Orihashi Ryuzo, Mizoguchi Yoshito, Imamura Yoshiomi, Yamada Shigeto, Ueno Takefumi, Monji Akira
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Saga 849-8501, Japan.
St. Lucia's Hospital, Kurume, Fukuoka 830-0047, Japan.
Brain Commun. 2020 Jun 11;2(2):fcaa081. doi: 10.1093/braincomms/fcaa081. eCollection 2020.
Oxytocin is deeply involved in human relations. In recent years, it is becoming clear that oxytocin is also involved in social cognition and social behaviour. Oxytocin receptors are also thought to be present in the hippocampus and amygdala, and the relationship between oxytocin and the structure and function of the hippocampus and amygdala has been reported. However, a few studies have investigated oxytocin and its relationship to hippocampus and amygdala volume in elderly people. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between serum oxytocin levels and hippocampus and amygdala volume in elderly people. The survey was conducted twice in Kurokawa-cho, Imari, Saga Prefecture, Japan, among people aged 65 years and older. We collected data from 596 residents. Serum oxytocin level measurements, brain MRI, Mini-Mental State Examination and Clinical Dementia Rating were performed in Time 1 (2009-11). Follow-up brain MRI, Mini-Mental State Examination and Clinical Dementia Rating were performed in Time 2 (2016-17). The interval between Time 1 and Time 2 was about 7 years. Fifty-eight participants (14 men, mean age 72.36 ± 3.41 years, oxytocin 0.042 ± 0.052 ng/ml; 44 women, mean age 73.07 ± 4.38 years, oxytocin 0.123 ± 0.130 ng/ml) completed this study. We analysed the correlation between serum oxytocin levels (Time 1) and brain volume (Time 1, Time 2 and Times 1-2 difference) using voxel-based morphometry implemented with Statistical Parametric Mapping. Analysis at the cluster level (family-wise error; < 0.05) showed a positive correlation between serum oxytocin levels (Time 1) and brain volume of the region containing the left hippocampus and amygdala (Time 2). This result suggests that oxytocin in people aged 65 years and older may be associated with aging-related changes in hippocampus and amygdala volume.
催产素与人际关系密切相关。近年来，越来越清楚的是，催产素也参与社会认知和社会行为。人们还认为海马体和杏仁核中存在催产素受体，并且已有关于催产素与海马体和杏仁核的结构及功能之间关系的报道。然而，很少有研究调查老年人的催产素及其与海马体和杏仁核体积的关系。本研究的目的是调查老年人血清催产素水平与海马体和杏仁核体积之间的关联。该调查在日本佐贺县伊万里市黑川町对65岁及以上的人群进行了两次。我们收集了596名居民的数据。在第一次调查（2009 - 2011年）时进行了血清催产素水平测量、脑部磁共振成像（MRI）、简易精神状态检查表和临床痴呆评定。在第二次调查（2016 - 2017年）时进行了随访脑部MRI、简易精神状态检查表和临床痴呆评定。第一次调查和第二次调查之间的间隔约为7年。58名参与者（14名男性，平均年龄72.36 ± 3.41岁，催产素0.042 ± 0.052纳克/毫升；44名女性，平均年龄73.07 ± 4.38岁，催产素0.123 ± 0.130纳克/毫升）完成了本研究。我们使用基于体素的形态测量法（通过统计参数映射实现）分析了血清催产素水平（第一次调查时）与脑容量（第一次调查时、第二次调查时以及两次调查之间的差异）之间的相关性。在聚类水平（家族性错误；< 0.05）的分析显示血清催产素水平（第一次调查时）与包含左侧海马体和杏仁核的区域的脑容量（第二次调查时）呈正相关。这一结果表明，65岁及以上人群中的催产素可能与海马体和杏仁核体积的衰老相关变化有关。
