Abstract
Oxytocin is well-known for its impact on social cognition. This specificity for the social domain, however, has been challenged by findings suggesting a domain-general allostatic function for oxytocin by promoting future-oriented and flexible behavior. In this pre-registered study, we tested the hypothesized domain-general function of oxytocin by assessing the impact of intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) on core aspects of human social (inequity aversion) and non-social decision making (delay of gratification and cognitive flexibility) in 49 healthy volunteers (within-subject design). In intertemporal choice, patience was higher under oxytocin than under placebo, although this difference was evident only when restricting the analysis to the first experimental session (between-group comparison) due to carry-over effects. Further, oxytocin increased cognitive flexibility in reversal learning as well as generosity under conditions of advantageous but not disadvantageous inequity. Our findings show that oxytocin affects both social and non-social decision making, supporting theoretical accounts of domain-general functions of oxytocin.
Highlights
The neuropeptide oxytocin is well-known for its impact on social behavior, including maternal care, social recognition, or costly sharing (Campbell, 2010; Lee et al, 2009; Macdonald and Macdonald, 2010)
Oxytocin has been of major scientific interest for its influence on social behavior, but researchers are just beginning to explore its impact on non-social behavior (Giel et al, 2018; Hansson et al, 2018; Miller et al, 2016)
We show that intranasal oxytocin affects important components of nonsocial decision making, that is, delaying gratification and reversal learning
Summary
The neuropeptide oxytocin is well-known for its impact on social behavior, including maternal care, social recognition, or costly sharing (Campbell, 2010; Lee et al, 2009; Macdonald and Macdonald, 2010). Several theoretical accounts regarding the functional role of oxytocin for social cognition have been proposed. Two of the most prominent theories are the social salience hypothesis and the approach/withdrawal hypothesis. The social salience hypothesis ascribes oxytocin a crucial role for regulating attention to social cues (Shamay-Tsoory and Abu-Akel, 2016), whereas the social approach/withdrawal hypothesis posits that oxytocin facilitates approach-related and inhibits withdrawal-related social emotions (Kemp and Guastella, 2011). The specificity of oxytocin for the social domain is challenged by an increasing body of evidence for oxytocin effects on non-social cognition and behavior. The role of oxytocin for non-social behavior remains poorly understood, given that the precise neuro-computational role of oxytocin is still a matter of controversy
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
