Eringa, Linda (2012) Het effect van intranasale oxytocine op empathiebeleving : een neurofysiologische studie naar de. thesis, Medicine.
Full text available on request.Abstract
Background: Given the effects of oxytocin on social behavior, research into the therapeutic value of oxytocin for disorders with social impairments – like the autism spectrum disorders (ASD) – seems designated. For this purpose, it is important that there will be more information available about the underlying pharmacology. In literature, there are various hypotheses about the way intranasal administered oxytocin – whether with or without participation of the systemic circulation – reaches the central nervous system. The purpose of this study was to obtain information about the effects of intranasal oxytocin on the oxytocin plasma levels, and gain insight into the relationship between the oxytocin plasma levels – before and after intranasal oxytocin administration – and the central effects of oxytocin on empathy. The hypothesis was that men with lower baseline plasma OT would show stronger ERP responses after administration of oxytocin than men with higher baseline OT levels. In addition, it was expected that the increase in oxytocin levels would be positively correlated to the central effects of oxytocin. Method: The effect of oxytocin on affective empathy was investigated in 30 healthy men by measuring neurophysiological responses to affective visual stimuli from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), after intranasal administration of oxytocin and placebo. The response to positive, negative and neutral images with or without human was analyzed using Event Related Potentials (ERPs) by looking at the Late Positive Potential (LPP) which reflects affective responses to visual stimuli. Prior to and approximately 55 minutes after intranasal administration of oxytocin, the oxytocin plasma levels were measured. To test the hypotheses, the correlations of the baseline oxytocin levels and the increase in oxytocin levels with the central effects of oxytocin were studied. Results: We found an amplitude-reducing effect of oxytocin on the processing of positive human images and a weaker amplitude-enhancing effect on response to the negative human images. The amount of oxytocin in the blood after oxytocin administration was significantly increased from 0.68 pmol/L to 9.88 pmol/L (normal value ≤ 3,5 pmol/L). The baseline oxytocin level was positively correlated with the amplitude-enhancing effect of oxytocin on the negative human images (Pearson Correlation = 0.37, p = 0.05), while a negative correlation existed for the increase in oxytocin levels before and after the oxytocin administration and the effect of oxytocin on the negative human images (Pearson correlation 0.35, p =0.06). Conclusion: To interpret the results of this study, more knowledge about the pharmacokinetics of oxytocin will be necessary. Nevertheless, the findings in this study support the hypothesis that a part of the nasally administered oxytocin will go into the bloodstream via the nasal mucosa and not into the brain because of the blood-brain barrier, while another part of the oxytocin reaches the central nervous system via the olfactory bulb. Research in patients with ASD is designated to investigate whether the baseline oxytocin level can be seen as a predictive value for the central oxytocin-effects to be achieved. Further research into the pharmacokinetics of oxytocin will be necessary, to determine the therapeutic value of oxytocin in disorders with impairments in social functioning.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Thesis) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Begeleider and Althaus, dr. M. and Locatie and Universitair centrum voor Kinder- en Jeugd and Psychiatrie (UCKJP) Groningen |
| Faculty: | Medical Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Jun 2020 11:00 |
| Last Modified: | 25 Jun 2020 11:00 |
| URI: | https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/2025 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |