Oxytocin enhances the pain-relieving effects of social support in romantic couples

Human Brain Mapping
Ann-Kathrin KreuderDirk Scheele

Abstract

Social support plays a vital role in physical and mental well-being. The neuropeptide hormone oxytocin (OXT) has been implicated in modulating pair-bonding and affiliative behaviors, but whether OXT contributes to the analgesic effects of a romantic partner's touch remains elusive. In the present randomized placebo-controlled, between-group, functional magnetic resonance imaging study involving 194 healthy volunteers (97 heterosexual couples), we tested the effects of intranasal OXT (24 IU) on handholding as a common mode of expressing emotional support in romantic couples. We scanned the subjects while brief electric shocks were administered. The subjects assumed that they received social support from either their romantic partner or an unfamiliar person. Unbeknown to the subject, in the partner and stranger support conditions, the same male experimenter always held the subject's left hand. Partner support was most effective in reducing the unpleasantness of electric shocks, and OXT further attenuated the unpleasantness across conditions. On the neural level, OXT significantly augmented the beneficial effects of partner support, as evidenced by a stronger decrease of neural responses to shocks in the anterior insula (AI), a st...Continue Reading

References

Mar 26, 2003·Psychosomatic Medicine·Jennifer L BrownMichael E Robinson
Apr 12, 2003·Brain : a Journal of Neurology·J LorenzK L Casey
Apr 15, 2003·The Journal of Comparative Neurology·Dost OngürJoseph L Price
May 4, 2005·Trends in Cognitive Sciences·Kevin N Ochsner, James J Gross
Jun 28, 2005·European Journal of Pain : EJP·A Vania ApkarianJon-Kar Zubieta
Nov 24, 2005·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Alison B Wismer FriesSeth D Pollak
Jan 5, 2007·Psychological Science·James A CoanRichard J Davidson
Aug 7, 2007·Neuron·Irene Tracey, Patrick W Mantyh
Apr 29, 2008·Journal of Psychosomatic Research·Beate DitzenMarkus Heinrichs
Oct 30, 2008·Molecular Psychiatry·C HeimC B Nemeroff
Sep 16, 2009·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Janice K Kiecolt-GlaserLiisa Hantsoo
Oct 1, 2009·Psychological Science·Sarah L MasterMatthew D Lieberman
Jul 30, 2010·PLoS Medicine·Julianne Holt-LunstadJ Bradley Layton
Dec 3, 2010·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·Katja WiechIrene Tracey
Jun 24, 2011·Trends in Cognitive Sciences·Jennifer A BartzKevin N Ochsner
Jun 29, 2011·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Naomi I EisenbergerBruce D Naliboff
Aug 26, 2011·The American Journal of Psychiatry·Bronwyn M Graham, Mohammed R Milad
Oct 15, 2011·The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology·Izelle LabuschagnePradeep J Nathan
Nov 30, 2011·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Frances S ChenMarkus Heinrichs
Dec 2, 2011·Human Brain Mapping·Emma G Duerden, Marie-Claire Albanese
Feb 2, 2012·World Psychiatry : Official Journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA)·Mario Mikulincer, Philip R Shaver
Oct 18, 2012·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Nadine StriepensRené Hurlemann
Jul 28, 2013·The Clinical Journal of Pain·Joshua A RashTavis S Campbell
Jul 28, 2013·Frontiers in Human Neuroscience·Charlotte KrahéAikaterini Fotopoulou
Aug 22, 2013·Neuropsychopharmacology : Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·Eryan KongDaniela D Pollak
Sep 10, 2013·Neuroscience·M L BocciaC A Pedersen
Dec 1, 1993·Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation·S H SchmidtD Oort-Marburger
Nov 28, 2013·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Dirk ScheeleRené Hurlemann
Feb 25, 2014·BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders·Robert FroudMartin Underwood
Mar 25, 2014·Human Brain Mapping·Monika EcksteinRené Hurlemann
Dec 30, 2014·Biological Psychiatry·Monika EcksteinRené Hurlemann
Jan 28, 2015·Annals of Behavioral Medicine : a Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine·Matthew H RobertsBeth Mechlin
Jul 1, 2015·Biological Psychiatry·René Hurlemann, Dirk Scheele

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Mar 20, 2020·PloS One·Aleksandrina SkvortsovaAndrea W M Evers
Aug 6, 2019·Frontiers in Neuroscience·Corina Aguilar-RaabBeate Ditzen
May 10, 2020·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Ann-Kathrin KreuderRené Hurlemann
Jun 20, 2020·Scientific Reports·Nirit GevaShelly Levy-Tzedek
Jun 12, 2020·Physiological Reviews·Rohini Kuner, Thomas Kuner
Mar 23, 2021·Developmental Psychobiology·Sofia I CardenasDarby E Saxbe
Sep 3, 2021·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·S G Shamay-Tsoory, N I Eisenberger

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Auditory Perception

Auditory perception is the ability to receive and interpret information attained by the ears. Here is the latest research on factors and underlying mechanisms that influence auditory perception.

Aphasia

Aphasia affects the ability to process language, including formulation and comprehension of language and speech, as well as the ability to read or write. Here is the latest research on aphasia.

Related Papers

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Dirk ScheeleRené Hurlemann
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Nadine StriepensRené Hurlemann
Neuropsychopharmacology : Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
Dirk ScheeleRené Hurlemann
© 2022 Meta ULC. All rights reserved