AI Article Synopsis
- Oxytocin decreases amygdala activity in response to threats when males are approaching social situations, suggesting it helps reduce anxiety during social interactions.
- The study included 52 healthy males and used fMRI to observe brain responses during a social approach-avoidance task, finding that oxytocin specifically affected responses during threat approach.
- These results highlight oxytocin's potential for aiding individuals with social anxiety disorders, offering insights into a biological mechanism that could improve social engagement.
Article Abstract
Oxytocin reduces amygdala responses to threatening social stimuli in males and has been suggested to facilitate approach-related processing by either decreasing anxiety or intensifying salience. The current administration study tested whether oxytocin either reduces or enhances amygdala responses during threat approach in a placebo-controlled randomized, double-blind, between-subjects design with 52 healthy males undergoing fMRI during a social approach-avoidance task. Oxytocin decreased amygdala activation during threat approach and not during threat avoidance. This neural effect supports oxytocin's social anxiolytic effects and provides a neuroendocrine mechanism promoting social approach. The findings may yield clinical implications for individuals suffering from dysregulations of social approach such as patients with anxiety disorders.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.02.028 | DOI Listing |
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