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Review
. 2013 May 21;3(5):e258.
doi: 10.1038/tp.2013.34.

Sniffing around oxytocin: review and meta-analyses of trials in healthy and clinical groups with implications for pharmacotherapy

M J Bakermans-Kranenburg  1 , M H van I Jzendoorn
Affiliations
Review

Sniffing around oxytocin: review and meta-analyses of trials in healthy and clinical groups with implications for pharmacotherapy

M J Bakermans-Kranenburg et al. Transl Psychiatry. .

Abstract

The popularity of oxytocin (OT) has grown exponentially during the past decade, and so has the number of OT trials in healthy and clinical groups. We take stock of the evidence from these studies to explore potentials and limitations of pharmacotherapeutic applications. In healthy participants, intranasally administered OT leads to better emotion recognition and more trust in conspecifics, but the effects appear to be moderated by context (perceived threat of the 'out-group'), personality and childhood experiences. In individuals with untoward childhood experiences, positive behavioral or neurobiological effects seem lowered or absent. In 19 clinical trials, covering autism, social anxiety, postnatal depression, obsessive-compulsive problems, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder and post-traumatic stress, the effects of OT administration were tested, with doses ranging from 15 IU to more than 7000 IU. The combined effect size was d=0.32 (N=304; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.18-0.47; P<0.01). However, of all disorders, only studies on autism spectrum disorder showed a significant combined effect size (d=0.57; N=68; 95% CI: 0.15-0.99; P<0.01). We hypothesize that for some of the other disorders, etiological factors rooted in negative childhood experiences may also have a role in the diminished effectiveness of treatment with OT.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effects of oxytocin administration on face recognition, trust to in-group and trust to out-group in healthy participants: combined effect sizes (d) and 95% confidence intervals. The combined effect size for distrust to out-group is not significant.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Randomized controlled trials with oxytocin administration in clinical groups: effect sizes (Cohen's d, 95% confidence interval) and significance.
Figure 3
Figure 3
A contextual psychoneurobiological model of oxytocin (OT) treatment: moderation by childhood experiences.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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