Department of Decision Neuroscience and Nutrition, German Institute of Human Nutrition, (DIfE), Nuthetal, Germany.
Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
J Neuroendocrinol. 2020 Dec;32(12):e12923. doi: 10.1111/jne.12923. Epub 2020 Dec 14.
The oxytocinergic system has been assumed to contribute to food intake, possibly via interactions with dopamine. However, so far, it is unknown whether oxytocin influences the underlying motivational behaviour towards food. In the present study, we used a food-based approach-avoidance task (AAT) in a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over design to compare intranasal oxytocin with a placebo. In the AAT, participants pushed or pulled a joystick when images of foods with a high or low craving rating were presented, where differences in response times typically reflect approach and avoidance motivational biases towards positively and negatively valence stimuli, respectively. Thirty-three healthy male participants (age = 25.12 ± 3.51 years; body mass index = 24.25 ± 2.48 kg/m ) completed the two-session study, one with placebo and the other with oxytocin. We used mixed-effects models to investigate effects of treatment (oxytocin, placebo), response type (approach, avoid) and stimulus (high, low craving). The results showed that both approach and avoid responses tended to be faster for foods higher in craving compared to foods lower in craving. Most importantly, we did not observe any significant effects of oxytocin compared to placebo in motivational behaviour towards food. Our study demonstrates a general response bias towards foods with different craving values, which could have implications for future studies investigating food-related behaviour. We discuss possible explanations for the null effects of oxytocin and suggest further investigation of the relationship between oxytocin, dopamine and food-reward processing.
催产素系统被认为有助于进食，可能通过与多巴胺相互作用。然而，到目前为止，尚不清楚催产素是否会影响对食物的潜在动机行为。在本研究中，我们使用基于食物的回避-趋近任务（AAT）在随机、安慰剂对照、双盲、交叉设计中比较了鼻内催产素与安慰剂。在 AAT 中，当呈现高或低渴望评分的食物图像时，参与者推动或拉动操纵杆，反应时间的差异通常反映了对正性和负性刺激的趋近和回避动机偏见。33 名健康男性参与者（年龄=25.12±3.51 岁；体重指数=24.25±2.48kg/m ）完成了两项研究，一项是安慰剂，另一项是催产素。我们使用混合效应模型来研究治疗（催产素、安慰剂）、反应类型（趋近、回避）和刺激（高渴望、低渴望）的影响。结果表明，与低渴望的食物相比，高渴望的食物往往会导致趋近和回避反应更快。最重要的是，与安慰剂相比，我们没有观察到催产素对食物动机行为的任何显著影响。我们的研究表明了对具有不同渴望值的食物的一般反应偏见，这可能对未来研究食物相关行为具有启示意义。我们讨论了催产素的零效应的可能解释，并建议进一步研究催产素、多巴胺和食物奖励处理之间的关系。
