Cited by 116Neuroendocrine regulation and behaviorEvolutionary Psychology and Human BehaviorOlfactory and Sensory Function Studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 62 of the 63 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 13 of the 37 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner’s face

Open access
Scheele, Dirk, Plota, Jessica, Stoffel-Wagner, Birgit, Maier, Wolfgang, Hurlemann, René·2016·Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience

Abstract

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.

Overview

AI snapshot

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.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1093/scan/nsv157

Cites

62 of 62 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

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

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 10
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 23
29 of 29
  • 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”
5 of 5

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.

1 of 1

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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
Published
2015-12-31
Volume
11
Issue
5
Pages
767-774
ISSN
  • 1749-5016 (ISSN-L)
  • 1749-5024
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
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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