Social communication through touch and mutual grooming can convey highly salient socio-emotional signals and has been shown to involve the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) in several species. Less is known about the modulatory influence of OXT on the neural and emotional responses to human interpersonal touch. The present randomized placebo (PLC)-controlled within-subject pharmaco-functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was designed to test the hypothesis that a single intranasal dose of synthetic OXT (24 IU) would facilitate both neural and emotional responses to interpersonal touch in a context- (female vs male touch) and trait- (autistic trait load) specific manner. Specifically, the experimental rationale was to manipulate the reward value of interpersonal touch independent of the intensity and type of actual cutaneous stimulation administered. Thus, 40 heterosexual males believed that they were touched by either a man or a woman, although in fact an identical pattern of touch was always given by the same female experimenter blind to condition type. Our results show that OXT increased the perceived pleasantness of female, but not male touch, and associated neural responses in insula, precuneus, orbitofrontal, and pregenual anterior cingulate cortex. Moreover, the behavioral and neural effects of OXT were negatively correlated with autistic-like traits. Taken together, this is the first study to show that the perceived hedonic value of human heterosexual interpersonal touch is facilitated by OXT in men, but that its behavioral and neural effects in this context are blunted in individuals with autistic traits.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/npp.2014.78 | DOI Listing |
Behav Sci (Basel)
November 2024
Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, 1512 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Nonverbal connection is an important aspect of everyday communication. For romantic partners, nonverbal connection is essential for establishing and maintaining feelings of closeness. EEG hyperscanning offers a unique opportunity to examine the link between nonverbal connection and neural synchrony among romantic partners.
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December 2024
MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Psychol Sci
November 2024
Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Biol Psychiatry
November 2024
Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado. Electronic address:
Cereb Cortex
November 2024
School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Tom Reilly Building, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, United Kingdom.
Understanding observed interpersonal touch, particularly the so-called affective touch targeting the CT fibers, is essential for social interactions. Research has documented that observing other people being touched activates the same cortical areas involved in direct tactile experiences. However, observing interpersonal touch also activates an inner simulation of the movements in the observer's motor system.
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