Sleep Deprivation Related Changes of Plasma Oxytocin in Males and Female Contraceptive Users Depend on Sex and Correlate Differentially With Anxiety and Pain Hypersensitivity.

Disturbed sleep is known to substantially aggravate both the pain condition and the affective state of pain patients. The neurobiological mechanisms underlying these adverse effects are unknown. Oxytocin (OT), being largely involved in social and emotional behavior, is considered to also play a modulatory role in nociception.

Oxytocin and Pain Perception: From Animal Models to Human Research.

An accumulating body of evidence suggests that the hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has a modulatory effect on pain processing. Particularly strong evidence comes from animal models. Here, we review recent advances in animal research on the analgesic effects of OT and discuss possible target sites of OT within descending and ascending pain pathways in the brain.