For over a century, oxytocin has been known as a hormone that augments uterine contraction during labor. The hormone was discovered in the 1900s, as a chemical whose origin is the posterior pituitary gland but further evaluations have pointed that its primary production site is the hypothalamus. Several studies have explained other functions of oxytocin in the human body, with some publications from as early as 1970s indicating that the hormone has a role in regulation of behavior, especially the attachment between a mother and offspring. This paper is a critique of studies by Bartz et al (2015) and Shen (2015) that discuss the functions and physiological associations of oxytocin.
Bartz et al (2015) used the technique of “meta-concepts” to evaluate the prosocial associations of oxytocin and human behavior. The study hypothesized that oxytocin promotes interpersonal affiliation and a communal interrelationships. The study by Bartz et al (2015) recruited 483 undergraduate learners who filled in questionnaires that evaluated the measures of attachment and communion. To draw correlations between the data, Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) and Experience in Close Relationships Scale (ECR) were used. These methods allowed for measurable comparisons of the information given and the influences of oxytocin. The main study involved a randomized controlled, double blind study that involved administration of intranasal oxytocin to healthy subjects. This level of evidence from such a study is class A and hence the findings are highly reliable.
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Administration of oxytocin as it occurred in the study group can promote prosocial such as liking and increase levels of trust. However, Bartz et al (2015) argue in their findings that the effects of oxytocin are not universally prosocial. The hormone may in some cases lead to neutral or negative effects. Similarly, Shen (2015) explains in her analysis that oxytocin fosters the establishment of interpersonal relationships in persons who may have problems in creating friendships and affiliations. The hormone can be detrimental to those who have a preexisting tendency to achieve closeness because it can exacerbate feelings of insecurity. The hormone may over-induce the communal orientation of an individual who already may have the character of focusing on others more than they concentrate on self. Bartz et al (2015) also demonstrated that oxytocin has no major influence on agency for normal subjects but it may lead to unprecedented effects on anxiously attached persons.
Shen (2015) reviews several studies that explain the association of oxytocin and human behavior. Due to the association of oxytocin and development of fondness towards other individuals, Shen proposes that the hormone could from part of the medical treatment for children with autism. Autism disorder manifests with an inability to display emotional reciprocity and some other forms of anti-social behavior. Shen (2015) further points out that autism may occur as a result of abnormalities in oxytocin signaling. The evidence to support such claims is limited and such assertion calls for extensive studies of the disorder.
The recommendations by Shen on further evaluation of oxytocin to determine its future use in psychiatric conditions has a strong basis. Of note is the reports that have linked oxytocin with improved symptom control in children with mental disorders. However, the use of oxytocin therapy, as physicians and parents of autistic children admit, has occurred off-label without guidance by any recommendations by prior studies because such do not exist (Shen, 2015). It is important to recognize that some work has reported potential adverse effects of use of high doses of oxytocin as causing behavioral alterations due to interaction with other hormonal receptors.
References
Bartz, J. A., Lydon, J. E., Kolevzon, A., Zaki, J., Hollander, E., Ludwig, N., & Bolger, N. (2015). Differential effects of oxytocin on agency and communion for anxiously and avoidantly attached individuals. Psychological Science , 26 (8), 1177-1186.
Shen, H. (2015). THE HARD SCIENCE OF OXYTOCIN. Nature , 522 (7557), 410.
