The Role of the Oxytocin System for Human Social Cognition and Social Affiliation: a Pharmacogenetic Approach

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Markus Heinrichs
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: from 2012 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 227611796

The neuropeptide oxytocin plays an important role in human social cognition and behavior. For instance, it has been shown in several studies that intranasally-administered oxytocin increases trust and improves emotion recognition. Interestingly, considerable variability exists in individual responses to intranasally-administered oxytocin. We propose to investigate, for the first time, the role of genetic variation on these individual differences. Participants social cognition and behavior (including trust, emotion processing, and social affiliation) will be assessed after administration of oxytocin or placebo. We will use well-established computer-based paradigms (Phase I) as well as novel naturalistic paradigms that are expected to broaden our understanding of the role of oxytocin in live human social interaction (Phase II). We predict that genetic variation of the oxytocin receptor and other genes implicated in the oxytocin system will moderate individual responses to intranasal oxytocin. The integrative approach of this proposal, combining behavioral, psychoneuroendocrinological, genetic, and pharmacological approaches, offers a unique opportunity for characterizing the biological bases of human social interaction. This research program will represent a significant advance in broader efforts to clarify the functional consequences of common variation in genes implicated in the oxytocin system. In addition, this research may provide an entry point for considering individual differences in oxytocin sensitivity in the context of individually-tailored treatment of social disorders such as autism or social phobia.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Singapore
• Participating Institution: National University of Singapore ; Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences ; Department of Psychology
• Participating Persons: Professorin Frances S. Chen, Ph.D.; Professor Richard Ebstein, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Robert Kumsta