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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.
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Claims the paper makes
40 Own result · 14 Own method · 13 Own interpretation · 11 No full text of the sources · 4 Supported · 4 Partly supported · 2 Supported so far · 2 Sources not found · 1 Not checked yet · 1 No basis given · accuracy not yet measured
The sources with a verdict support this claim; the rest weren’t checked yet, have no full text we could read, or their verdicts aren’t rated yet.
In the paper
“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).”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Introduction
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Little et al., 2013 source
- Supportedcites Abler et al., 2013 source
The Results (section 2, fMRI Results: Group Comparisons; page unavailable) report significantly greater activation during expectation of erotic pictures in women not taking oral contraceptives than in those taking them. This supports the specific finding for which Abler et al. is cited: reduced neural response to expected erotic stimuli. (LLM, conf=0.91)
- Supportedcites Roberts et al., 2008 source
The Abstract reports a significant shift toward MHC-similar odours after women initiated pill use, a shift not seen in non-users. The Discussion likewise describes ratings shifting in favour of MHC similarity. This supports the specific preference shift for which Roberts et al. is cited. (LLM, conf=0.94)
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Every source the paper cites for this claim was checked and supports it.
In the paper
“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.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Results
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Scheele et al., 2013 source
The Results (page not provided) state that OXT enhanced the positive partner bias but did not alter the positive bias for familiar versus unfamiliar women. The Discussion describes a specific effect on pair-bond-related behavioral ratings, supporting the comparison attributed to Scheele et al. (LLM, conf=0.93)
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Supported
The sources with a verdict support this claim; the rest weren’t checked yet, have no full text we could read, or their verdicts aren’t rated yet.
In the paper
“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).”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Young and Wang, 2004 source
- Supportedcites Hurlemann and Scheele, 2016 source
In “Oxytocin and Romantic Attachment,” the review reports that intranasal oxytocin altered responses to romantic partners in pair-bonded men. “Translational Implications” explicitly describes oxytocin as a key modulator of human pair bonding. The review also says that effects on the processing of partner stimuli in women had not yet been studied. Page numbers were not supplied in the passages. (LLM, conf=0.93)
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Also stated in: § Introduction · hedged
Every source the paper cites for this claim was checked and supports it.
In the paper
“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.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > D. Scheele et al. | 769
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Scheele et al., 2013 source
The citation identifies the previous data obtained in men, not the citing authors’ subsequent comparison with women using hormonal contraception. The Results report that oxytocin enhanced partner-specific nucleus accumbens responses in the male participants. (LLM, conf=0.92)
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Supported
Every source the paper cites for this claim was checked and supports it.
In the paper
“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.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Results
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Scheele et al., 2013 source
The Discussion describes a specific OXT effect on pair-bond-related behavioral ratings and neural responses. It reports that OXT increased men's positive ratings of their female partner's face, while having no effect on the positive bias toward familiar versus unfamiliar women. (LLM, conf=0.93)
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Supported
The cited sources support only part of this claim — read each source’s verdict below.
In the paper
“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”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Keyes et al., 2014 source
The Abstract Results and Discussion report increased incidence of major depression, panic disorder, and PTSD following the unexpected death of a loved one—the finding for which Keyes et al. is cited. The proposed OXT mediation is the citing authors’ inference, not a finding attributed to Keyes et al. (LLM, conf=0.91)
- Partly supportedcites Mostofsky et al., 2012 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured
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)
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Supported
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“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).”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Results
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“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”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Results
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“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”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > D. Scheele et al. | 769
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“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.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Abstract
plaindirectn = 40- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Also stated in: § Discussion · plain
- It may state two separate claims as one. 10
- Probably not a substantial claim. 23
The cited sources support only part of this claim — read each source’s verdict below.
In the paper
“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.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Scheele et al., 2014a
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Supportedcites Hurlemann and Scheele, 2016 source
In “A Self-Reference Model of Oxytocin,” the authors propose that OXT induces a self-referential processing bias that enables people to represent emotional experiences more consciously. The “Oxytocin and Romantic Attachment” section also reports more favorable perceptions of a partner’s attractiveness under OXT. The cited sentence frames the link to conscious perception of partner value as the citing authors’ hypothesis, not as a finding established by this source. (LLM, conf=0.90)
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
Every source the paper cites for this claim was checked and supports it.
In the paper
“to reduce arousal induced by the imagination of sexual infidelity (Preckel et al., 2015).”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Preckel et al., 2015 source
The Experiment 2 Behavioral results report that oxytocin diminished arousal ratings for imagined sexual infidelity compared with placebo. The Discussion likewise states that oxytocin reduced arousal induced by imagery of sexual infidelity. (LLM, conf=0.94)
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Supported
The cited sources support only part of this claim — read each source’s verdict below.
In the paper
“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).”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
What the sources say
- Partly supportedcites Mostofsky et al., 2012 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured
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)
- Partly supportedcites Hurlemann and Scheele, 2016 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured
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)
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Partly supported
The cited sources support only part of this claim — read each source’s verdict below.
In the paper
“Given that the precuneus is heavily implicated in mediating interoceptive awareness and consciousness (Lou et al., 2004)”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
What the sources say
- Partly supportedcites Lou et al., 2004 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured
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)
boostedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
- Partly supported
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Furthermore, we observed that OXT had no effect on vital signs (cf.Supplementary Materials) or mood and anxiety ratings (cf. Supplementary Table S4).”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Results
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“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 ].”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Results
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“These effects of OXT were absent in women using HC.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Abstract
plainn = 40- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“However, since none of the women were tested during ovulation, the concentrations of the follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones were similar in both groups.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Results
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“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”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: Intranasal OXT administration elevates central OXT concentrations sufficiently to affect brain reward responses.
- Also stated in: § Discussion · plain
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“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.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Participants
plainn = 3- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The movement parameters were included as confounds in the design matrix.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Behavioral task
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“a potential mechanism could be related to the direct binding of progesterone to OXTRs, thereby inhibiting OXTR functioning (Grazzini et al., 1998).”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Grazzini et al., 1998 source
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“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.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > fMRI paradigm
plainn = 10- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A claim is checked only against the cited paper’s full text, never its abstract, and none is available for its sources.
In the paper
“Previous research suggests that partner preferences vary across the menstrual cycle in an evolutionarily adaptive way.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
What the sources say
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“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.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Fisher, 2004 source
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“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).”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Participants
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“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.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Little and Jones, 2012 source
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“this may have increased the variance in the data.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“We ensured that no subject knew the individuals whose photographs were used as control stimuli.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > fMRI paradigm
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
In the paper
“facilitated spontaneous anthropomorphism (Scheele et al., 2015) in samples in which the majority of women used HC.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Scheele et al., 2015 source
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A claim is checked only against the cited paper’s full text, never its abstract, and none is available for its sources.
In the paper
“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).”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
What the sources say
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“We applied a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, within-group design.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Experimental design
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“we did not test women during ovulation.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“OXT has been found to increase the intensity of orgasm and contentment after copulation (Behnia et al., 2014)”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Behnia et al., 2014 source
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“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).”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > fMRI paradigm
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“the time interval between treatment sessions was not constant in all participants”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The selected photographs were equated for facial expression, size and luminance.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > fMRI paradigm
plainn = 10- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may state two separate claims as one.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“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.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Participants
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“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.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Experimental design
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial 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.
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Discussion
“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.”
§ Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face > Behavioral task
“the threshold for significance was set at P < 0.05, FWE-corrected for multiple comparisons based on the size of the ROI.”
Citations
Cites
(1998) · The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry · Cited by 19,139
(1998) · PubMed · Cited by 10,216
Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review
Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., & Layton, J. B. (2010) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316 · Cited by 7,272 · cited 1×
“Romantic love is one of the most powerful motivators of human behavior and has been linked to physical and mental health (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010).”
BackgroundThe oxytocin receptor system: structure, function, and regulation
Gimpl, G., & Fahrenholz, F. (2001) · Physiological Reviews · doi:10.1152/physrev.2001.81.2.629 · Cited by 3,089 · cited 2×
“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…”
BackgroundThe neurobiology of pair bonding.
Young, L. J., & Wang, Z. (2004) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn1327 · Cited by 1,523 · cited 1×
“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).”
BackgroundThe neural correlates of maternal and romantic love
Bartels, A., & Zeki, S. (2004) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2003.11.003 · Cited by 1,497 · cited 1×
“Both the NAcc and VTA have previously been identified as reward-associated brain regions activated by viewing the face of a romantic partner while recalling shared experiences with him or her (Bartels and Zeki, 2004; Aron et al., 2005; Acevedo et al., 2012).”
BackgroundReward, Motivation, and Emotion Systems Associated With Early-Stage Intense Romantic Love
Aron, A., Fisher, H., Mashek, D. J., Strong, G., Li, H., & Brown, L. L. (2005) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.00838.2004 · Cited by 963 · cited 1×
“Both the NAcc and VTA have previously been identified as reward-associated brain regions activated by viewing the face of a romantic partner while recalling shared experiences with him or her (Bartels and Zeki, 2004; Aron et al., 2005; Acevedo et al., 2012).”
BackgroundOxytocin receptor distribution reflects social organization in monogamous and polygamous voles
Insel, T. R., & Shapiro, L. E. (1992) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.89.13.5981 · Cited by 833
Parietal cortex and representation of the mental Self
Lou, H. C., Luber, B., Crupain, M., Keenan, J. P., Nowak, M., Kjaer, T. W., Sackeim, H. A., & Lisanby, S. H. (2004) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0400049101 · Cited by 631 · cited 2×
“Given that the precuneus is heavily 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.”
ResultSocial Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review
Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T., & Layton, J. (2010) · SciVee · doi:10.4016/19865.01 · Cited by 613
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–116 of 116
Anxiety Reduction and Maternal Aggression in Postpartum Nonhuman Mammals
Numan, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0006
Development of the Parental Brain in Nonhuman Mammals
Numan, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0009
Development of the Parental Brain in Humans
Numan, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0010
Brain Mechanisms Regulating Maternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals
Numan, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0004
Meier, I. M. (2020) · Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) · doi:10.33540/425
Meier, I. M., Montoya, E. R., Spencer, H., et al. (2021) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/cqdkf
Oxytocin - not only a "social" neuropeptide
Brodmann, K. (2016) · eDiss (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen) · doi:10.53846/goediss-5978
The Impact of Hormonal Contraceptives on Women’s Sexual and Mating Psychology
Cunningham, K., & Hill, S. E. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197536438.013.36 · Cited by 1
Numan, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.002.0006
Numan, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.002.0003
Abbreviations Used for Major Brain Regions
Numan, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.002.0007
Numan, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.002.0004
Martins, D., Leslie, M. R., Dipasquale, O., Leppänen, J., Treasure, J. L., & Paloyelis, Y. (2025) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-6207163/v1
Sex for health? How sexual activity improves physical and mental health and beyond
Kim, K. H. (2025) · Sexual & Relationship Therapy · doi:10.1080/14681994.2025.2491050 · Cited by 1
“Oxytocin boosts dopamine (Succu et al., 2007) through erotic cues (Gregory et al., 2015; Scheele et al., 2016).”
Ovarian hormones, hormonal contraceptives and reward processing
Novick, A. M., Weinhold, E. R., & Epperson, C. N. (2026) · BJPsych Advances · doi:10.1192/bja.2026.10206 · Cited by 1
Effects of intranasal oxytocin on fear, pain and aversive memory
Silva, J. U., & Brito, I. (2026) · Neuropeptides · doi:10.1016/j.npep.2026.102618
Metadata
- 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: 3 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 4
- FWCI
- 4.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- DZNE Pub (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Funders
- Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › 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, sexual satisfaction, women
- MeSH terms
- Facial Recognition, Adult, Brain, Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Nucleus Accumbens, Oxytocin, Reward, Sexual Behavior, Sexual Partners, Young Adult
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Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
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