Love 2: Parental Love, Prosociality, Mentalising
16 important questions on Love 2: Parental Love, Prosociality, Mentalising
What is the social recognition test?
Basic Procedures:
Subject is exposed to another conspecific for several trials in a row. Subject will investigate the conspecific.
Investigation declines over time as subject habituates to conspecific 1. Then introduce conspecific 2. Subject should now increase social investigation again.
Investigation = proximity to conspecific, sniffing etc
Summary of these data: Oxytocin facilitates social recognition!
i.e. oxytocin is prosocial
How is social recognition regarding vasopressin tested?
- Male mouse is exposed to female ovariectomized mouse for 1 min for 4 trials in a row. Then to a novel ovariectomized female. Mice displaying normal social recognition show a decline in investigation of female 1 over 4 trials, then increase again in investigation of female 2 in trial 5.
- Knocking out the Vasopressin receptor V1aR in male mice severely impairs social recognition
- Lateral septum is a crucial brain region for V1aR-mediated social recognition (Bielsky et al, Neuron, 2005, LJ Young’s group)
What did Guastella, Mitchell & Dadds study?
Method
- 48 participants
- placebo control ---> Intranasal OXT (n = 24) vs placebo (n = 24)
- Tracking eye movements while subjects saw: 24 faces, 2 seconds each face
(Neutral faces)
Results
---> Large effect sizes for both fixations and gaze time
---> Reduction in forehead and cheek region so effect is specific to eyes
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What is the Autism-Spectrum Quotient?
50 questions 5 categories: social skill, attention switching, attention to detail (reverse), communication, imagination
Those diagnosed as high-functioning autistic, or with Asperger’s syndrome, score significantly higher than controls
(e.g. means around
~38 for HFA/AS,
~16-18 for randomly selected and student controls)
Men have modestly higher scores than women
(statistically significant – high n)
(examples of questions slides 2 & 3, p. 4 lecture notes)
What did Donnes et al, 2007 study?
---> Higher scores after intranasal oxytocin (strong effect especially for difficult items)
= oxytocin has long term social effect - even an acute dose can help social interaction
Regarding the eyes and mind, what is the oxytocin summary?
Oxytocin enhances the ability to interpret, to infer mental states from the eye region…
in the ‘Reading the mind in the eyes’ test in which:
a) high IQ ASD people score worse
b) Scores inversely correlate with Autistic Spectrum Quotient
= clearly suggesting a role of oxytocin in mentalising
What is Davis (1983) self report questionnaire?
Three dimensions to empathy:
1) Perspective taking
e.g. “I sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look for their perspective”
2) Empathic concern
e.g. “I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me”
3) Fantasy
e.g. “I really get involved with the feelings of the characters in a novel”
Regarding oxytocin, if you see increased social approach, there may be 2 underlying components, what are they?
- Increased warmth, trust – interestingly, ecstasy/MDMA causes release of oxytocin
b) Reduced avoidance (reduced anxiety and/or embarrassment)
- Reduced anxiety – oxytocin is anxiolytic and reduces stress
---> Oxytocin pro-social effects may involve both components
Who studied the role of oxytocin in ecstasy?
Key results:
---> MDMA (ecstasy) increases social interaction – rats huddle up together
---> MDMA activates oxytocin-containing hypothalamic neurons
---> MDMA increases oxytocin levels in plasma
oxytocin-receptor antagonist blunts the pro-social effects of MDMA when co-administered = oxytocin underlies prosocial effects of MDMA?
(Studies of clubbing humans also show that MDMA increases plasma oxytocin and vasopressin levels – Wolff et al, 2006, J Psychopharmacology)
What is the summary of oxytocin regarding empathy?
a) Objective mind in the eyes test
b) Self-report Questionnaire of empathy
Taken together with enhancements in warmth and trust, and reduction in anxiety.
Oxytocin produces a complementary array of effects enhancing social interaction
What are the 2 arguments regarding levels of oxytocin and testosterone?
Higher Testosterone man less likely to get married and have kids
2) Experience:
Higher T man produces less T because of subsequent romantic and paternal activity
What did 2 experiments find regarding levels of oxytocin and testosterone?
Results: much lower testosterone levels in fathers compared to unmarried men
2. Burham et al, 2003 - Men in committed relationships have lower testosterone
Result: married men who are parents have much lower testosterone levels compared to not being in a relationship at all
What study shows that the higher the testosterone and testes size predict lower childcare levels?
What is the summary regarding testosterone?
---> competitive, dominance-seeking social strategies
---> more effort towards mating (i.e. mate then move on) per se than lasting bonds
(demonstrates individual differences)
Something needed to promote the opposite strategy:
---> Pro-social, co-operative pair bonding, and care of the fruits of pair-bonding (children)
= Oxytocin seems to fulfil this role
Testosterone and Oxytocin may work in part synergistically, and in part antagonistically depending upon their levels
Successful pair-bonds (romantic) and parental activity may require:
- Increase in oxytocinergic activity
- Decrease in testosterone activity
Regarding animal models, what effect does oxytocin have on maternal behaviour?
- Pups are scattered throughout cage (not near mother)
- OTR-KO mice dams take longer to retrieve pups
- OTR-KO mice dams spend less time crouching over their pups
- OTR-KO mice dams spend less time licking and grooming their pups
What experiment demonstrated oxytocin in human parenting?
Method:
Measure parents’ oxytocin levels in blood
10-minute play session in the home videotaped (limitation - bit artificial?)
Behaviours coded by PhD students
Measured -
Affectionate play, which consists of:
Positive Affect
Motherese Vocalisation
Affectionate Touch
Stimulatory play, which consists of:
Proprioceptive touch
Object presentation
Stimulatory Touch
Results:
Mothers’ affectionate play = Positive Affect + Motherese Vocalisation + Affectionate Touch
Fathers’ stimulatory play = Proprioceptive touch + Object presentation + Stimulatory Touch
---> positive correlation between affectionate and stimulatory play & oxytocin levels
(slide 4 & 5 lecture notes)
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