Crockford Catherine, Deschner Tobias, Ziegler Toni E, Wittig Roman M
Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig, Germany.
Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin Madison, WI, USA.
Front Behav Neurosci. 2014 Mar 11;8:68. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00068. eCollection 2014.
The neuropeptide, oxytocin, receives increasing attention due to its role in stress regulation and promoting affiliative social behavior. Research across mammals points to a complex pattern whereby social context and individual differences moderate the central release of oxytocin as well as moderate the effects that exogenous administration of oxytocin has on social behavior. In addition, it is becoming evident that measuring endogenous peripheral oxytocin levels is an informative tool. This is particularly so when oxytocin can be measured from non-invasively collected samples, such as in urine. Although it is still debated as to whether peripheral measures of oxytocin relate to central measures of oxytocin, anatomical and functional evidence indicate a link between the two. We argue that non-invasive measures of peripheral oxytocin hold several research and potential therapeutic advantages. Principally, study subjects can be sampled repeatedly in different social contexts where social history between interaction partners can be taken into account. Several hormones can be measured simultaneously allowing examination of the influence of oxytocin interactions with other hormones on motivational states. Valence of relationships as well as changes in relationship quality over time can be measured through endocrine responses. Also, the approach of identifying natural social contexts that are associated with endogenous oxytocin release offers the potential of behavioral therapy as an addition or alternative to chemical therapy in the field of mental health.
神经肽催产素因在应激调节和促进亲和社会行为方面的作用而受到越来越多的关注。对哺乳动物的研究表明，存在一种复杂的模式，即社会环境和个体差异会调节催产素在中枢的释放，也会调节外源性给予催产素对社会行为的影响。此外，越来越明显的是，测量内源性外周催产素水平是一种有用的工具。当可以从非侵入性采集的样本（如尿液）中测量催产素时，情况尤其如此。尽管关于外周催产素测量值是否与中枢催产素测量值相关仍存在争议，但解剖学和功能学证据表明两者之间存在联系。我们认为，外周催产素的非侵入性测量具有多项研究优势和潜在治疗优势。主要而言，研究对象可以在不同社会环境中反复采样，同时考虑互动伙伴之间的社会历史。可以同时测量多种激素，从而能够研究催产素与其他激素的相互作用对动机状态的影响。关系的效价以及关系质量随时间的变化可以通过内分泌反应来测量。此外，识别与内源性催产素释放相关的自然社会环境的方法，为心理健康领域提供了行为疗法作为化学疗法的补充或替代方法的潜力。
