University of Utah, United States.
University of Utah, United States.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2019 Aug;106:47-56. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.03.031. Epub 2019 Mar 29.
Previous research suggests a dynamic regulatory relationship between oxytocin and cortisol, but the specific nature of this relationship and its context-specificity have not been fully specified. In the present study, we repeatedly assessed both salivary oxytocin and salivary cortisol during two experimental sessions (one inducing sexual arousal and one inducing psychological stress), conducted two weeks apart with the same group of 63 female participants. Baseline cortisol and baseline oxytocin were significantly correlated in both sessions. Cortisol levels showed significantly different patterns of change during the stress assessment than during the sexual arousal assessment, but oxytocin showed similar patterns of change across both assessments. Greater cortisol stress reactivity predicted higher oxytocin levels immediately after the stressor, but a different pattern emerged during the arousal assessment: Greater oxytocin arousal reactivity predicted attenuated post-arousal reductions in cortisol. For both cortisol and oxytocin, individual differences in women's reactivity to sexual arousal did not predict their reactivity to psychological stress. These findings contribute new insights regarding associations between cortisol and oxytocin reactivity and recovery in different psychological contexts.
先前的研究表明，催产素和皮质醇之间存在动态的调节关系，但这种关系的具体性质及其特定情境的特异性尚未得到充分说明。在本研究中，我们在两次实验（一次诱发性唤起，一次诱发心理压力）中重复评估了 63 名女性参与者唾液中的催产素和皮质醇，两次实验间隔两周。在两次实验中，皮质醇基线和催产素基线均呈显著相关。皮质醇水平在压力评估期间的变化模式明显不同于性唤起评估期间的变化模式，但催产素在两次评估中的变化模式相似。应激反应时皮质醇的应激反应性越大，预示着应激后催产素水平越高，但在性唤起评估中出现了不同的模式：性唤起反应性越大，预示着性唤起后皮质醇的降低幅度减弱。对于皮质醇和催产素来说，女性对性唤起的反应性的个体差异并不能预测其对心理压力的反应性。这些发现为不同心理情境下皮质醇和催产素反应性和恢复之间的关联提供了新的见解。
