School of Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide , Adelaide, SA , Australia.
School of Midwifery, University of South Australia , Adelaide, SA , Australia.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2015 Mar 11;6:32. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2015.00032. eCollection 2015.
Endogenous oxytocin plays an important role in a wide range of human functions including birth, milk ejection during lactation, and facilitation of social interaction. There is increasing evidence that both variations in the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) and concentrations of oxytocin are associated with differences in these functions. The causes for the differences that have been observed in tonic and stimulated oxytocin release remain unclear. Previous reviews have suggested that across the life course, these differences may be due to individual factors, e.g., genetic variation (of the OXTR), age or sex, or be the result of early environmental influences, such as social experiences, stress, or trauma partly by inducing epigenetic changes. This review has three aims. First, we briefly discuss the endogenous oxytocin system, including physiology, development, individual differences, and function. Second, current models describing the relationship between the early life environment and the development of the oxytocin system in humans and animals are discussed. Finally, we describe research designs that can be used to investigate the effects of the early environment on the oxytocin system, identifying specific areas of research that need further attention.
内源性催产素在人类的许多功能中发挥着重要作用，包括分娩、哺乳期的乳汁分泌以及促进社交互动。越来越多的证据表明，催产素受体 (OXTR) 的变异和催产素的浓度与这些功能的差异有关。对于观察到的催产素释放的紧张和刺激之间的差异的原因仍不清楚。以前的综述表明，在整个生命周期中，这些差异可能是由于个体因素引起的，例如，遗传变异（OXTR）、年龄或性别，或者是早期环境影响的结果，如社会经历、压力或创伤，部分原因是诱导了表观遗传变化。这篇综述有三个目的。首先，我们简要讨论内源性催产素系统，包括生理学、发育、个体差异和功能。其次，讨论了目前描述人类和动物早期环境与催产素系统发育之间关系的模型。最后，我们描述了可用于研究早期环境对催产素系统影响的研究设计，确定了需要进一步关注的具体研究领域。
