Cited by 83Neuroendocrine regulation and behaviorAction Observation and SynchronizationInfant Health and Development

Neurofunctional maps of the ‘maternal brain’ and the effects of oxytocin: a multimodal voxel-based meta-analysis

Rocchetti, Matteo, Radua, Joaquim, Paloyelis, Yannis, Xenaki, Lida‐Alkisti, Frascarelli, Marianna, Caverzasi, Edgardo, Politi, Pierluigi, Fusar‐Poli, Paolo·2014·Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences

Abstract

Several studies have tried to understand the possible neurobiological basis of mothering. The putative involvement of oxytocin, in this regard, has been deeply investigated. Performing a voxel-based meta-analysis, we aimed at testing the hypothesis of overlapping brain activation in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies investigating the mother-infant interaction and the oxytocin modulation of emotional stimuli in humans. We performed two systematic literature searches: fMRI studies investigating the neurofunctional correlates of the 'maternal brain' by employing mother-infant paradigms; and fMRI studies employing oxytocin during emotional tasks. A unimodal voxel-based meta-analysis was performed on each database, whereas a multimodal voxel-based meta-analytical tool was adopted to assess the hypothesis that the neurofunctional effects of oxytocin are detected in brain areas implicated in the 'maternal brain.' We found greater activation in the bilateral insula extending to the inferior frontal gyrus, basal ganglia and thalamus during mother-infant interaction and greater left insular activation associated with oxytocin administration versus placebo. Left insula extending to basal ganglia and frontotemporal gyri as well as bilateral thalamus and amygdala showed consistent activation across the two paradigms. Right insula also showed activation across the two paradigms, and dorsomedial frontal cortex activation in mothers but deactivation with oxytocin. Significant activation in areas involved in empathy, emotion regulation, motivation, social cognition and theory of mind emerged from our multimodal meta-analysis, supporting the need for further studies directly investigating the neurobiology of oxytocin in the mother-infant relationship.

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Crossref · 10.1111/pcn.12185

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Authors
Rocchetti, M., Radua, J., Paloyelis, Y., Xenaki, L., Frascarelli, M., Caverzasi, E., Politi, P., & Fusar‐Poli, P.
Affiliations
  • King's College London (GB)
  • Department of Psychosis Studies Institute of Psychiatry King's College London London UK
  • Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences University of Pavia Pavia Italy
  • University of Pavia (IT)
Corresponding author
Rocchetti, Matteo
Venue
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2014-06-09
Volume
68
Issue
10
Pages
733-751
ISSN
  • 1323-1316 (ISSN-L)
  • 1440-1819
OpenAlex
W1536234704
Cited by
83
References
142
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 1
FWCI
0.67
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) (submittedVersion)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Economic and Social Research Council (ES/K009400/1)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Infant Health and Development
Keywords
maternal brain, oxytocin, mother-infant interaction, insula, thalamus, amygdala, basal ganglia, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, emotion regulation, empathy, social cognition, theory of mind, placebo comparison
MeSH terms
Adult, Brain, Brain Mapping, Female, Humans, Maternal Behavior, Mother-Child Relations, Oxytocin

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