Sex matters: The impact of oxytocin on healthy conditions and psychiatric disorders

Autor: Donatella Marazziti, C. Sue Carter, Claudia Carmassi, Alessandra Della Vecchia, Federico Mucci, Giovanni Pagni, Manuel G. Carbone, Stefano Baroni, Gino Giannaccini, Lionella Palego, Liliana Dell’Osso
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, Vol 13, Iss , Pp 100165- (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2666-4976
DOI: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2022.100165
Popis: Oxytocin (OT) is involved in the regulation of physiological processes and emotional states, with increasing evidence for its beneficial actions being mediated by the autonomic and immune systems. Growing evidence suggests that OT plays a role in the pathophysiology of different psychiatric disorders. Given the limited information in humans the aim of this study was to retrospectively explore plasma OT levels in psychiatric patients, particularly focusing on sex-related differences, as compared with healthy controls. The patients studied here were divided into three groups diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depressive disorder (MDD). Plasma OT levels were significantly different between healthy men and women, with the latter showing higher values, while none of the three psychiatric groups showed sex-related differences in the parameters measured here. The intergroup analyses showed that the OT levels were significantly higher in OCD, lower in PTSD and even more reduced in MDD patients than in healthy subjects. These differences were also confirmed when gender was considered, with the exception of PTSD men, in whom OT levels were similar to those of healthy men. The present results indicated that OT levels were higher amongst healthy women than men, while a sex difference was less apparent or reversed in psychiatric patients. Reductions in sex differences in psychopathologies may be related to differential vulnerabilities in processes associated with basic adaptive and social functions.
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