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Does trait anxiety influence effects of oxytocin on eye-blink startle reactivity? A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study

BACKGROUND: Previous research has demonstrated that the neuropeptide oxytocin modulates social behaviors and reduces anxiety. However, effects of oxytocin on startle reactivity, a well-validated measure of defense system activation related to fear and anxiety, have been inconsistent. Here we investi...

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Autores principales: Schumacher, Sonja, Oe, Misari, Wilhelm, Frank H., Rufer, Michael, Heinrichs, Markus, Weidt, Steffi, Moergeli, Hanspeter, Martin-Soelch, Chantal
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5754118/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29300752
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190809
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author Schumacher, Sonja
Oe, Misari
Wilhelm, Frank H.
Rufer, Michael
Heinrichs, Markus
Weidt, Steffi
Moergeli, Hanspeter
Martin-Soelch, Chantal
author_facet Schumacher, Sonja
Oe, Misari
Wilhelm, Frank H.
Rufer, Michael
Heinrichs, Markus
Weidt, Steffi
Moergeli, Hanspeter
Martin-Soelch, Chantal
author_sort Schumacher, Sonja
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Previous research has demonstrated that the neuropeptide oxytocin modulates social behaviors and reduces anxiety. However, effects of oxytocin on startle reactivity, a well-validated measure of defense system activation related to fear and anxiety, have been inconsistent. Here we investigated the influence of oxytocin on startle reactivity with particular focus on the role of trait anxiety. METHODS: Forty-four healthy male participants attended two experimental sessions. They received intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) in one session and placebo in the other. Startle probes were presented in combination with pictures of social and non-social content. Eye-blink startle magnitude was measured by electromyography over the musculus orbicularis oculi in response to 95 dB noise bursts. Participants were assigned to groups of high vs. low trait anxiety based on their scores on the trait form of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). RESULTS: A significant interaction effect of oxytocin with STAI confirmed that trait anxiety moderated the effect of oxytocin on startle reactivity. Post-hoc tests indicated that for participants with elevated trait anxiety, oxytocin increased startle magnitude, particularly when watching non-social pictures, while this was not the case for participants with low trait anxiety. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that effects of oxytocin on defense system activation depend on individual differences in trait anxiety. Trait anxiety may be an important moderator variable that should be considered in human studies on oxytocin effects.
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spelling pubmed-57541182018-01-26 Does trait anxiety influence effects of oxytocin on eye-blink startle reactivity? A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study Schumacher, Sonja Oe, Misari Wilhelm, Frank H. Rufer, Michael Heinrichs, Markus Weidt, Steffi Moergeli, Hanspeter Martin-Soelch, Chantal PLoS One Research Article BACKGROUND: Previous research has demonstrated that the neuropeptide oxytocin modulates social behaviors and reduces anxiety. However, effects of oxytocin on startle reactivity, a well-validated measure of defense system activation related to fear and anxiety, have been inconsistent. Here we investigated the influence of oxytocin on startle reactivity with particular focus on the role of trait anxiety. METHODS: Forty-four healthy male participants attended two experimental sessions. They received intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) in one session and placebo in the other. Startle probes were presented in combination with pictures of social and non-social content. Eye-blink startle magnitude was measured by electromyography over the musculus orbicularis oculi in response to 95 dB noise bursts. Participants were assigned to groups of high vs. low trait anxiety based on their scores on the trait form of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). RESULTS: A significant interaction effect of oxytocin with STAI confirmed that trait anxiety moderated the effect of oxytocin on startle reactivity. Post-hoc tests indicated that for participants with elevated trait anxiety, oxytocin increased startle magnitude, particularly when watching non-social pictures, while this was not the case for participants with low trait anxiety. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that effects of oxytocin on defense system activation depend on individual differences in trait anxiety. Trait anxiety may be an important moderator variable that should be considered in human studies on oxytocin effects. Public Library of Science 2018-01-04 /pmc/articles/PMC5754118/ /pubmed/29300752 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190809 Text en © 2018 Schumacher et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Schumacher, Sonja
Oe, Misari
Wilhelm, Frank H.
Rufer, Michael
Heinrichs, Markus
Weidt, Steffi
Moergeli, Hanspeter
Martin-Soelch, Chantal
Does trait anxiety influence effects of oxytocin on eye-blink startle reactivity? A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study
title Does trait anxiety influence effects of oxytocin on eye-blink startle reactivity? A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study
title_full Does trait anxiety influence effects of oxytocin on eye-blink startle reactivity? A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study
title_fullStr Does trait anxiety influence effects of oxytocin on eye-blink startle reactivity? A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study
title_full_unstemmed Does trait anxiety influence effects of oxytocin on eye-blink startle reactivity? A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study
title_short Does trait anxiety influence effects of oxytocin on eye-blink startle reactivity? A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study
title_sort does trait anxiety influence effects of oxytocin on eye-blink startle reactivity? a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5754118/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29300752
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190809
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