Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012:3.
doi: 10.3402/ejpt.v3i0.18597. Epub 2012 Apr 27.

Bonding after trauma: on the role of social support and the oxytocin system in traumatic stress

Miranda Olff  1
Affiliations

Bonding after trauma: on the role of social support and the oxytocin system in traumatic stress

Miranda Olff. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2012.

Abstract

This paper outlines the state of affairs in psychobiological research on psychotrauma and PTSD with a focus on the role of the oxytocin system in traumatic stress. With a high prevalence of trauma and PTSD in the Netherlands, new preventive and therapeutic interventions are needed. The focus is on the role of social support and bonding in coming to grips with psychological trauma, about the oxytocin system as a basis for reducing the stress response and creating a feeling of bonding, about binding words to painful emotions in psychotherapy, and about the bonds between researchers and clinicians.

Keywords: PTSD; bonding; oxytocin; psychobiology; social support; trauma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The oxytocin system for increasing fear extinction and social functioning after trauma.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ahern J, Galea S, Fernandez W. G, Koci B, Waldman R, Vlahov D. Gender, social support, and posttraumatic stress in postwar Kosovo. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 2004;192:762–770. - PubMed
    1. Amico J. A, Mantella R. C, Vollmer R. R, Li X. Anxiety and stress responses in female oxytocin deficient mice. Journal of Neuroendocrinology. 2004;16:319–324. - PubMed
    1. Andrews B, Brewin C. R, Rose S. Gender, social support, and PTSD in victims of violent crime. Journal of Traumatic Stress. 2003;16:421–427. - PubMed
    1. Bales K. L, Boone E, Epperson P, Hoffman G, Carter C. S. Are behavioral effects of early experience mediated by oxytocin?; Front Psychiatry; 2011. Epub 2011 May 9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bao A.-M, Fischer D. F, Wu Y.-H, et al. A direct androgenic involvement in the expression of human corticotropin-releasing hormone. Molecular Psychiatry. 2006;11:567–576. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources