Citation

Alcorn JL, Green CE, Schmitz J, Lane SD. Behav. Pharmacol. 2015; 26(8 Spec No): 798-804.

Affiliation

aDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine bProgram in Neuroscience, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences cCenter for Neurobehavioral Research on Addiction, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/FBP.0000000000000173

PMID

26241153

Abstract

This study investigated the acute effects of oxytocin (OT) on human aggression using a well-established laboratory measure of state (reactive) aggression to test the hypothesis that OT would decrease the frequency of aggressive responding. In a within-subject design, 17 healthy male volunteers received placebo or 24 IU of intranasal OT. Aggression was measured using the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm at 30 min before and 30, 60, and 90 min after dose. Acute OT did not produce a significant main effect on aggressive behavior. OT attenuated the expected rise in diastolic blood pressure from morning to early afternoon observed under placebo, providing a possible indication of biological activity. Examination of individual differences showed that aggressive responding following OT dosing (but not placebo) was positively correlated with psychometric measures of interpersonal manipulation and anger (Pearson's r=0.57), indicating that higher scores on these antisocial personality traits were related to increased aggressive behavior following OT administration. These preliminary results stand in contrast to previous work on the prosocial effects of OT and highlight the need for further understanding of individual differences in aggression following OT administration. Such individual differences may have implications for the therapeutic use of OT in individuals with psychiatric disorders and dysfunctional social behavior.

Language: en