University Hospital Tübingen, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Tubingen, Germany.
Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tubingen, Tubingen, Germany.
Curr Neuropharmacol. 2018;16(8):1111-1121. doi: 10.2174/1570159X15666171128143158.
The hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin regulates reproductive behavior and mother-infant interaction, and conclusive studies in humans indicate that oxytocin is also a potent modulator of psychosocial function. Pilot experiments have yielded first evidence that this neuropeptide moreover influences eating behavior.
We briefly summarize currently available studies on the involvement of the oxytocin system in the pathophysiology of eating disorders, as well as on the effects of oxytocin administration in patients with these disorders.
Brain administration of oxytocin in animals with normal weight, but also with diet-induced or genetically induced obesity, attenuates food intake and reduces body weight. In normal-weight and obese individuals, acute intranasal oxytocin delivery curbs calorie intake from main dishes and snacks. Such effects might converge with the poignant social and cognitive impact of oxytocin to also improve dysfunctional eating behavior in the therapeutic context. This assumption has received support in first studies showing that oxytocin might play a role in the disease process of anorexia nervosa. In contrast, respective experiments in patients with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder are still scarce.
We propose a framework of oxytocin's role and its therapeutic potential in eating disorders that aims at integrating social and metabolic aspects of its pharmacological profile, and ponder perspectives and limitations of oxytocin use in the clinical setting.
下丘脑神经肽催产素调节生殖行为和母婴互动，人类的结论性研究表明，催产素也是心理社会功能的有效调节剂。初步实验首次证明，这种神经肽还会影响进食行为。
我们简要总结了目前关于催产素系统在进食障碍的病理生理学中的作用，以及催产素给药对这些障碍患者的影响的研究。
在正常体重的动物中，脑内给予催产素，以及在饮食诱导或遗传诱导肥胖的动物中，可减少食物摄入量和降低体重。在正常体重和肥胖个体中，急性鼻内给予催产素可抑制主菜和零食的热量摄入。这些影响可能与催产素对社会和认知功能的强烈影响相吻合，从而在治疗环境中改善功能失调的进食行为。这一假设得到了一些初步研究的支持，这些研究表明催产素可能在神经性厌食症的疾病过程中发挥作用。相比之下，神经性贪食症和暴食障碍患者的相应实验仍然很少。
我们提出了一个关于催产素在进食障碍中的作用及其治疗潜力的框架，旨在整合其药理学特征的社会和代谢方面，并思考催产素在临床环境中的使用的前景和局限性。
