Centre for Research in Human Development, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal, QC, Canada.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2013 Mar;38(3):399-407. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.07.013. Epub 2012 Aug 11.
Intranasal oxytocin attenuates cortisol levels during social stress inductions. However, no research to date has documented the dose-response relation between intranasal oxytocin administration and cortisol, and researchers examining intranasal oxytocin have not examined the cortisol response to physical stress. We therefore examined the effects of 24IU and 48IU of intranasal oxytocin on the cortisol response to vigorous exercise.
Seventeen males participated in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, and within-subject experiment. Participants engaged in vigorous exercise for 60min following the administration of placebo or intranasal oxytocin on three occasions. Saliva samples and mood ratings were collected at eight intervals across each session.
Salivary cortisol concentrations changed over time, peaking after 60min of exercise (quadratic: F(1,16)=7.349, p=.015, partial η(2)=.32). The 24IU dose of oxytocin attenuated cortisol levels relative to placebo (F(1,16)=4.496, p=.05, partial η(2)=.22) and the 48IU dose, although the latter fell just short of statistical significance (F(1,16)=3.054, p=.10, partial η(2)=.16). There was no difference in the cortisol response to exercise in participants who were administered 48IU of intranasal oxytocin relative to placebo. Intranasal oxytocin had no effect on mood.
This is the first study to demonstrate that the effect of intranasal oxytocin on salivary cortisol is dose-dependent, and that intranasal oxytocin attenuates cortisol levels in response to physical stress. Future research using exogenous oxytocin will need to consider the possibility of dose-response relations.
鼻内催产素可减轻社交应激诱导时的皮质醇水平。然而，迄今为止，尚无研究记录鼻内催产素给药与皮质醇之间的剂量反应关系，并且研究鼻内催产素的研究人员尚未检查皮质醇对身体应激的反应。因此，我们检查了 24IU 和 48IU 鼻内催产素对剧烈运动时皮质醇反应的影响。
17 名男性参加了一项随机、安慰剂对照、双盲和自身对照实验。在三次实验中，参与者在给予安慰剂或鼻内催产素后进行了 60 分钟的剧烈运动。在每次会议的八个时间间隔采集唾液样本和情绪评分。
唾液皮质醇浓度随时间变化而变化，在运动 60 分钟后达到峰值（二次：F(1,16)=7.349，p=.015，部分η²=.32）。与安慰剂相比，24IU 剂量的催产素降低了皮质醇水平（F(1,16)=4.496，p=.05，部分η²=.22），而 48IU 剂量则略低于统计学意义（F(1,16)=3.054，p=.10，部分η²=.16）。给予 48IU 鼻内催产素的参与者与安慰剂相比，运动时皮质醇的反应没有差异。鼻内催产素对情绪没有影响。
这是第一项表明鼻内催产素对唾液皮质醇的影响与剂量有关的研究，并且鼻内催产素可减轻身体应激时的皮质醇水平。使用外源性催产素的未来研究需要考虑剂量反应关系的可能性。
