Oxytocin
An accumulating body of evidence demonstrates the crucial role of the neuropeptide hormone oxytocin (OT) in the modulation of social cognition and behaviour. However, OT is more than just a “social” neuropeptide as it’s also involved in the regulation of a number of other physiological systems. Indeed, oxytocin system dysfucntion may contribute to the overrepresentation of metabolic disorders in severe mental illnesses. Remarkably, little work has explicitly investigated how the impact of OT on physiology influences social cognition and behaviour. Moreover, the role of the oxytocin gene pathway on psychological and physiological processess is poorly characterised. A better understanding of how the OT system influences the brain and body can help unravel the neurobiological basis of social function, and how this is linked to various physiological processes.

Daniel S. Quintana
Senior Researcher
Investigating the oxytocin system, heart rate variability, social behavior, and meta-science.
Related
- Improving the precision of intranasal oxytocin research
- Oxytocin: How Does This Neuropeptide Change Our Social Behavior?
- The impact of oxytocin administration on brain activity: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol
- Reliability of basal plasma vasopressin concentrations in healthy male adults
- Linking central gene expression patterns and mental states using transcriptomics and large-scale meta-analysis of fMRI data: A tutorial and example using the oxytocin signaling pathway