Department of Psychology and the Gonda Brain Sciences Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
Biol Psychiatry. 2012 Dec 15;72(12):982-9. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.06.011. Epub 2012 Jul 13.
The social milieu provides the context for the organism's survival, endurance, and adaptation. In mammals, social participation originates within the parent-infant bond and is supported by the oxytocin (OT) system, whose functioning is transmitted from parent to child through patterns of parental care. Human studies indicate that OT administration increases affiliative behavior, including trust, empathy, and social reciprocity. Here, we examine whether OT administration to parent can enhance physiological and behavioral processes that support parental social engagement but, moreover, can have parallel effects on the infant.
Utilizing a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design, 35 fathers and their 5-month-old infants were observed twice following administration of OT or placebo to father in the face-to-face still-face paradigm. Parent and infant salivary OT were assessed at multiple time points, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was measured in the three face-to-face still-face episodes, and social behaviors of the parent and child were micro-coded for indices of social engagement.
Oxytocin administration increased father salivary OT, RSA during free play, and key parenting behaviors that support parental-infant bonding. Parallel increases were also found in the infant's salivary OT, RSA response, and engagement behavior, including social gaze, exploration, and social reciprocity.
Results are the first to demonstrate that OT administration to one attachment partner can have parallel effects on the other and underscore the role of OT in the cross-generation transmission of human social participation. Findings have translational implications for conditions associated with early risk for social-emotional growth, including autism and prematurity, without the need to administer drugs to young infants.
社会环境为生物的生存、耐受和适应提供了背景。在哺乳动物中，社会参与源于亲子关系，并由催产素（OT）系统支持，其功能通过父母照顾的模式从父母传递给孩子。人类研究表明，OT 的给药会增加亲社会行为，包括信任、同理心和社会互惠。在这里，我们研究了 OT 给药给父母是否可以增强支持父母社交参与的生理和行为过程，但更重要的是，是否可以对婴儿产生类似的影响。
利用双盲、安慰剂对照交叉设计，35 位父亲及其 5 个月大的婴儿在面对面的静止面孔范式中接受 OT 或安慰剂给药后，分别观察了两次。在多次时间点评估了父母和婴儿的唾液 OT，在三个面对面的静止面孔事件中测量了呼吸窦性心律失常（RSA），并对父母和孩子的社会行为进行了微编码，以评估社会参与指数。
OT 给药增加了父亲的唾液 OT、自由玩耍时的 RSA 以及支持父母-婴儿结合的关键育儿行为。婴儿的唾液 OT、RSA 反应和参与行为（包括社交注视、探索和社交互惠）也出现了平行增加。
这些结果是首次表明 OT 给药给一个依恋伴侣可以对另一个产生类似的影响，并强调了 OT 在人类社会参与的跨代传递中的作用。这些发现对与社会情感成长早期风险相关的情况具有转化意义，包括自闭症和早产，而无需给婴儿给药。
