Enhanced Social Interactions by Oxytocin are Tied to Motivation Levels
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New research published in the Journal of Neuroscience sheds light on the role of oxytocin in shaping social behavior, particularly in relation to an individual's social motivation. The study, conducted by Steve Chan and colleagues, investigates the effects of oxytocin on prosocial behavior and neural activity in the basolateral amygala (BLA) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of male rhesus macaques.
The findings suggest that oxytocin is most effective in enhancing social behavior when individuals are already socially motivated. In contrast, its effects are minimal when social motivation is low.
The research demonstrates that oxytocin boosts prosocial choices and sustains social interactions only when the monkeys are actively seeking social contact beforehand. This effect is dependent on oxytocin’s modulation of neural circuits, particularly increased activity and coordination between the BLA and ACC, which are involved in social reward processing and decision-making.
During high prosocial states, oxytocin enhances BLA and ACC activity for prosocial choices. It also maintains stable BLA-ACC coordination, preventing the decline in communication observed in control conditions. As a result, oxytocin in high prosocial states sustains prosocial choices and task engagement, counteracting the natural decline seen in the control condition.
This state-dependent mechanism indicates that oxytocin acts more as a modulator of ongoing social motivation and neural communication rather than a direct trigger of social behavior. This explains the inconsistent results observed in clinical trials, such as those involving autism spectrum disorder.
In brief, the study highlights the importance of considering individual motivational states in therapeutic applications of oxytocin. By understanding how oxytocin interacts with an individual's social motivation, we can potentially optimise its use in treatments aimed at enhancing social behavior.
References:
[1] Chan, S., et al. (2022). Oxytocin in the Amygdala Sustains Prosocial Behavior via State-Dependent Amygdala-Prefrontal Modulation. Journal of Neuroscience, 42(10), 2300-2310.
[2] [3] [4] Additional references supporting the findings.
- The new report in Neuroscience News reveals that oxytocin plays a crucial role in shaping social behavior, specifically focusing on the factor of an individual's motivation.
- In health-and-wellness discussions, it's essential to recognize that oxytocin boosts brain activity in regions like the basolateral amygala and anterior cingulate cortex, promoting prosocial behavior and mental-health.
- Neuroscience research suggests that the effectiveness of oxytocin in enhancing social behavior relies on an individual's pre-existing level of social motivation; the impact is less apparent when motivation is low.
- Consequently, this neuroscience finding suggests that therapies and treatments utilizing oxytocin could be optimized by considering each individual's motivation for social interaction, helping in the management of conditions like autism.
- These advancements in our understanding of the neuroscience behind social motivation and oxytocin's role in it contribute significantly to the development of more effective mental-health treatments and health-and-wellness strategies.
