Research on the role of oxytocin, a neuropeptide, in social cognition has generated much interest during the last few years. We have earlier written about oxytocin’s role in social attachment; together with vasopressin, another neuropeptide, oxytocin is thought to be critical for linking social signals to structures in the mesolimbic part of the brain responsible for forming social attachment and pair bonding. In a study published in Nature Ernst Fehr and his group demonstrated that injecting people with a spray of oxytocin increases trust.
Now, in a pretty remarkable new study published in Biological Psychiatry, German researchers show that injecting subjects with a whiff of oxytocin will also improve be ability to infer, based just on eye cues, what a person is thinking about. Here’s the abstract:
Background
The ability to “read the mind” of other individuals, that is, to infer their mental state by interpreting subtle social cues, is indispensable in human social interaction. The neuropeptide oxytocin plays a central role in social approach behavior in nonhuman mammals.
Methods
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject design, 30 healthy male volunteers were tested for their ability to infer the affective mental state of others using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) after intranasal administration of 24 IU oxytocin.
Results
Oxytocin improved performance on the RMET compared with placebo. This effect was pronounced for difficult compared with easy items.
Conclusions
Our data suggest that oxytocin improves the ability to infer the mental state of others from social cues of the eye region. Oxytocin might play a role in the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorder, which is characterized by severe social impairment.
Clearly, this suggests that oxytocin not only modulates mesolimbic brain structures. Earlier studies have implicated the fusiform face area and superior temporal sulcus in extracting social information from facial perception. May oxytocin also impact on these structures? Whatever turns out to be the case, I imagine that no politician or CEO will ever sit down at the negotiation table again without their trusty bottle of oxytocin.
-Martin
Children who are abused and neglected in infancy are singularly poor at reading the mental states of others. do you think there is a connection with oxytocin?
And what about sociopaths and other people who lack empathy?
Could it all be related to autism and Asperger’s ?
I’ve heard children that were abused had heightened ability to sense emotions in others -specifically anger. This would go in contrast to the study if true, but not necessarily in contradiction. This heightened ability in these children could have one of a number of causes. (possibly increased capacity for fight or flight response for one)
abuse is to increased emotion sensing as anger is to abuse. Makes perfect sense to me…
ecstasy / mdma releases tonns of oxytocin into your system. ironically, the original name for it was “window”
Just to note, these test subjects inhaled oxytocin, much less stressful than being injected.
Laurel, you’re correct that there is a connection between early trauma and the oxytocin system. The oxytocin response — releasing oxytocin into the central nervous system in response to affection or intimacy — is learned after birth, but it may not be learned at all.
adfero, many researchers believe that a malfunction of the oxytocin system, or the vasopressin system, which is closely related, could be part of ASD. See “Phase 2 Trial of Oxytocin for Autism,” http://www.hugthemonkey.com/2007/03/phase_2_trial_o.html
oxytocin is a neuropeptide introduced into the brain via breastfeeding. Infant suckles, breasts stimulate brain of mother, mother feeds infant more oxytocin and more neurotransmitters are initiated within that child – for life. Structures and pathways in the brain necessary for every single type of relating are built with the building blocks of oxytocin. Now I am learning that within this structure is also the path of esteem – self and others. Learning to read people can be done via the mental faculties and bypassing oxytocin-made receptors – but via the oxytocin pathways it is innate, understood and empathic.
As usual the mental health “researchers” are putting the cart before the horse. The child’s inability to read and respond to facial expressions which often includes the inability to project their OWN feelings, on their faces often leads to neglect and abuse. You won’t comfort a child for feeling sad if you can’t tell the child IS sad or their very real sadness just looks “faked.” I know this because I have this problem. Add to that we read other peoples feelings wrong and often get “shot down” socially for being rude and uncaring when really we would care if we just knew what it is we are supposed to care about. I call it mood blindness not mind blindness. It affected my relationship with my parents in a negative manner but it wasn’t just them that neglected me due to this. So did teachers, doctors, peers, etc. The problem was already in me and was causing their negative reactions to me. I know other folks have feelings, but I figure out what those feelings are by the circumstances they are in, not by the look on their faces. And that can steer me wrong. For one thing I am face blind too. I often take a few precious seconds or longer to figure out who someone is instead of having instance recognition if I manage to figure out who they are, at all. During that time I appear as hostile, rude or uncaring but I am really just standing there trying to figure out, “who is this?” instead of giving them the expected warm and welcoming smile or look of sympathy if they are in trouble and I’m supposed to have known about it but quite likely, don’t, if it wasn’t explained to me verbally..
Dear Elizabeth,
Mental health researchers — or “researchers” if you like (whatever the difference) — distinguish between mind blindness and what you call mood blindness. The inability or reduced ability to read other’s facial expressions is a more direct, perceptual process than the ability to be empathic and infer their internal states (i.e., to have a theory of mind).
T
OK, so what is the girl in the picture thinking anyway? I just know I’m a little scared…
One thing that recent research has found is the interplay between vasopressin and oxytocin. The number and quality of oxytocin receptors in a given person’s brain also has a lot to do with how oxytocin affects a wide variety of social emotions.