Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
CNS Spectr. 2009 Nov;14(11):602-6. doi: 10.1017/s1092852900023841.
Oxytocin and vasopressin are highly conserved neuropeptides that play a key role in social attachment and affiliation, including parental care and pair-bonding. Oxytocin attenuates neural responses to aversive pictures and has been associated with reduced coupling of amygdala to brainstem regions involved in the fear response. Differential activation of the amygdala has been found to be associated with different genetic variants of the vasopressin receptor. There is growing evidence that oxytocin and vasopressin receptor variants are associated with individual differences in prosocial behavior. It is humbling that differences in complex human behaviors may be partially explicable on the basis of relatively simple neuropeptide systems. Nevertheless, such findings potentially allow for targeted interventions for a range of psychiatric disorders in which such systems play a role.
催产素和加压素是高度保守的神经肽，在社会依恋和联系中发挥着关键作用，包括父母照顾和伴侣关系。催产素减弱了对厌恶图片的神经反应，并与杏仁核与参与恐惧反应的脑干区域的耦合减少有关。已经发现，杏仁核的不同激活与加压素受体的不同遗传变异有关。越来越多的证据表明，催产素和加压素受体变体与亲社会行为的个体差异有关。令人感到谦卑的是，复杂的人类行为差异可能部分可以用相对简单的神经肽系统来解释。然而，这些发现可能为一系列神经肽系统发挥作用的精神障碍提供有针对性的干预措施。
