- Interpretationown data
The differential OXT effect between women using and not using hormonal contraception cannot be attributed to a priori differences between the groups.
“Importantly, this differential OXT effect cannot be attributed to a priori differences between women using and not using HC because both groups were comparable regarding demographics and relationship characteristics.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Interpretationown data
The OXT-dependent mechanism underlying partner attraction was disturbed in women using hormonal contraception.
“Strikingly, however, this mechanism was disturbed in those women using HC, indicating that the partner-specific modulatory effects of OXT are antagonized by gonadal steroids.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: OXT proximally interacts with striatal circuits to create a rewarding neural representation of the partner's face.
- Premisecitation
OXT effects in women may vary as a function of steroid hormones.
“Clearly, OXT effects in women may vary as a function of steroid hormones, which influence plasma levels of the peptide (Chiodera et al., 1991), regulate the expression of the OXTR gene (Quinones-Jenab et al., 1997) and affect OXTR function through a non-genomic mechanism (Grazzini et al., 1998).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked - Interpretationown data
This mechanism appears to be altered in women using HC.
“appears to be altered in women using HC.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Intranasal OXT administration elevates central OXT concentrations sufficiently to affect brain reward responses.
- Interpretationreasoning
This mechanism may significantly contribute to stable pair-bonding in humans.
“a mechanism which may significantly contribute to stable pair-bonding in humans”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Intranasal OXT administration elevates central OXT concentrations sufficiently to affect brain reward responses.
- Rests on an assumption: The partner's face is a valid probe for partner value representations in the brain reward system.
- Interpretationown data
OXT contributes to pair-bonding behavior in both men and women.
“Thus, our observation that OXT contributes to pair-bonding behavior in both men and women lends support to the notion that human pair-bonding behavior may have evolved from the evolutionarily older mother-infant bonding (Numan and Young, 2015).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Numan and Young, 2015
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Study design and conductown data
The sample size does not allow differentiation between different types (e.g. generations) of HC.
“The sample size does not allow us to differentiate between different types (e.g.generations) of HC”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Interpretationown data
Human pair-bonding behavior may have evolved from the evolutionarily older mother-infant bonding.
“Thus, our observation that OXT contributes to pair-bonding behavior in both men and women lends support to the notion that human pair-bonding behavior may have evolved from the evolutionarily older mother-infant bonding (Numan and Young, 2015).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Numan and Young, 2015
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Premisecitation
There are studies in which OXT has produced social effects in women using HC.
“there are also studies in which OXT has produced social effects in women using HC.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked - Premisecitation
Cyclical shifts in partner preferences are diminished in women using HC.
“In line with our own data, these cyclical shifts were found to be diminished in women using HC (Cobey et al., 2013;Little et al., 2013).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked - Interpretationown data
OXT may contribute to pair-bond behavior in women in a similar manner as in men.
“this study is the first to provide substantial evidence that OXT may contribute to pair-bond behavior in women in a similar manner as in men”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Intranasal OXT administration elevates central OXT concentrations sufficiently to affect brain reward responses.
- Rests on an assumption: The partner's face is a valid probe for partner value representations in the brain reward system.
- Interpretationown data
Baseline endogenous OXT concentrations are part of the neurobiological mechanism mediating the maintenance of long-term pair-bonds, irrespective of hormonal contraception use.
“Interestingly, baseline endogenous OXT concentrations were associated with stronger striatal responses to the partner in all women, indicating that-irrespective of HC use-OXT is part of the neurobiological mechanism mediating the maintenance of long-term pair-bonds.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Interpretationreasoning
OXT interacts with the brain reward system to reinforce partner value representations in both sexes.
“the present findings, in conjunction with our previous study, indicate that OXT interacts with the brain reward system to reinforce partner value representations in both sexes”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Intranasal OXT administration elevates central OXT concentrations sufficiently to affect brain reward responses.
- Rests on an assumption: The partner's face is a valid probe for partner value representations in the brain reward system.
- Interpretationnone given
The acute effects of single-dose OXT administration may differ from the chronic consequences of a long-term treatment such as HC.
“However, the acute effects of single-dose administration may differ from the chronic consequences of a long-term treatment such as HC.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Premisecitation
Partner-related activities such as massage or coitus elicit the release of OXT.
“In a natural setting, several partner-related activities such as massage (Morhenn et al., 2012) or coitus (Carmichael et al., 1994) elicit the release of OXT”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked- cites Morhenn et al., 2012
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- cites Carmichael et al., 1994 source
- Premisecitation
OXT altered neural responses to infant crying in samples in which the majority of women used HC.
“OXT altered neural responses to infant crying (Riem et al., 2011)”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Riem et al., 2011 source
- May combine two claims. 10
- Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 23
May combine two claims.
InterpretationreasoningOXT induces a self-referential processing bias, thus increasing the conscious perception of partner value.
“this finding resonates well with our hypothesis that OXT induces a self-referential processing bias (Scheele et al., 2014a;Hurlemann and Scheele, 2016), thus increasing the conscious perception of partner value.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 2 sources checked- cites Scheele et al., 2014a
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- cites Hurlemann and Scheele, 2016 source
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
PremisecitationOXT reduces arousal induced by the imagination of sexual infidelity.
“to reduce arousal induced by the imagination of sexual infidelity (Preckel et al., 2015).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked- cites Preckel et al., 2015 source
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
PremisecitationInfarction linked to bereavement and profound grief after the loss of a partner is at least partially mediated by a disruption of OXT signaling.
“infarction (Mostofsky et al., 2012) linked to bereavement and profound grief after the loss of a partner, are also at least partially mediated by a disruption of OXT signaling (Hurlemann and Scheele, 2016).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim2 of 2 sources checked- cites Mostofsky et al., 2012 source
The Results report a markedly elevated rate of myocardial infarction after the death of a significant person. But the study did not establish that acute infarctions followed the loss of a partner specifically: the Discussion says none of the participants who lost a spouse had done so within the prior day. It also did not measure profound grief. The OXT-signaling mechanism is attributed to a different citation in the citing sentence, not to Mostofsky et al. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured - cites Hurlemann and Scheele, 2016 source
In “Oxytocin and Social Attachment in Nonhuman Species,” the paper suggests that reduced OXT signaling after partner loss contributes to anxiety and depression in voles. Its “Translational Implications” section discusses human grief but does not link OXT disruption to infarction after bereavement. The proposed mediation of infarction is therefore unsupported by this source. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Classified as probably not a substantial claim.
PremisecitationThe precuneus is heavily implicated in mediating interoceptive awareness and consciousness.
“Given that the precuneus is heavily implicated in mediating interoceptive awareness and consciousness (Lou et al., 2004)”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked- cites Lou et al., 2004 source
The Discussion links the precuneus and medial parietal region to explicit self-representation, reflective self-awareness, and conscious self-monitoring. It does not address interoceptive awareness or bodily signals, so that part of the claim is unsupported. The paper’s account of consciousness is also more specifically about self-referential awareness than consciousness generally. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
May combine two claims.
Findingown dataOXT had no effect on vital signs or mood and anxiety ratings.
“Furthermore, we observed that OXT had no effect on vital signs (cf.Supplementary Materials) or mood and anxiety ratings (cf. Supplementary Table S4).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataThere was no main effect of hormonal contraception and no significant differences between freely cycling women and women using hormonal contraception in the partner-specific contrast [Partner PLC > Familiar PLC].
“There was no main effect of HC and we observed no significant differences between freely cycling women and women using HC in the partner-specific contrast [Partner PLC > Familiar PLC ].”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataThe effects of OXT on partner attractiveness and reward responses were absent in women using hormonal contraception.
“These effects of OXT were absent in women using HC.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
FindingreasoningThe concentrations of follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones were similar in women using and not using hormonal contraception.
“However, since none of the women were tested during ovulation, the concentrations of the follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones were similar in both groups.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataPartner-related effects of elevated OXT concentrations following nasal spray administration were restricted to normally cycling women, and the partner-specific neural OXT effect was significantly more pronounced in women not using HC.
“Intriguingly, the partner-related effects of elevated OXT concentrations following nasal spray administration were restricted to normally cycling women.”
- Also stated in: § Discussion · plain
“Of note, the partner-specific neural OXT effect was significantly more pronounced in women not using HC”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Intranasal OXT administration elevates central OXT concentrations sufficiently to affect brain reward responses.
- Also stated in: § Discussion · plain
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
Study design and conductnone givenDue to technical problems, fMRI data were not available for one subject in the no HC group and behavioral data were not available for three participants in each group.
“Due to technical problems, fMRI data were not available for one subject in the no HC group and behavioral data were not available for three participants in each group.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Study design and conductnone givenMovement parameters were included as confounds in the design matrix.
“The movement parameters were included as confounds in the design matrix.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimClassified as probably not a substantial claim.
PremisecitationDirect binding of progesterone to OXTRs inhibits OXTR functioning.
“a potential mechanism could be related to the direct binding of progesterone to OXTRs, thereby inhibiting OXTR functioning (Grazzini et al., 1998).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Grazzini et al., 1998 source
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Study design and conductnone givenAn independent sample of 10 heterosexual women rated the attractiveness, arousal and quality of the photographs.
“An independent sample of 10 heterosexual women (age: 27.2 6 4.66 years) rated the attractiveness of and the arousal induced by all women and men as well as the quality of the photographs on a visual analog scale (0 ¼ minimum, 100 ¼ maximum) prior to the first fMRI session.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
PremisecitationPartner preferences vary across the menstrual cycle in an evolutionarily adaptive way.
“Previous research suggests that partner preferences vary across the menstrual cycle in an evolutionarily adaptive way.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checkedProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
PremisecitationWomen exhibit higher levels of intrasexual competition related to attractiveness at peak fertility in the menstrual cycle.
“For instance, women prefer masculine faces (Little and Jones, 2012) and exhibit higher levels of intrasexual competition related to attractiveness (Fisher, 2004) at peak fertility in the menstrual cycle.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Fisher, 2004 source
May combine two claims.
Study design and conductown dataThe time intervals since subjects last saw their partners and had intimate contact were comparable between the OXT and placebo sessions.
“The subjects reported to be passionately in love and the time intervals since they last saw their partners and had intimate contact were comparable between the OXT and PLC sessions (see Supplementary Table S3).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
PremisecitationWomen prefer masculine faces at peak fertility in the menstrual cycle.
“For instance, women prefer masculine faces (Little and Jones, 2012) and exhibit higher levels of intrasexual competition related to attractiveness (Fisher, 2004) at peak fertility in the menstrual cycle.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Little and Jones, 2012 source
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
InterpretationreasoningThe non-constant time interval between treatment sessions may have increased the variance in the data.
“this may have increased the variance in the data.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimClassified as probably not a substantial claim.
Study design and conductnone givenNo subject knew the individuals whose photographs were used as control stimuli.
“We ensured that no subject knew the individuals whose photographs were used as control stimuli.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
PremisecitationOXT facilitated spontaneous anthropomorphism in samples in which the majority of women used HC.
“facilitated spontaneous anthropomorphism (Scheele et al., 2015) in samples in which the majority of women used HC.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Scheele et al., 2015 source
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
PremisecitationEstradiol treatment in mice and rats results in a several-fold increase in OXTR mRNA in the brain.
“an estradiol treatment in mice and rats results in a several-fold increase in OXTR mRNA in the brain (Quinones-Jenab et al., 1997;Young et al., 1998).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checkedClassified as probably not a substantial claim.
Study design and conductnone givenThe study used a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, within-group design.
“We applied a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, within-group design.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Study design and conductnone givenWe did not test women during ovulation.
“we did not test women during ovulation.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
PremisecitationOXT increases the intensity of orgasm and contentment after copulation.
“OXT has been found to increase the intensity of orgasm and contentment after copulation (Behnia et al., 2014)”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Behnia et al., 2014 source
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Study design and conductreasoningTo assure attentive stimulus processing, subjects were asked to press a keypad button whenever a stimulus was presented.
“To assure attentive stimulus processing, subjects were asked to press a keypad button whenever a stimulus was presented (percent correct responses: OXT 99.13 6 1.60, PLC 98.11 6 9.22, P ¼ 0.47).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Study design and conductnone givenThe time interval between treatment sessions was not constant in all participants.
“the time interval between treatment sessions was not constant in all participants”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimClassified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.
Study design and conductnone givenThe selected photographs were equated for facial expression, size and luminance.
“The selected photographs were equated for facial expression, size and luminance.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
Study design and conductnone givenThe study controlled for whether subjects had had an argument with their partners in the week before both test sessions and if anything important in their relationships changed between the two test sessions.
“We also controlled for whether the subjects had had an argument with their partners in the week before both test sessions and if anything important in their relationships changed between the two test sessions.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimClassified as probably not a substantial claim.
Study design and conductown dataSubjects were randomly assigned to intranasal administration of OXT or placebo.
“Subjects were randomly assigned to intranasal administration of either OXT (24 IU; Syntocinon spray, Sigma Tau Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Pomezia, Italy; three puffs per nostril, each with 4 IU OXT) or PLC (containing all ingredients except the peptide) 30 min before the start of the fMRI.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
The paper relies on this without support.
OXT proximally interacts with striatal circuits to create a rewarding neural representation of the partner's face.
“Given that OXT proximally interacts with striatal circuits to create a rewarding neural representation of the partner's face, we hypothesized that this core mechanism would be blunted in women using HC.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Peripheral estradiol and progesterone levels are altered in women using HC.
“Peripheral estradiol and progesterone levels were found to be altered in women using HC”
The paper relies on this without support.
Intranasal OXT administration elevates central OXT concentrations sufficiently to affect brain reward responses.
“elevated OXT concentrations following nasal spray administration”
The paper relies on this without support.
Baseline salivary OXT concentrations reflect central OXT levels.
“Baseline salivary OXT concentrations of all participants irrespective of HC positively correlated with neural response to the partner”
The paper relies on this without support.
The partner's face is a valid probe for partner value representations in the brain reward system.
“neural response to the partner's face compared with a familiar person”
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Right VTA effect is called significant despite P = 0.057
MinorThe figure caption describes the VTA effect as significantly stronger in women not using HC, including a right VTA result with P = 0.057. That result does not meet the paper's stated P < 0.05 significance threshold; the left VTA result does.
“ventral tegmental area (left peak MNI coordinates À3, À4, À11; t(37) ¼ 3.24, PFWE ¼ 0.04; right peak MNI coordinates 6, À4, À11; t(37) ¼ 3.12, PFWE ¼ 0.057; (B) was significantly stronger in women not using HC than in women using HC.”
“the threshold for significance was set at P < 0.05, FWE-corrected for multiple comparisons based on the size of the ROI.”
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“However, in light of accumulating evidence implying sexual-dimorphic effects of OXT on reproductive behavior, social cognition and emotional processing (Domes et al., 2010; Lischke et al., 2012; Fischer-Shofty et al., 2013; Lynn et al., 2014; Preckel et al., 2014; Rilling et al., 2014; Scheele et al., 2014b; Yao et al…”
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“Peripheral estradiol and progesterone levels were found to be altered in women using HC and therefore a potential mechanism could be related to the direct binding of progesterone to OXTRs, thereby inhibiting OXTR functioning (Grazzini et al., 1998).”
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“Consistent with OXT’s well-established reproductive functions, including the induction of uterine contraction during labor and milk ejection during lactation (Gimpl and Fahrenholz, 2001), its role as a key underlying factor of the mother–infant attachment system has often been documented (Rilling and Young, 2014; Feld…”
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“For example, OXT altered neural responses to infant crying (Riem et al., 2011) and facilitated spontaneous anthropomorphism (Scheele et al.”
BackgroundStressful Life Events and Risk of Breast Cancer in 10,808 Women: A Cohort Study
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“Figure 1), suggesting that, in line with our previous findings in men (Scheele et al., 2013), OXT specifically influenced perception related to pair-bonding.”
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“However, in light of accumulating evidence implying sexual-dimorphic effects of OXT on reproductive behavior, social cognition and emotional processing (Domes et al., 2010; Lischke et al., 2012; Fischer-Shofty et al., 2013; Lynn et al., 2014; Preckel et al., 2014; Rilling et al., 2014; Scheele et al., 2014b; Yao et al…”
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“Interestingly, an OXTR polymorphism has been linked to social support seeking, but the direction of this effect was dependent on cultural norms (Kim et al., 2010).”
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“In humans, peripheral OXT concentrations were significantly higher in new lovers compared with singles (Schneiderman et al., 2012) and OXT stimulated men in a monogamous relationship, but not single men, to keep a greater distance between themselves and an attractive woman during a first social…”
BackgroundOxytocin Modulates Social Distance between Males and Females
Scheele, D., Striepens, N., Güntürkün, O., Deutschländer, S., Maier, W., Kendrick, K. M., & Hurlemann, R. (2012) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.2755-12.2012 · Cited by 298 · cited 1× · see citing works
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BackgroundSelf-citationFemale intrasexual competition decreases female facial attractiveness
Fisher, M. L. (2004) · Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rsbl.2004.0160 · Cited by 287 · cited 1× · see citing works
“For instance, women prefer masculine faces (Little and Jones, 2012) and exhibit higher levels of intrasexual competition related to attractiveness (Fisher, 2004) at peak fertility in the menstrual cycle.”
BackgroundRelationships among cardiovascular, muscular, and oxytocin responses during human sexual activity
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“In a natural setting, several partner-related activities such as massage (Morhenn et al., 2012) or coitus (Carmichael et al., 1994) elicit the release of OXT, and a decrease in OXT effectiveness could explain why HC users report reduced sexual functioning (Wallwiener et al., 2010) and increased…”
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Estrogen receptor α is essential for induction of oxytocin receptor by estrogen
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“…panic disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder (Keyes et al., 2014), as well as the substantially increased risk of acute myocardial infarction (Mostofsky et al., 2012) linked to bereavement and profound grief after the loss of a partner, are also at least partially mediated by a disruption of…”
BackgroundOxytocin increases amygdala reactivity to threatening scenes in females
Lischke, A., Gamer, M., Berger, C., Grossmann, A., Hauenstein, K., Heinrichs, M., Herpertz, S. C., & Domes, G. (2012) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.01.011 · Cited by 194 · cited 2× · see citing works
“However, in light of accumulating evidence implying sexual-dimorphic effects of OXT on reproductive behavior, social cognition and emotional processing (Domes et al., 2010; Lischke et al., 2012; Fischer-Shofty et al., 2013; Lynn et al., 2014; Preckel et al., 2014; Rilling et al., 2014; Scheele et al., 2014b; Yao et al…”
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“Specifically, it has been shown that OXT increased the arousal induced by infant photos in nulliparous women (Rupp et al., 2013) and promoted responsiveness to infant crying and laughter by reducing activation in anxiety-related neural circuits (Riem et al., 2011, 2012).”
BackgroundScheele, D., Kendrick, K. M., Khouri, C., Kretzer, E., Schläpfer, T. E., Stoffel-Wagner, B., Güntürkün, O., Maier, W., & Hurlemann, R. (2014) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/npp.2014.78 · Cited by 171 · see citing works
Self-citationMorbidity following Sudden and Unexpected Bereavement
Lundin, T. (1984) · The British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.144.1.84 · Cited by 158 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Grief over the loss of a partner is considered a major adverse life event associated with an elevated risk for stress-related psychiatric disorders (Lundin, 1984; Keyes et al., 2014), acute myocardial infarction in men (Mostofsky et al.”
BackgroundDissecting the Role of Oxytocin in the Formation and Loss of Social Relationships
Hurlemann, R., & Scheele, D. (2016) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.05.013 · Cited by 136 · cited 5× · see citing works
“, 2004), this finding resonates well with our hypothesis that OXT induces a self-referential processing bias (Scheele et al., 2014a; Hurlemann and Scheele, 2016), thus increasing the conscious perception of partner value.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialSelf-citationQuiñones-Jenab, V., Jenab, S., Ogawa, S., Adan, R. A. M., Burbach, P. H., & Pfaff, D. W. (2008) · Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1159/000127160 · Cited by 134 · cited 3× · see citing works
“, 1991), regulate the expression of the OXTR gene (Quinones-Jenab et al., 1997) and affect OXTR function through a non-genomic mechanism (Grazzini et al.”
BackgroundSelective processing of social stimuli in the superficial amygdala
Goossens, L., Kukolja, J., Onur, O. A., Fink, G. R., Maier, W., Griez, E., Schruers, K., & Hurlemann, R. (2009) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.20755 · Cited by 132 · cited 2× · see citing works
“tion task (Goossens et al., 2009) involving passive viewing of photographs of the partner, matched unknown men, a familiar”
BackgroundMethodSelf-citationOxytocin facilitates accurate perception of competition in men and kinship in women
Fischer-Shofty, M., Levkovitz, Y., & Shamay-Tsoory, S. G. (2013) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsr100 · Cited by 132 · cited 2× · see citing works
“However, in light of accumulating evidence implying sexual-dimorphic effects of OXT on reproductive behavior, social cognition and emotional processing (Domes et al., 2010; Lischke et al., 2012; Fischer-Shofty et al., 2013; Lynn et al., 2014; Preckel et al., 2014; Rilling et al., 2014; Scheele et al., 2014b; Yao et al…”
BackgroundPrevalence of Sexual Dysfunction and Impact of Contraception in Female German Medical Students
Wallwiener, C. W., Wallwiener, L.-M., Seeger, H., Mück, A. O., Bitzer, J., & Wallwiener, M. (2010) · The Journal of Sexual Medicine · doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.01742.x · Cited by 124 · cited 2× · see citing works
“…activities such as massage (Morhenn et al., 2012) or coitus (Carmichael et al., 1994) elicit the release of OXT, and a decrease in OXT effectiveness could explain why HC users report reduced sexual functioning (Wallwiener et al., 2010) and increased sexual jealousy (Geary et al., 2001).”
BackgroundOpposing effects of oxytocin on moral judgment in males and females
Scheele, D., Striepens, N., Kendrick, K. M., Schwering, C., Noelle, J., Wille, A., Schlaepfer, T. E., Maier, W., & Hurlemann, R. (2014) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.22605 · Cited by 112 · cited 2× · see citing works
“…implicated in mediating interoceptive awareness and consciousness (Lou et al., 2004), this finding resonates well with our hypothesis that OXT induces a self-referential processing bias (Scheele et al., 2014a; Hurlemann and Scheele, 2016), thus increasing the conscious perception of partner value.”
BackgroundResultSelf-citationOxytocin facilitates social approach behavior in women
Preckel, K., Scheele, D., Kendrick, K. M., Maier, W., & Hurlemann, R. (2014) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00191 · Cited by 111 · cited 4× · see citing works
“However, in light of accumulating evidence implying sexual-dimorphic effects of OXT on reproductive behavior, social cognition and emotional processing (Domes et al., 2010; Lischke et al., 2012; Fischer-Shofty et al., 2013; Lynn et al., 2014; Preckel et al., 2014; Rilling et al., 2014; Scheele et al., 2014b; Yao et al…”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationBehnia, B., Heinrichs, M., Bergmann, W., Jung, S., Germann, J., Schedlowski, M., Hartmann, U., & Kruger, T. H. C. (2014) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2014.01.009 · Cited by 100 · cited 2× · see citing works
“In fact, OXT has been found to increase the intensity of orgasm and contentment after copulation (Behnia et al., 2014) and to reduce arousal induced by the imagination of sexual infidelity (Preckel et al.”
BackgroundLittle, A. C., Burriss, R. P., Petrie, M., Jones, B. C., & Roberts, S. C. (2013) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.02.014 · Cited by 89 · cited 3× · see citing works
“Importantly, HC use alters women’s pair-bonding behavior, evident in decreased attractiveness ratings of masculine faces (Little et al., 2013), reduced neural response to the expectation of erotic stimuli (Abler et al., 2013), a preference shift towards olfactory cues of genetic similarity (Roberts…”
BackgroundResultOxytocin Receptor Distribution Reflects Social Organization in Monogamous and Polygamous Voles
SHAPIRO, L. E., & INSEL, T. R. (1992) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1992.tb34380.x · Cited by 84 · cited 2× · see citing works
“For instance, monogamous prairie voles exhibit higher OXT receptor (OXTR) densities in the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) compared with polygamous montane voles (Shapiro and Insel, 1992) and exogenous admin-”
BackgroundRelationship satisfaction and outcome in women who meet their partner while using oral contraception
Roberts, S. C., Klapilová, K., Little, A. C., Burriss, R. P., Jones, B. C., DeBruine, L. M., Petrie, M., & Havlı́ček, J. (2011) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.1647 · Cited by 81 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Furthermore, women who use HC while choosing partners are more likely to initiate an eventual separation (Roberts et al., 2012) and wives who discontinue HC use tend to be less satisfied with marriage if they perceive their husband’s face to be less attractive (Russell et al., 2014).”
BackgroundNeural correlates of erotic stimulation under different levels of female sexual hormones
Abler, B., Kumpfmüller, D., Grön, G., Walter, M., Stingl, J., & Seeringer, A. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0054447 · Cited by 75 · cited 2× · see citing works
“, 2013), reduced neural response to the expectation of erotic stimuli (Abler et al., 2013), a preference shift towards olfactory cues of genetic similarity (Roberts et al.”
BackgroundOxytocin makes females, but not males, less forgiving following betrayal of trust
Yao, S., Zhao, W., Cheng, R., Geng, Y., Luo, L., & Kendrick, K. M. (2014) · The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1017/s146114571400090x · Cited by 74 · cited 2× · see citing works
“However, in light of accumulating evidence implying sexual-dimorphic effects of OXT on reproductive behavior, social cognition and emotional processing (Domes et al., 2010; Lischke et al., 2012; Fischer-Shofty et al., 2013; Lynn et al., 2014; Preckel et al., 2014; Rilling et al., 2014; Scheele et al., 2014b; Yao et al…”
BackgroundEstrogens and relationship jealousy
Geary, D. C., Desoto, M., Hoard, M. K., Sheldon, M., & Cooper, M. L. (2001) · Human Nature · doi:10.1007/s12110-001-1001-2 · Cited by 71 · cited 4× · see citing works
“, 2010) and increased sexual jealousy (Geary et al., 2001).”
BackgroundInfluentialLittle, A. C., & Jones, B. C. (2012) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.11.007 · Cited by 71 · cited 1× · see citing works
“For instance, women prefer masculine faces (Little and Jones, 2012) and exhibit higher levels of intrasexual competition related to attractiveness (Fisher, 2004) at peak fertility in the menstrual cycle.”
BackgroundChiodera, P., Volpi, R., Capretti, L., Marchesi, C., d'Amato, L., De Ferri, A., Bianconi, L., & Coiro, V. (1991) · Metabolism · doi:10.1016/0026-0495(91)90220-q · Cited by 63 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Clearly, OXT effects in women may vary as a function of steroid hormones, which influence plasma levels of the peptide (Chiodera et al., 1991), regulate the expression of the OXTR gene (Quinones-Jenab et al., 1997) and affect OXTR function through a non-genomic mechanism (Grazzini et al., 1998).”
BackgroundArndorfer, C. L., & Stormshak, E. A. (2008) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1007/s10964-008-9311-x · Cited by 62 · cited 1× · see citing works
“In this study, we used female friends as a control for familiarity since the oldest and therefore most familiar friends are usually of the same sex (Arndorfer and Stormshak, 2008).”
MethodRupp, H. A., James, T. W., Ketterson, E. D., Sengelaub, D. R., Ditzen, B., & Heiman, J. R. (2012) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.10.007 · Cited by 57 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Specifically, it has been shown that OXT increased the arousal induced by infant photos in nulliparous women (Rupp et al., 2013) and promoted responsiveness to infant crying and laughter by reducing activation in anxiety-related neural circuits (Riem et al.”
BackgroundLin, Y., Wang, C., Zhong, Y., Huang, X., Peng, L. H., Shan, G., Wang, K., & Sun, Q. (2013) · Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research · doi:10.1186/1756-9966-32-53 · Cited by 56 · cited 2× · see citing works
“, 2012) and breast cancer in women (Lillberg et al., 2003; Lin et al., 2013).”
BackgroundHormonal contraceptive use lowers female intrasexual competition in pair-bonded women
Cobey, K. D., Klipping, C., & Buunk, A. P. (2013) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2013.04.003 · Cited by 50 · cited 1× · see citing works
“In line with our own data, these cyclical shifts were found to be diminished in women using HC (Cobey et al., 2013; Little et al., 2013).”
ResultRussell, V. M., McNulty, J. K., Baker, L. R., & Meltzer, A. L. (2014) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1414784111 · Cited by 44 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Furthermore, women who use HC while choosing partners are more likely to initiate an eventual separation (Roberts et al., 2012) and wives who discontinue HC use tend to be less satisfied with marriage if they perceive their husband’s face to be less attractive (Russell et al., 2014).”
BackgroundGender differences in oxytocin-associated disruption of decision bias during emotion perception
Lynn, S. K., Hoge, E. A., Fischer, L., Barrett, L. F., & Simon, N. M. (2014) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2014.04.031 · Cited by 43 · cited 2× · see citing works
“However, in light of accumulating evidence implying sexual-dimorphic effects of OXT on reproductive behavior, social cognition and emotional processing (Domes et al., 2010; Lischke et al., 2012; Fischer-Shofty et al., 2013; Lynn et al., 2014; Preckel et al., 2014; Rilling et al., 2014; Scheele et al., 2014b; Yao et al…”
A human tendency to anthropomorphize is enhanced by oxytocin
Scheele, D., Schwering, C., Elison, J. T., Spunt, R., Maier, W., & Hurlemann, R. (2015) · European Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2015.05.009 · Cited by 41 · cited 2× · see citing works
“For example, OXT altered neural responses to infant crying (Riem et al., 2011) and facilitated spontaneous anthropomorphism (Scheele et al., 2015) in samples in which the majority of women used HC.”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe influence of oxytocin on volitional and emotional ambivalence
Preckel, K., Scheele, D., Eckstein, M., Maier, W., & Hurlemann, R. (2015) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsu147 · Cited by 41 · cited 4× · see citing works
“, 2014) and to reduce arousal induced by the imagination of sexual infidelity (Preckel et al., 2015).”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationCulture and social support: neural bases and biological impact
Sherman, D. K., Kim, H. S., & Taylor, S. E. (2009) · Progress in brain research · doi:10.1016/s0079-6123(09)17816-0 · Cited by 37 · cited 1× · see citing works
“We speculate that the OXTinduced increase in prefrontal cortex activity may also reflect social support seeking (Sherman et al., 2009).”
BackgroundRiem, M. M. E., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Tops, M., Boksem, M. A. S., Rombouts, S. A. R. B., & Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J. (2012) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/npp.2012.27 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
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Neuroanatomy and function of human sexual behavior: A neglected or unknown issue?
Calabrò, R. S., Cacciola, A., Bruschetta, D., Milardi, D., Quattrini, F., Sciarrone, F., Rosa, G. L., Bramanti, P., & Anastasi, G. (2019) · Brain and Behavior · doi:10.1002/brb3.1389 · Cited by 208 · see citing works
Shaping of the Female Human Brain by Sex Hormones: A Review
Rehbein, E., Hornung, J., Poromaa, I. S., & Derntl, B. (2020) · Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1159/000507083 · Cited by 152 · see citing works
How Oral Contraceptives Impact Social-Emotional Behavior and Brain Function
Montoya, E. R., & Bos, P. A. (2017) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2016.11.005 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
Overview of human oxytocin research
Kendrick, K. M., Guastella, A. J., & Becker, B. (2017) · Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences · doi:10.1007/7854_2017_19 · Cited by 121 · see citing works
Grace, S. A., Rossell, S. L., Heinrichs, M., Kordsachia, C., & Labuschagne, I. (2018) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.05.031 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
“Midbrain and basal ganglia We identified 11 studies that found task-related increases in midbrain and basal ganglia activation following IN-OXT, of these studies, three included a sample of healthy females (Gregory et al., 2015; Groppe et al., 2013; Scheele et al., 2016), six healthy males (Feng et al.”
Sex-dependent regulation of social reward by oxytocin: an inverted U hypothesis
Borland, J. M., Rilling, J. K., Frantz, K. J., & Albers, H. E. (2019) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/s41386-018-0129-2 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Lewis, C. A., Kimmig, A.-C. S., Zsido, R. G., Jank, A., Derntl, B., & Sacher, J. (2019) · Current Psychiatry Reports · doi:10.1007/s11920-019-1095-z · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Kinetics of oxytocin effects on amygdala and striatal reactivity vary between women and men
Lieberz, J., Scheele, D., Spengler, F. B., Matheisen, T., Schneider, L., Stoffel‐Wagner, B., Kinfe, T. M., & Hurlemann, R. (2019) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/s41386-019-0582-6 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Self-citationHow the brain codes intimacy: The neurobiological substrates of romantic touch
Kreuder, A.-K., Scheele, D., Wassermann, L., Wollseifer, M., Stoffel-Wagner, B., Lee, M. R., Hennig, J., Maier, W., & Hurlemann, R. (2017) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.23679 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
“The modulatory impact of OXT on NAcc activation may be more pronounced in the context of response to one’s partner [Scheele et al., 2013, 2016].”
BackgroundResultSelf-citationOxytocin and stress-related disorders: neurobiological mechanisms and treatment opportunities
Sippel, L. M., Allington, C. E., Pietrzak, R. H., Harpaz-Rotem, I., Mayes, L. C., & Olff, M. (2017) · Chronic Stress · doi:10.1177/2470547016687996 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Hormonal Contraceptives, Female Sexual Dysfunction, and Managing Strategies: A Review
Casado‐Espada, N. M., de Alarcón, R., de la Iglesia-Larrad, J. I., Bonaechea, B. B., & Montejo, A. L. (2019) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm8060908 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
“Nevertheless, the concentrations of the follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones are similar in both groups [35].”
BackgroundInfluentialBoth, S., Lew‐Starowicz, M., Luria, M., Sartorius, G. A., Maseroli, E., Tripodi, F. M., Löwenstein, L., Nappi, R. E., Corona, G., Reisman, Y., et al. (2019) · The Journal of Sexual Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.jsxm.2019.08.005 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Effects of acute stress on social behavior in women
von Dawans, B., Ditzen, B., Trueg, A., Fischbacher, U., & Heinrichs, M. (2018) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.08.031 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Oxytocin facilitates reciprocity in social communication
Spengler, F. B., Scheele, D., Marsh, N., Kofferath, C., Flach, A., Schwarz, S., Stoffel‐Wagner, B., Maier, W., & Hurlemann, R. (2017) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsx061 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
“For instance, we have previously shown that OXT promotes the romantic bond between men and women by enhancing reward system responses to the partner’s face (Scheele et al., 2013; Scheele et al., 2016).”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe Effects of Hormonal Contraceptives on the Brain: A Systematic Review of Neuroimaging Studies
Brønnick, M. K., Økland, I., Graugaard, C., & Brønnick, K. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.556577 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
“, 2018) which provided no information about age, and four studies where only mean age was provided (Pletzer et al., 2014; Hwang et al., 2015; Scheele et al., 2016; Smith et al., 2018; Hornung et al., 2019).”
BackgroundNuman, M. (2020) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.001.0001 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Intranasal oxytocin increases neural responses to social reward in post-traumatic stress disorder
Nawijn, L., van Zuiden, M., Koch, S. B. J., Frijling, J. L., Veltman, D. J., & Olff, M. (2016) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsw123 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
“Indeed, endogenous oxytocin levels have been positively correlated to striatal responses to positive stimuli (Rilling et al., 2012; Scheele et al., 2016).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialSex- and context-dependent effects of oxytocin on social sharing
Ma, X., Zhao, W., Luo, R., Zhou, F., Geng, Y., Xu, L., Gao, Z., Zheng, X., Becker, B., & Kendrick, K. M. (2018) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.08.004 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Oxytocin enhances cognitive control of food craving in women
Striepens, N., Schröter, F., Stoffel‐Wagner, B., Maier, W., Hurlemann, R., & Scheele, D. (2016) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.23308 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
“The imaging paradigm was part of a larger study with 40 subjects [Scheele et al., 2016], but food craving data were available for only 31 participants.”
Self-citationOxytocin enhances the pain‐relieving effects of social support in romantic couples
Kreuder, A., Wassermann, L., Wollseifer, M., Ditzen, B., Eckstein, M., Stoffel‐Wagner, B., Hennig, J., Hurlemann, R., & Scheele, D. (2019) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.24368 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Self-citationThe brain as a target of hormonal contraceptives: evidence from animal studies.
Porcu, P., Serra, M., & Concas, A. (2019) · Frontiers in neuroendocrinology (Print) · doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2019.100799 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
The interplay of oxytocin and sex hormones
Quintana, D. S., Glaser, B. D., Kang, H., Kildal, E. S.-M., Audunsdottir, K., Sartorius, A. M., & Barth, C. (2024) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105765 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
“Interestingly, oxytocin administration in heterosexual females has been reported to increase the perceived attractiveness of their partners relative to other males but these effects were absent in females using hormonal contra-ception (Scheele et al., 2016).”
Oral Contraceptives Impair Complex Emotion Recognition in Healthy Women
Pahnke, R., Mau‐Moeller, A., Junge, M., Wendt, J., Weymar, M., Hamm, A. O., & Lischke, A. (2019) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2018.01041 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Oxytocin reduces neural activation in response to infant faces in nulliparous young women
Bos, P. A., Spencer, H., & Montoya, E. R. (2018) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsy080 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
“response to pictures of their partner, OXT increased striatal and VTA activation, but only in the naturally cycling women (Scheele et al., 2015).”
BackgroundHow does oxytocin modulate human behavior?
Yao, S., & Kendrick, K. M. (2025) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41380-025-02898-1 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Intrinsic, dynamic and effective connectivity among large-scale brain networks modulated by oxytocin
Jiang, X., Ma, X., Geng, Y., Zhao, Z., Zhou, F., Zhao, W., Yao, S., Yang, S., Zhao, Z., Becker, B., et al. (2020) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117668 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Flanagan, J. C., Hand, A., Jarnecke, A. M., Maria, M. M. M., Brady, K. T., & Joseph, J. E. (2018) · Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1037/pha0000197 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Female psychopharmacology matters! Towards a sex-specific psychopharmacology
Bolea-Alamanac, B. M., Bailey, S., Lovick, T. A., Scheele, D., & Valentino, R. J. (2018) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/0269881117747578 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Self-citationOxytocin promotes face-sensitive neural responses to infant and adult faces in mothers
Peltola, M. J., Strathearn, L., & Puura, K. (2018) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.02.012 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
“The remaining participants were excluded from the analyses due to excessive artefacts in the EEG data (n=3), technical problems (n=3), experimenter error (n=1), dropping out of the study between assessments (n=2), or oral contraceptive use (n=5), as previous research has indicated that the use of oral contraceptives m…”
Quintana, D. S., Dieset, I., Elvsåshagen, T., Westlye, L. T., & Andreassen, O. A. (2017) · Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2016.12.004 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
“The use of hormonal contraceptives is also an important consideration in light of their dampening effect on neural responses to OT (Scheele et al., 2016).”
BackgroundOxytocin increases eye-gaze towards novel social and non-social stimuli
Eckstein, M., Bamert, V., Stephens, S. B. Z., Wallen, K., Young, L. J., Ehlert, U., & Ditzen, B. (2018) · Social Neuroscience · doi:10.1080/17470919.2018.1542341 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Common and dissociable effects of oxytocin and lorazepam on the neurocircuitry of fear
Kreuder, A.-K., Scheele, D., Schultz, J., Hennig, J., Marsh, N., Dellert, T., Ettinger, U., Philipsen, A., Babasiz, M., Herscheid, A., et al. (2020) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · doi:10.1073/pnas.1920147117 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Self-citationOxytocin release deficit and social cognition in craniopharyngioma patients
Brandi, M., Gebert, D., Kopczak, A., Auer, M. K., & Schilbach, L. (2020) · Journal of Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1111/jne.12842 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Oxytocin and Facial Emotion Recognition
Ellenbogen, M. A. (2017) · Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · doi:10.1007/7854_2017_20 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Oxytocin and interpersonal relationships
Patin, A., Scheele, D., & Hurlemann, R. (2017) · Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences · doi:10.1007/7854_2017_22 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“…and the coordination of the behaviors of different people in a group are often apparent although unconscious (LaFrance 1979; Noy et al. 2011; Schmidt and Richardson 2008; Richardson et al. 2007; Tognoli et al. 2007; Sebanz et al. 2006; Chartrand and Bargh 1999; Bernieri and Rosenthal 1991;…”
BackgroundSelf-citationOxytocin for learning calm and safety.
Eckstein, M., de Minas, A. C. A., Scheele, D., Kreuder, A.-K., Hurlemann, R., Grinevich, V., & Ditzen, B. (2019) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.06.004 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Self-citationJeung-Maarse, H., Schmitgen, M. M., Schmitt, R., Bertsch, K., & Herpertz, S. C. (2023) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/s41386-023-01549-9 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
“Further, the use of hormonal contraception has been previously found to modulate OT effects [68].”
BackgroundOxytocin amplifies sex differences in human mate choice
Xu, L., Becker, B., Luo, R., Zheng, X., Zhao, W., Zhang, Q., & Kendrick, K. M. (2019) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.104483 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Zimmermann, J., Deris, N., Montag, C., Reuter, M., Felten, A., Becker, B., Weber, B., & Markett, S. A. (2018) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.06.014 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Intranasal oxytocin reduces social perception in women: Neural activation and individual variation
Hecht, E. E., Robins, D. L., Gautam, P., & King, T. Z. (2016) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.12.046 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Hormonal contraceptives, stress, and the brain: The critical need for animal models.
Tronson, N., & Schuh, K. M. (2022) · Frontiers in neuroendocrinology (Print) · doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2022.101035 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
“For example, HCs decrease the oxytocin-induced effects on ratings of partner attractiveness (Scheele et al., 2016), and decrease activation of insula activation during subtle sexual cues (Abler et al., 2013).”
BackgroundOxytocin Modulates the Cognitive Appraisal of the Own and Others Close Intimate Relationships
Aguilar‐Raab, C., Eckstein, M., Geracitano, S., Prévost, M., Gold, I., Heinrichs, M., Bilderbeck, A. C., Ehlert, U., & Ditzen, B. (2019) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2019.00714 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
“Furthermore, we assessed naturally cycling women only, which does not allow for conclusions on women using hormonal contraception (Scheele et al., 2015).”
BackgroundElevated plasma oxytocin levels and higher satisfaction with life in young oral contraceptive users
Garforth, B., Degnbol, H., Terris, E. T., Zak, P. J., & Winterdahl, M. (2020) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-020-64528-w · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Tracy, L. M., Gibson, S. J., Labuschagne, I., Georgiou‐Karistianis, N., & Giummarra, M. J. (2017) · Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.08.016 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“Future studies are required to examine sex-specific effects of intranasal oxytocin on HRV with a larger sample of both men and women; and to examine if hormonal contraceptive use in women could alter the effects of intranasal oxytocin, or induce an increase in the level of oxytocin, as reported in previous research (S…”
How hormonal contraceptives shape brain and behavior: A review of preclinical studies.
Concas, A., Serra, M., & Porcu, P. (2022) · Frontiers in neuroendocrinology (Print) · doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2022.101017 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Tracy, L. M., Labuschagne, I., Georgiou‐Karistianis, N., Gibson, S. J., & Giummarra, M. J. (2017) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.05.028 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Martins, D., Leslie, M. R., Rodan, S., Zelaya, F. O., Treasure, J. L., & Paloyelis, Y. (2020) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41398-020-00871-w · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Coenjaerts, M., Adrovic, B., Trimborn, I., Philipsen, A., Hurlemann, R., & Scheele, D. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-29754-y · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Self-citationThe implications of changing hormonal contraceptive use after relationship formation
French, J. E., & Meltzer, A. L. (2020) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2020.04.003 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Love is a physiological motivation (like hunger, thirst, sleep or sex)
Burunat, E. (2019) · Medical Hypotheses · doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2019.05.011 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
“For example, recent work shows that the use of the hormonal contraceptive pill (HC) has a devastating effect on the experience of affection triggered by intranasal oxytocin (OXT) in women when they see their partner’s face [294].”
BackgroundHormonal contraceptives as disruptors of competitive behavior: Theoretical framing and review
Arthur, L. C., Casto, K. V., & Blake, K. R. (2022) · Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2022.101015 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Song, J. Y., Patton, C. D., Friedman, R., Mahajan, L. S., Nordlicht, R., Sayed, R., & Lipton, M. L. (2022) · Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2022.101051 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Zheng, X., Xu, X., Xu, L., Kou, J., Luo, L., Ma, X., & Kendrick, K. M. (2021) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/0269881121991576 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“Furthermore, intranasal OXT both enhances responses to viewing pictures of romantic partners (Scheele et al., 2013, 2015) and reduces those in medial prefrontal cortex when judging attributes of self and others (Zhao et al., 2016).”
BackgroundSchuh‐Hofer, S., Eichhorn, N., Grinevich, V., & Treede, R. (2018) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00161 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Zheng, X., & Kendrick, K. M. (2021) · Frontiers in Pharmacology · doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.652473 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Lower affective empathy in oral contraceptive users: a cross-sectional fMRI study
Kimmig, A.-C. S., Wildgruber, D., Gärtner, A., Drotleff, B., Krylova, M., Lämmerhofer, M., Poromaa, I. S., & Derntl, B. (2022) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhac345 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Coenjaerts, M., Trimborn, I., Adrovic, B., Stoffel‐Wagner, B., Cahill, L. F., Philipsen, A., Hurlemann, R., & Scheele, D. (2022) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119689 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“27 contributed to the modulatory effects of hormonal contraception (Scheele et al., 2016) and to the sex-specific effects of OXTint that have been found in various domains, including fear-related amygdala reactivity (Lieberz et al.”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe effect of intranasal oxytocin on social reward processing in humans: a systematic review
Kraus, J., Výborová, E., & Silani, G. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1244027 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“A significant effect of oxytocin was found in eight out of 12 studies using simple social stimuli (54, 63, 67, 69, 71, 73), where only once the effect was related to reward anticipation (63).”
InfluentialEye-Tracking Reveals a Role of Oxytocin in Attention Allocation Towards Familiar Faces
Marsh, N., Scheele, D., Postin, D., Onken, M., & Hurlemann, R. (2021) · Frontiers in Endocrinology · doi:10.3389/fendo.2021.629760 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Self-citationNeural Representations of the Committed Romantic Partner in the Nucleus Accumbens
Ueda, R., & Abe, N. (2021) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/09567976211021854 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Lan, C., Chen, Y., Zhang, Y., Kou, J., Huang, L., Xu, T., Yang, X., Xu, D., Yang, W., Kendrick, K. M., et al. (2023) · Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1159/000531064 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Borland, J. M. (2025) · Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2025.101175 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Liu, X., Cui, D., Li, D., Jiao, R., Wang, X., Jia, S., Hou, D., Li, T., Liu, H., Wang, P., et al. (2017) · Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fncel.2017.00327 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“Moreover, sex-associated dopaminergic rewarding system is worth exploring because the SP is associated with brain rewarding system including the ventral tegmental area (Song et al., 2016) and the nucleus accumbens (Scheele et al., 2016) in addition to the central amygdala (Beery and Zucker, 2010).”
BackgroundDaniëls, N., Prinsen, J., Soriano, J. R., & Alaerts, K. (2020) · European Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2020.08.004 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Oxytocin modulates human chemosensory decoding of sex in a dose-dependent manner
Chen, K.-P., Ye, Y.-T., Troje, N., & Zhou, W. (2021) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.59376 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Novick, A. M., Johnson, R. L., Lazorwitz, A. M., Belyavskaya, A., Berkowitz, L. N., Norton, A., Sammel, M. D., & Epperson, C. N. (2022) · The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care · doi:10.1080/13625187.2022.2030702 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“This group, which is approximately 40% of individuals [37], could potentially represent a population vulnerable to HC-induced side effects related to central reward function.”
BackgroundResultOxytocin drives prosocial biases in favor of attractive people
Hurlemann, R., Scheele, D., Maier, W., & Schultz, J. (2017) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x16000510 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Self-citationYang, Y., Wang, C., Shi, J.-N., & Zou, Z.-L. (2024) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.109003 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Viana, R. B., Morais, N. S., Costa, T. G., do Amaral, L. C., da Silva, W. F., Santos, D. D. A. T., & de Lira, C. A. B. (2021) · Research Society and Development · doi:10.33448/rsd-v10i16.24153 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Second, contraceptives are known to impact oxytocin, which is involved in social and emotional behavior (Scheele et al., 2016); however, almost all participants using contraceptives methods were taking monophasic contraceptives, which provide a fixed hormone dose per day.”
BackgroundDose-response effects of exogenous oxytocin on social cognition: A systematic review
Barton, S., Pruin, A., Schulze, J., Kiebs, M., Scheele, D., & Hurlemann, R. (2025) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106350 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Self-citationOxytocin Reduces the Attractiveness of Silver-Tongued Men for Women During Mid-Cycle
Gao, Z., Ma, X., Zhou, X., Xin, F., Gao, S., Kou, J., Becker, B., & Kendrick, K. M. (2022) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2022.760695 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
No Differences in Value-Based Decision-Making Due to Use of Oral Contraceptives
Lewis, C. A., Kimmig, A.-C. S., Kroemer, N. B., Pooseh, S., Smolka, M. N., Sacher, J., & Derntl, B. (2022) · Frontiers in Endocrinology · doi:10.3389/fendo.2022.817825 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“(32) reported enhanced attractiveness ratings of the partner’s face together with increased BOLD responses in nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area in naturally cycling women after oxytocin administration, but not in OC-users.”
BackgroundScoping Review: Dampak Penggunaan Kontrasepsi Hormonal Memengaruhi Disfungsi Seksual Pada Wanita
Yendena, N., Anwar, M., Kartini, F., & Astuti, A. W. (2023) · Jurnal Kesehatan · doi:10.26630/jk.v14i1.3550 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Hormonal Contraceptives (HCs) bertanggung jawab atas penurunan kadar androgen yang bersirkulasi, serta penurunan kadar serum estradiol dan progesteron dan penghambatan fungsi oksitosin.”
BackgroundInfluentialIntrinsic, dynamic and effective connectivity among large-scale brain networks modulated by oxytocinPreprint
Jiang, X., Ma, X., Geng, Y., et al. (2020) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2020.04.22.055038 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Berger, R., Hurlemann, R., Shamay‐Tsoory, S., et al. (2023) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2023.10.30.23297746 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Self-citationSippel, L. M., Wachsman, T. R., Kelley, M. E., Knopp, K. C., Khalifian, C. E., Maglione, J. E., Glynn, S. M., Macdonald, A., Monson, C. M., Flanagan, J. C., et al. (2024) · Contemporary Clinical Trials · doi:10.1016/j.cct.2024.107534 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Novick, A. M., Stoddard, J., Johnson, R. L., Duffy, K. A., Berkowitz, L. N., Costa, V. D., Sammel, M. D., & Epperson, C. N. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0279764 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Previous studies on HC and reward have mainly focused on oral HC [18,19,21,21,47], which might be more potent at influencing sexual reward processes compared to HC formulations with less systemic effects such as IUDs [3,4].”
BackgroundInfluentialvon Au, S., Marsh, N., Jeske, V., Hurlemann, R., & Lausberg, H. (2025) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.115061 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Further, different oxytocin concentrations in women are depending on their use of hormonal contraceptives (Scheele et al., 2016; Schneider et al., 2021).”
Self-citationLee, M., & Rilling, J. K. (2025) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106457 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Fujisaki, K., Ueda, R., Nakai, R., & Abe, N. (2025) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsaf127 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Hormonal Contraception and Violent Death: The Physiological and Psychological Links
Lanfranchi, A. (2021) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2021.667563 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Numan, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0008 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Hormonal Control of Maternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals
Numan, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0003 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Sex- and Context-dependent Effects of Oxytocin on Social Reward ProcessingPreprint
Ma, X.-L., Zhao, W.-H., Luo, R., Zhou, F., Geng, Y., Xu, L., Gao, Z., Zheng, X.-X., Becker, B., & Kendrick, K. (2018) · bioRxiv · doi:10.1101/274027 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“On the other hand, OXT produces sex-independent increased responses in brain reward regions, the nucleus accumbens, putamen or ventral tegmental area, in different studies in men and women in the context of romantic bonds when subjects view the face of their partner (Scheele et al., 2016; Scheele et al., 2013), or whe…”
BackgroundInfluentialCoenjaerts, M., Trimborn, I., Adrovic, B., Stoffel‐Wagner, B., Cahill, L. F., Philipsen, A., Hurlemann, R., & Scheele, D. (2021) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2021.11.22.469500 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Interestingly, ESTtra*OXTint interactions may have contributed to the modulatory effects of hormonal contraception([66]) and to the sex-specific effects of OXTint that have been found in various domains, including fear-related amygdala reactivity([35]), the perception of competition,([67]) moral decision-making,([30])…”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe interplay of oxytocin and sex hormonesPreprint
Quintana, D. S., Glaser, B. D., Kang, H., et al. (2024) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/9eh28 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Numan, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0002 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Gassen, J., Mengelkoch, S., Shanmugam, D., Pearson, J. T., van Lamsweerde, A., Benhar, E., & Hill, S. E. (2024) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105546 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“…sexual side effects (Boozalis et al., 2016), which can include changes to women's sexual desire, sexual functioning, attraction, and pair-bonding behaviors (Boozalis et al., 2016; Casado-Espada et al., 2019; Montoya and Bos, 2017; Roberts et al., 2012; Scheele et al., 2016; Stanton et al., 2011).”
InfluentialPrince, I. (2025) · Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A · doi:10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.102080 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Oxytocin shapes the priorities and neural representations of attitudes and values
Hurlemann, R., Marsh, N., Schultz, J., & Scheele, D. (2017) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x16000807 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citationEffects of combined oral contraceptives on female sexuality: continuing the conversation
Gabidullina, R. I., Galimyanova, E. I., & Salakhova, R. R. (2021) · Russian Journal of Human Reproduction · doi:10.17116/repro20212705154 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Mueller, C., Spindler, M., Caspers, S., & Hurlemann, R. (2021) · Masterclass in neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-86630-3_2 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citationNuman, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0001 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Central Neural Circuits Regulating Maternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals
Numan, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0005 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Alloparental Behavior and Paternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals
Numan, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0007 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Meier, I. M., Montoya, E. R., Spencer, H., Orellana, S. C., van Buuren, M., van Honk, J., & Bos, P. A. (2022) · Developmental Psychobiology · doi:10.1002/dev.22349 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“A study investigating the effects of oxytocin on social reward cues found that OXT-induced reward responses in the VTA and ventral striatum were suppressed in OCusers compared to naturally cyclingwomen (Scheele et al., 2016).”
BackgroundHappy with the method? : Sexual function changes in young women using contraception
Malmborg, A. (2019) · Linköping University medical dissertations · doi:10.3384/diss.diva-161653
“Oxytocin has several functions in pair-bonding and sexual function.(51) On the other hand, some studies report no adverse sexual function effects or even an increased sexual satisfaction and increased intercourse frequencies with progestin use, especially with third and fourth generation COCs and low systemic dose met…”
BackgroundMartins, D., Leslie, M. R., Rodan, S., et al. (2020) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2020.01.26.920090
An Examination of the Interaction Between Hormonal Contraceptive Use, Behaviour, and Psychology
Irvine, T. B. (2019) · ERA: Education and Research Archive (University of Alberta) · doi:10.7939/r3-ka8p-dt36
Evolutionary Perspectives on the Parental Brain
Numan, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0011
- Authors
- Scheele, D., Plota, J., Stoffel-Wagner, B., Maier, W., & Hurlemann, R.
- Affiliations
- Department of Psychiatry and
- Department of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany, and
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DE)
- Venue
- Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2015-12-31
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 767-774
- ISSN
- 1749-5016 (ISSN-L)
- 1749-5024
- PMC
- PMC4847696
- OpenAlex
- W2212451622
- Cited by
- 116
- References
- 63
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 4
- FWCI
- 16.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (submittedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- DZNE Pub (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Keywords
- oxytocin, hormonal contraception, brain reward system, partner attractiveness, mate preferences, pair bonding, nucleus accumbens, sex steroids
- MeSH terms
- Facial Recognition, Adult, Brain, Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Nucleus Accumbens
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