Grit, A. H. L. (2014) Modereren persoonlijkheidskenmerken en de oxytocine plasmaspiegel het oxytocine effect op de hartslagdeceleratie die plaatsvindt tijdens het zien van affectieve afbeeldingen? thesis, Medicine.
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Abstract
Background: Oxytocin (Oxt) is a peptide found in humans that appears to be promoting prosocial behaviour. For example, it seems to be stimulating empathy. In this research we looked at the effect of Oxt on emotional empathy in healthy young men. Therefore the heart rate deceleration in response to affective pictures of the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) was recorded. We hypothesized that Oxt would yield a larger empathic response (measured as a stronger deceleration of the heart rate) to the IAPS pictures. Furthermore, we aimed to investigate wether personality traits (like the need for sensation or the need for reward) and/or subclinical psychopathology would influence the Oxt effect on empathy. Some research suggests that this is the case. Finally, we wanted to find out wether the height of the Oxt plasmalevel would influence the effect of Oxt on empathy. Namely, several disorders associated with a lack of empathic skills (like autism and depression) have been linked to low plasmalevels of Oxt. We predicted that a lower baseline plasmalevel would correspond with a greater Oxt effect on the empathic response (or: with a stronger heart rate deceleration). Methods: In a doubleblind, placebocontrolled crossover design 30 healthy young men received intranasal Oxt after wich they were asked to view a selection of IAPS pictures, while their heart rate was being recorded. From each subject blood was withdrawn in order to measure the plasmalevels of Oxt. All subjects were also asked to complete several questionaires that measured personality traits and psychopathology. The Oxt plasmalevels and the scores on the questionaires were correlated with the Oxt effect on the heart rate changes in response tot the IAPS pictures. Results: The viewing of IAPS pictures resulted in a decelerative heart rate response that was most pronounced for pictures of humans in aversive situations. Overall, the administration of Oxt did not yield a significant response on the heart rate. It did not improve the emotional empathy skills of the subjects. We did however find that certain personality traits, like craving for sensation or craving for reward, seemed to influence the Oxt effect on the heart rate. Subjects that scored low on these traits showed an increased autonomic response (a stronger heart rate deceleration) after Oxt was administered, whereas subjects that scored high on these traits seemed to show an opposite reaction (a decrease in heart rate deceleration). The height of the average baseline Oxt plasmalevel did not influence the Oxt effect on the heart rate. The plasmalevel after administration of Oxt did seem to moderate the effect of Oxt. A higher plasmalevel corresponded with a decrease in heart rate deceleration. However, we could not rule out that this effect was caused by leakage of intranasally administered Oxt into the systemic circulation. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that Oxt has a regulatory function regarding the autonomic heart rate response to affective pictures (of humans). It seems to be excerting it’s effects within a certain range. The boundaries of this range appear to be established by personality traits and/or (subclinical) psychopathology. Based on our results we cannot make firm statements about the role of the Oxt plasmalevel in moderating the Oxt effect on empathy. It appeared that a higher plasmalevel after administration of Oxt corresponded with a decrease in heart rate deceleration, but it was very well possible that this effect was caused by leakage of intranasally administered Oxt into the systemic circulation.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Thesis) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Althaus, dr. M. |
| Faculty: | Medical Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Jun 2020 10:50 |
| Last Modified: | 25 Jun 2020 10:50 |
| URI: | https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/1103 |
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