Hostname: page-component-6766d58669-l4t7p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-15T02:12:58.316Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Oxytocin drives prosocial biases in favor of attractive people

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 March 2017

René Hurlemann ,
Dirk Scheele ,
Wolfgang Maier  and
Johannes Schultz
René Hurlemann
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany renehurlemann@icloud.com Wolfgang.Maier@ukb.uni-bonn.de http://renehurlemann.squarespace.com/welcome/ http://psychiatrie.uni-bonn.de/ Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany Dirk-Scheele@gmx.de johannes.schultz@gmail.com http://sites.google.com/site/johannesschultz/ German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 53175 Bonn, Germany.
Dirk Scheele
Affiliation:
Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany Dirk-Scheele@gmx.de johannes.schultz@gmail.com http://sites.google.com/site/johannesschultz/
Wolfgang Maier
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany renehurlemann@icloud.com Wolfgang.Maier@ukb.uni-bonn.de http://renehurlemann.squarespace.com/welcome/ http://psychiatrie.uni-bonn.de/ German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 53175 Bonn, Germany.
Johannes Schultz
Affiliation:
Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany Dirk-Scheele@gmx.de johannes.schultz@gmail.com http://sites.google.com/site/johannesschultz/
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Current perspectives on attractiveness-related prosocial biases emphasize the contribution of evolutionarily shaped mating drives. Here, we extend these concepts by highlighting the pivotal role of the hypothalamic peptide oxytocin in augmenting the salience and rewarding value of social stimuli, including the partner's face, thereby fostering social bonding in general and the stability of monogamous pair bonds and offspring care in particular.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 40 , 2017 , e30
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Anders, S., de Jong, R., Beck, C., Haynes, J. D. & Ethofer, T. (2016) A neural link between affective understanding and interpersonal attraction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113(16):E2248–57.Google ScholarPubMed
Baumgartner, T., Heinrichs, M., Vonlanthen, A., Fischbacher, U. & Fehr, E. (2008) Oxytocin shapes the neural circuitry of trust and trust adaptation in humans. Neuron 58(4):639–50.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carson, D. S., Berquist, S. W., Trujillo, T. H., Garner, J. P., Hannah, S. L., Hyde, S. A., Sumiyoshi, R. D., Jackson, L. P., Moss, J. K., Strehlow, M. C., Cheshier, S. H., Partap, S., Hardan, A. Y. & Parker, K. J. (2015) Cerebrospinal fluid and plasma oxytocin concentrations are positively correlated and negatively predict anxiety in children. Molecular Psychiatry 20(9):1085–90.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carter, C. S. (1998) Neuroendocrine perspectives on social attachment and love. Psychoneuroendocrinology 23(8):779–818.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, F. S., Mayer, J., Mussweiler, T. & Heinrichs, M. (2015) Oxytocin increases the likeability of physically formidable men. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 10(6):797–800.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ditzen, B., Schaer, M., Gabriel, B., Bodenmann, G., Ehlert, U. & Heinrichs, M. (2009) Intranasal oxytocin increases positive communication and reduces cortisol levels during couple conflict. Biological Psychiatry 65(9):728–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dölen, G., Darvishzadeh, A., Huang, K. W. & Malenka, R. C. (2013) Social reward requires coordinated activity of nucleus accumbens oxytocin and serotonin. Nature 501(7466):179–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Domes, G., Heinrichs, M., Michel, A., Berger, C. & Herpertz, S. C. (2007) Oxytocin improves “mind-reading” in humans. Biological Psychiatry 61(6):731–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Donaldson, Z. R. & Young, L. J. (2008) Oxytocin, vasopressin, and the neurogenetics of sociality. Science 322(5903):900–904.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feldman, R., Gordon, I., Schneiderman, I., Weisman, O. & Zagoory-Sharon, O. (2010) Natural variations in maternal and paternal care are associated with systematic changes in oxytocin following parent-infant contact. Psychoneuroendocrinology 35(8):1133–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feldman, R., Zagoory-Sharon, O., Weisman, O., Schneiderman, I., Gordon, I., Maoz, R., Shalev, I. & Ebstein, R. P. (2012) Sensitive parenting is associated with plasma oxytocin and polymorphisms in the OXTR and CD38 genes. Biological Psychiatry 72(3):175–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frayne, J. & Nicholson, H. D. (1995) Effect of oxytocin on testosterone production by isolated rat Leydig cells is mediated via a specific oxytocin receptor. Biology of Reproduction 52(6):1268–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gossen, A., Hahn, A., Westphal, L., Prinz, S., Schultz, R. T., Grunder, G. & Spreckelmeyer, K. N. (2012) Oxytocin plasma concentrations after single intranasal oxytocin administration – a study in healthy men. Neuropeptides 46(5):211–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grewen, K. M., Girdler, S. S., Amico, J. & Light, K. C. (2005) Effects of partner support on resting oxytocin, cortisol, norepinephrine, and blood pressure before and after warm partner contact. Psychosomatic Medicine 67(4):531–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guastella, A. J., Mitchell, P. B. & Dadds, M. R. (2008) Oxytocin increases gaze to the eye region of human faces. Biological Psychiatry 63(1):3–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hu, Y., Scheele, D., Becker, B., Voos, G., David, B., Hurlemann, R. & Weber, B. (2016) The effect of oxytocin on third-party altruistic decisions in unfair situations: An fMRI study. Scientific Reports 6:20236.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hurlemann, R., Patin, A., Onur, O. A., Cohen, M. X., Baumgartner, T., Metzler, S., Dziobek, I., Gallinat, J., Wagner, M., Maier, W. & Kendrick, K. M. (2010) Oxytocin enhances amygdala-dependent, socially reinforced learning and emotional empathy in humans. Journal of Neuroscience 30(14):4999–5007.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hurlemann, R. & Scheele, D. (2016) Dissecting the role of oxytocin in the formation and loss of social relationships. Biological Psychiatry 79(3):185–93.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Insel, T. R. (2010) The challenge of translation in social neuroscience: A review of oxytocin, vasopressin, and affiliative behavior. Neuron 65(6):768–79.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Insel, T. R. & Young, L. J. (2001) The neurobiology of attachment. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2(2):129–36.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jaeggi, A. V., Trumble, B. C., Kaplan, H. S. & Gurven, M. (2015) Salivary oxytocin increases concurrently with testosterone and time away from home among returning Tsimane' hunters. Biological Letters 11(3):20150058.Google ScholarPubMed
Johnson, Z. V. & Young, L. J. (2015) Neurobiological mechanisms of social attachment and pair bonding. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences 3:38–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klatt, J. D. & Goodson, J. L. (2013) Oxytocin-like receptors mediate pair bonding in a socially monogamous songbird. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 280(1750):20122396.Google Scholar
Kosfeld, M., Heinrichs, M., Zak, P. J., Fischbacher, U. & Fehr, E. (2005) Oxytocin increases trust in humans. Nature 435(7042):673–76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kret, M. E. & De Dreu, C. K. W. (2013) Oxytocin-motivated ally selection is moderated by fetal testosterone exposure and empathic concern. Frontiers in Neuroscience 7:1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lambert, B., Declerck, C. H. & Boone, C. (2014) Oxytocin does not make a face appear more trustworthy but improves the accuracy of trustworthiness judgments. Psychoneuroendocrinology 40:60–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Landgraf, R. & Neumann, I. D. (2004) Vasopressin and oxytocin release within the brain: A dynamic concept of multiple and variable modes of neuropeptide communication. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology 25(3–4):150–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsh, N., Scheele, D., Gerhardt, H., Strang, S., Enax, L., Weber, B., Maier, W. & Hurlemann, R. (2015) The neuropeptide oxytocin induces a social altruism bias. Journal of Neuroscience 35(47):15696–701.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meinlschmidt, G. & Heim, C. (2007) Sensitivity to intranasal oxytocin in adult men with early parental separation. Biological Psychiatry 61(9):1109–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mitre, M., Marlin, B. J., Schiavo, J. K., Morina, E., Norden, S. E., Hackett, T. A., Chao, M. V. & Froemke, R. C. (2016) A distributed network for social cognition enriched for oxytocin receptors. Journal of Neuroscience 36(8):2517–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mottolese, R., Redouté, J., Costes, N., Le Bars, D. & Sirigu, A. (2014) Switching brain serotonin with oxytocin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111(23):8637–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oldfield, R. G. & Hofmann, H. A. (2011) Neuropeptide regulation of social behavior in a monogamous cichlid fish. Physiology and Behavior 102(3–4):296–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Preckel, K., Scheele, D., Kendrick, K. M., Maier, W. & Hurlemann, R. (2014) Oxytocin facilitates social approach behavior in women. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 8:191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Quintana, D. S., Guastella, A. J., Westlye, L. T., Andreassen, O. A. (2016) The promise and pitfalls of intranasally administering psychopharmacological agents for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Molecular Psychiatry 21(1):29–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Radke, S. & de Bruijn, E. R. A. (2015) Does oxytocin affect mind-reading? A replication study. Psychoneuroendocrinology 60:75–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rilling, J. K. & Young, L. J. (2014) The biology of mammalian parenting and its effect on offspring social development. Science 345(6198):771–76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Romero-Fernandez, W., Borroto-Escuela, D. O., Agnati, L. F. & Fuxe, K. (2013) Evidence for the existence of dopamine d2-oxytocin receptor heteromers in the ventral and dorsal striatum with facilitatory receptor-receptor interactions. Molecular Psychiatry 18(8):849–50.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scheele, D., Kendrick, K. M., Khouri, C., Kretzer, E., Schlapfer, T. E., Stoffel-Wagner, B., Gunturkun, O., Maier, W. & Hurlemann, R. (2014a) An oxytocin-induced facilitation of neural and emotional responses to social touch correlates inversely with autism traits. Neuropsychopharmacology 39(9):2078–85.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scheele, D., Plota, J., Stoffel-Wagner, B., Maier, W. & Hurlemann, R. (2016) Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 11(5):767–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheele, D., Striepens, N., Güntürkün, O., Deutschlander, S., Maier, W., Kendrick, K. M. & Hurlemann, R. (2012) Oxytocin modulates social distance between males and females. Journal of Neuroscience 32(46):16074–79.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scheele, D., Striepens, N., Kendrick, K. M., Schwering, C., Noelle, J., Wille, A., Schlapfer, T. E., Maier, W. & Hurlemann, R. (2014b) Opposing effects of oxytocin on moral judgment in males and females. Human Brain Mapping 35(12):6067–76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scheele, D., Wille, A., Kendrick, K. M., Stoffel-Wagner, B., Becker, B., Güntürkün, O., Maier, W. & Hurlemann, R. (2013) Oxytocin enhances brain reward system responses in men viewing the face of their female partner. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110(50):20308–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schneiderman, I., Zagoory-Sharon, O., Leckman, J. F. & Feldman, R. (2012) Oxytocin during the initial stages of romantic attachment: Relations to couples' interactive reciprocity. Psychoneuroendocrinology 37(8):1277–85.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shahrestani, S., Kemp, A. H. & Guastella, A. J. (2013) The impact of a single administration of intranasal oxytocin on the recognition of basic emotions in humans: A meta-analysis. Neuropsychopharmacology 38(10):1929–36.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Striepens, N., Kendrick, K. M., Hanking, V., Landgraf, R., Wullner, U., Maier, W. & Hurlemann, R. (2013) Elevated cerebrospinal fluid and blood concentrations of oxytocin following its intranasal administration in humans. Scientific Reports 3:3440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Striepens, N., Matusch, A., Kendrick, K. M., Mihov, Y., Elmenhorst, D., Becker, B., Lang, M., Coenen, H. H., Maier, W., Hurlemann, R. & Bauer, A. (2014) Oxytocin enhances attractiveness of unfamiliar female faces independent of the dopamine reward system. Psychoneuroendocrinology 39:74–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Theodoridou, A., Rowe, A. C., Penton-Voak, I. S. & Rogers, P. J. (2009) Oxytocin and social perception: Oxytocin increases perceived facial trustworthiness and attractiveness. Hormones and Behavior 56(1):128–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thienel, M., Heinrichs, M., Fischer, S., Ott, V., Born, J. & Hallschmid, M. (2014) Oxytocin's impact on social face processing is stronger in homosexual than heterosexual men. Psychoneuroendocrinology 39:194–203.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Unkelbach, C., Guastella, A. J. & Forgas, J. P. (2008) Oxytocin selectively facilitates recognition of positive sex and relationship words. Psychological Science 19(11):1092–94.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weisman, O., Pelphrey, K. A., Leckman, J. F., Feldman, R., Lu, Y. F., Chong, A. N., Chen, Y., Monakhov, M., Chew, S. H. & Ebstein, R. P. (2015) The association between 2D:4D ratio and cognitive empathy is contingent on a common polymorphism in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR rs53576). Psychoneuroendocrinology 58:23–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weisman, O., Zagoory-Sharon, O. & Feldman, R. (2012) Oxytocin administration to parent enhances infant physiological and behavioral readiness for social engagement. Biological Psychiatry 72(12):982–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weisman, O., Zagoory-Sharon, O. & Feldman, R. (2014) Oxytocin administration, salivary testosterone, and father-infant social behavior. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry 49:47–52.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wirth, M. M., Gaffey, A. E. & Martinez, B. S. (2015) Effects of intranasal oxytocin on steroid hormones in men and women. Neuropsychobiology 71(4):202–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wittfoth-Schardt, D., Grunding, J., Wittfoth, M., Lanfermann, H., Heinrichs, M., Domes, G., Buchheim, A., Gundel, H. & Waller, C. (2012) Oxytocin modulates neural reactivity to children's faces as a function of social salience. Neuropsychopharmacology 37(8):1799–807.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Young, L. J. & Wang, Z. (2004) The neurobiology of pair bonding. Nature Neuroscience 7(10):1048–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zak, P. J., Kurzban, R. & Matzner, W. T. (2005) Oxytocin is associated with human trustworthiness. Hormones and Behavior 48(5):522–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zak, P. J., Stanton, A. A. & Ahmadi, S. (2007) Oxytocin increases generosity in humans. PLoS ONE 2(11):e1128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed