In several papers I found that testosterone might inhibit oxytocinergic activity in the brain, but no references were given.
For instance, I already read that oxytocin makes the orbitofrontal cortex more active (in some tasks) shifting away the activation from the amygdala, while testosterone does the reverse activating the amygdala and “deactivating” the OFC. But there is no mention on how these hormones interact.
In other papers, I found that testosterone inhibits oxytocin, but no references are given. For example: “we chose female participants in luteal phase because testosterone might interact with endogenous oxytocin”.
So, I’m asking whether this is a general and accepted chemical phenomenon “testosterone over oxytocin”, or rather if this depends on singular cases.
Dear Allessandro,
please have a look at the attached articles, maybe you'll find some helpful sources.
Best
Rainer
Thank you, helpful indeed! And actually, I'm a bit surprised seeing that INA of OT may increase T levels. Now I'm just wondering whether endogenous T can affect OT production, similar to Gossen et al 2012 you cited.
Thanks!
I don't know all the litterature concerning OT and T. But Testosterone can be reduced by enzyme present almost everywhere in the brain and that metabolites is a potent allosteric modulator of GABAa receptors therefore boosting inhibition. Which in turn could affect excitability of OT neuronal network and may be affect OT production.
Ok, after two years, I can come up with a partial answer!
Testosterone (T) and oxytocin (OXT) are well known to interact with each other (1–3), producing opposite behavioral effects (4–7) due to the blocked OXT receptors by T (8,9). In the brain, one of the target of both T and OXT is the prefrontal cortex (PFC) (10), a network that is crucial for impulse control and self-regulation, important also for social cognition, mentalization, and empathy (11). The PFC has an inhibitor effect on behavior (12,13), thus, a reduced activity does lead to an increased propensity towards aggressive behavior (14).
References
1. Gossen A, Hahn A, Westphal L, Prinz S, Schultz RT, Gründer G, et al. Oxytocin plasma concentrations after single intranasal oxytocin administration - A study in healthy men. Neuropeptides [Internet]. Elsevier Ltd; 2012;46(5):211–5. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.npep.2012.07.001
2. Dhakar MB, Stevenson EL, Caldwell HK. Oxytocin, vasopressin, and their interplay with gonadal steroids. In: Oxytocin, Vasopressin and Related Peptides in the Regulation of Behavior [Internet]. 2013. p. 3–26. Available from: http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ref/id/CBO9781139017855
3. Frayne J, Nicholson HD. Effect of oxytocin on testosterone production by isolated rat Leydig cells is mediated via a specific oxytocin receptor. Biol Reprod [Internet]. 1995;52(6):1268–73. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7632835
4. Burnham TC. High-testosterone men reject low ultimatum game offers. Proc Biol Sci [Internet]. 2007;274(1623):2327–30. Available from: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1950304&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract
5. Zak PJ, Kurzban R, Ahmadi S, Swerdloff RS, Park J, Efremidze L, et al. Testosterone Administration Decreases Generosity in the Ultimatum Game. Aleman A, editor. PLoS One [Internet]. 2009 Dec 16;4(12):e8330. Available from: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0008330
6. Zilioli S, Ponzi D, Henry A, Maestripieri D. Testosterone, Cortisol and Empathy: Evidence for the Dual-Hormone Hypothesis. Adapt Hum Behav Physiol [Internet]. 2015;1(4):421–33. Available from: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s40750-014-0017-x
7. Zak PJ, Borja K, Matzner WT, Kurzban R. The Neuroeconomics of Distrust: Sex Differences in Behavior and Physiology. Am Econ Rev [Internet]. 2005 Apr;95(2):360–3. Available from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/4132847%5Cnpapers3://publication/uuid/BB68F281-21C7-452C-9238-C59CBE7560DA
8. Insel TR, Young LJ, Witt DM, Crews D. Gonadal steroids have paradoxical effects on brain oxytocin receptors. J Neuroendocrinol [Internet]. 1993;5(6):619–28. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8680433
9. Arsenijevic Y, Tribollet E. Region-specific effect of testosterone on oxytocin receptor binding in the brain of the aged rat. Brain Res. 1998;785(1):167–70.
10. Bos PA, Hofman D, Hermans EJ, Montoya ER, Baron-Cohen S, van Honk J. Testosterone reduces functional connectivity during the ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’ Test. Psychoneuroendocrinology [Internet]. Elsevier Ltd; 2016;68(March):194–201. Available from: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0306453016300671
11. Frith CD, Frith U. The Neural Basis of Mentalizing. Neuron [Internet]. 2006;50(4):531–4. Available from: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0896627306003448
12. Goldstein JM, Jerram M, Poldrack R, Anagnoson R, Breiter HC, Makris N, et al. Sex differences in prefrontal cortical brain activity during fMRI of auditory verbal working memory. Neuropsychology [Internet]. 2005;19(4):509–19. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10253890.2017.1378638
13. Güvendir E. Why are males inclined to use strong swear words more than females? An evolutionary explanation based on male intergroup aggressiveness. Lang Sci [Internet]. Elsevier Ltd; 2015;(13):1–7. Available from: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0388000115000194
14. Mehta PH, Beer J. Neural Mechanisms of the Testosterone-Aggression Relation:The Role of Orbitofrontal Cortex. J Cogn Neurosci [Internet]. 2010;22(10):2357–68. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19925198
Alessandro Miani Have you come up with more answers so far? It would be interesting to know if the testosterone levels are linked to oxytocin levels and/or activity. One reason is that testosterone levels have dropped a significant amount during the last 100 years.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilhowe/2017/10/02/youre-not-the-man-your-father-was/#5d4a5c628b7f
https://www.icenews.is/2010/05/17/testosterone-levels-decreasing-in-danish-men/#axzz4f1HF2xrr