Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1201 Welch Rd, MSLS, Mail Code 5485, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
J Psychopharmacol. 2013 Mar;27(3):231-47. doi: 10.1177/0269881112473788. Epub 2013 Jan 23.
Over the past century, the polypeptide oxytocin has played an important role in medicine with major highlights including the identification of its involvement in parturition and the milk let-down reflex. Oxytocin is now implicated in an extensive range of psychological phenomena including reward and memory processes and has been investigated as a treatment for several psychiatric disorders including addiction, anxiety, autism, and schizophrenia. In this review, we first provide an historical overview of oxytocin and describe key aspects of its physiological activity. We then outline some pharmacological limitations in this field of research before highlighting the role of oxytocin in a wide range of behavioral and neuronal processes. Finally, we review evidence for a modulatory role of oxytocin with regard to psychostimulant effects. Key findings suggest that oxytocin attenuates a broad number of cocaine and methamphetamine induced behaviors and associated neuronal activity in rodents. Evidence also outlines a role for oxytocin in the prosocial effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy) in both rodents and humans. Clinical trials should now investigate the effectiveness of oxytocin as a novel intervention for psychostimulant addiction and should aim to determine its specific role in the therapeutic properties of MDMA that are currently being investigated.
在过去的一个世纪中，多肽催产素在医学中发挥了重要作用，其主要亮点包括确定其参与分娩和乳汁释放反射。催产素现在与广泛的心理现象有关，包括奖励和记忆过程，并已被研究作为几种精神疾病的治疗方法，包括成瘾、焦虑、自闭症和精神分裂症。在这篇综述中，我们首先提供了催产素的历史概述，并描述了其生理活性的关键方面。然后，我们概述了该研究领域的一些药理学限制，然后强调了催产素在广泛的行为和神经元过程中的作用。最后，我们回顾了催产素对精神兴奋剂作用的调节作用的证据。关键发现表明，催产素可减弱啮齿动物中可卡因和甲基苯丙胺诱导的多种行为及其相关神经元活动。证据还概述了催产素在 3,4-亚甲基二氧甲基苯丙胺（MDMA，摇头丸）对啮齿动物和人类的亲社会作用中的作用。临床试验现在应调查催产素作为治疗精神兴奋剂成瘾的新干预措施的有效性，并应旨在确定其在目前正在研究的 MDMA 的治疗特性中的特定作用。
