Title |
Oxytocin attenuates feelings of hostility depending on emotional context and individuals' characteristics
|
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Published in |
Scientific Reports, April 2012
|
DOI | 10.1038/srep00384 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Tetsu Hirosawa, Mitsuru Kikuchi, Haruhiro Higashida, Eiichi Okumura, Sanae Ueno, Kiyomi Shitamichi, Yuko Yoshimura, Toshio Munesue, Tsunehisa Tsubokawa, Yasuhiro Haruta, Hideo Nakatani, Takanori Hashimoto, Yoshio Minabe |
Abstract |
In humans, oxytocin (OT) enhances prosocial behaviour. However, it is still unclear how the prosocial effects of OT are modulated by emotional features and/or individuals' characteristics. In a placebo-controlled design, we tested 20 healthy male volunteers to investigate these behavioural and neurophysiological modulations using magnetoencephalography. As an index of the individuals' characteristics, we used the empathy quotient (EQ), the autism spectrum quotient (AQ), and the systemising quotient (SQ). Only during the perception of another person's angry face was a higher SQ a significant predictor of OT-induced prosocial change, both in the behavioural and neurophysiological indicators. In addition, a lower EQ was only a significant predictor of OT-induced prosocial changes in the neurophysiological indicators during the perception of angry faces. Both on the behavioural and the neurophysiological level, the effects of OT were specific for anger and correlated with a higher SQ. |
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Student > Ph. D. Student | 12 | 14% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 6 | 7% |
Professor | 6 | 7% |
Other | 18 | 21% |
Unknown | 8 | 9% |
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Other | 6 | 7% |
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