Cited by 179Neuroendocrine regulation and behaviorAction Observation and SynchronizationNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Neurophysiological effects of acute oxytocin administration: systematic review and meta-analysis of placebo-controlled imaging studies

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Wigton, Rebekah, Radua, Jocham, Allen, Paul, Averbeck, Bruno, Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas, McGuire, Philip, Shergill, Sukhi S., Fusar-Poli, Paolo·2015·Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Oxytocin (OXT) plays a prominent role in social cognition and may have clinical applications for disorders such as autism, schizophrenia and social anxiety. The neural basis of its mechanism of action remains unclear. METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature review of placebo-controlled imaging studies using OXT as a pharmacological manipulator of brain activity. RESULTS: We identified a total of 21 studies for inclusion in our review, and after applying additional selection criteria, 11 of them were included in our fMRI voxel-based meta-analysis. The results demonstrate consistent alterations in activation of brain regions, including the temporal lobes and insula, during the processing of social stimuli, with some variation dependent on sex and task. The meta-analysis revealed significant left insular hyperactivation after OXT administration, suggesting a potential modulation of neural circuits underlying emotional processing. LIMITATIONS: This quantitative review included only a limited number of studies, thus the conclusions of our analysis should be interpreted cautiously. This limited sample size precluded a more detailed exploration of potential confounding factors, such as sex or other demographic factors, that may have affected our meta-analysis. CONCLUSION: Oxytocin has a wide range of effects over neural activity in response to social and emotional processing, which is further modulated by sex and task specificity. The magnitude of this neural activation is largest in the temporal lobes, and a meta-analysis across all tasks and both sexes showed that the left insula demonstrated the most robust activation to OXT administration.

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Crossref · 10.1503/jpn.130289

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  • Recent meta-analytic findings show the most robust oxytocin effects on left insular cortex activity.

    “However, the reported left lateral OXT effects on AI activity are in line with recent meta-analytic findings showing the most robust OXT effects on left insular cortex activity (Wigton et al., 2015).”
  • The insula and amygdala seem to be key target regions in the brain, with oxytocin modulating amygdala responsiveness to emotional faces or social stimuli in general.

    “In this context, the insula17 as well as the amygdala seem to be key target regions in the brain, with oxytocin modulating amygdala responsiveness to emotional faces18–22 or social stimuli in general23.”
  • Oxytocin administration may modulate glucocorticoid and autonomic stress reactivity, dampen anxiety and neural threat processing, and beneficially impact socioemotional processes and prosocial behavior.

    “Accumulating evidence from studies in animals and in healthy and psychiatric human populations shows that oxytocin administration may modulate glucocorticoid (16) and autonomic stress reactivity (17), dampen anxiety and neural threat processing (18,19), and beneficially impact socioemotional processes and prosocial behavior (20,21) [but see also (22,23) for seemingly nonprosocial effects].”

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Authors
Wigton, R., Radua, J., Allen, P., Averbeck, B., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., McGuire, P., Shergill, S. S., & Fusar-Poli, P.
Affiliations
National Institutes of Health (US)
Venue
Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Published
2015-01
Volume
40
Issue
1
Pages
E1-E22
ISSN
1180-4882 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2167182003
Cited by
179
References
136
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 34 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 1
FWCI
4.89
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
oxytocin, social cognition, emotional processing, insula, temporal lobe, sex differences, social stimuli, neural circuits, autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, social anxiety
MeSH terms
Animals, Brain, Brain Mapping, Central Nervous System Agents, Electroencephalography, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Oxytocin, Sex Characteristics

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