Paloyelis, Y;
Krahe, C;
Maltezos, S;
Williams, SC;
Howard, MA;
Fotopoulou, A;
(2016)
The Analgesic Effect of Oxytocin in Humans: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Cross-Over Study Using Laser-Evoked Potentials.
Journal of Neuroendocrinology
, 28
(4)
, Article 28. 10.1111/jne.12347.
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Abstract
Oxytocin is a neuropeptide regulating social‐affiliative and reproductive behaviour in mammals. Despite robust preclinical evidence for the antinociceptive effects and mechanisms of action of exogenous oxytocin, human studies have produced mixed results regarding the analgesic role of oxytocin and are yet to show a specific modulation of neural processes involved in pain perception. In the present study, we investigated the analgesic effects of 40 IU of intranasal oxytocin in 13 healthy male volunteers using a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, cross‐over design and brief radiant heat pulses generated by an infrared laser that selectively activate Aδ‐ and C‐fibre nerve endings in the epidermis, at the same time as recording the ensuing laser‐evoked potentials (LEPs). We predicted that oxytocin would reduce subjective pain ratings and attenuate the amplitude of the N1, N2 and P2 components. We observed that oxytocin attenuated perceived pain intensity and the local peak amplitude of the N1 and N2 (but not of P2) LEPs, and increased the latency of the N2 component. Importantly, for the first time, the present study reports an association between the analgesic effect of oxytocin (reduction in subjective pain ratings) and the oxytocin‐induced modulation of cortical activity after noxious stimulation (attenuation of the N2 LEP). These effects indicate that oxytocin modulates neural processes contributing to pain perception. The present study reports preliminary evidence that is consistent with electrophysiological studies in rodents showing that oxytocin specifically modulates Aδ/C‐fibre nociceptive afferent signalling at the spinal level and provides further specificity to evidence obtained in humans indicating that oxytocin may be modulating pain experience by modulating activity in the cortical areas involved in pain processing.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Analgesic Effect of Oxytocin in Humans: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Cross-Over Study Using Laser-Evoked Potentials |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1111/jne.12347 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1111/jne.12347 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Neuroendocrinology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Society for Neuroendocrinology. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | oxytocin, nociception, analgesia, laser-evoked potentials, EEG |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10120293 |
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