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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2015 Jan;40(2):278-86.
doi: 10.1038/npp.2014.168. Epub 2014 Jul 7.

Oxytocin modulation of amygdala functional connectivity to fearful faces in generalized social anxiety disorder

Stephanie M Gorka  1 , Daniel A Fitzgerald  2 , Izelle Labuschagne  3 , Avinash Hosanagar  4 , Amanda G Wood  5 , Pradeep J Nathan  6 , K Luan Phan  7
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Oxytocin modulation of amygdala functional connectivity to fearful faces in generalized social anxiety disorder

Stephanie M Gorka et al. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2015 Jan.

Abstract

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) is thought to attenuate anxiety by dampening amygdala reactivity to threat in individuals with generalized social anxiety disorder (GSAD). Because the brain is organized into networks of interconnected areas, it is likely that OXT impacts functional coupling between the amygdala and other socio-emotional areas of the brain. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to examine the effects of OXT on amygdala functional connectivity during the processing of fearful faces in GSAD subjects and healthy controls (HCs). In a randomized, double-blind, placebo (PBO)-controlled, within-subjects design, 18 HCs and 17 GSAD subjects performed a functional magnetic resonance imaging task designed to probe amygdala response to fearful faces following acute intranasal administration of PBO or OXT. Functional connectivity between the amygdala and the rest of the brain was compared between OXT and PBO sessions using generalized psychophysiological interaction analyses. Results indicated that within individuals with GSAD, but not HCs, OXT enhanced functional connectivity between the amygdala and the bilateral insula and middle cingulate/dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus during the processing of fearful faces. These findings suggest that OXT may have broad pro-social implications such as enhancing the integration and modulation of social responses.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Voxel-wise statistical F-maps displayed on canonical brains illustrating significant group by drug interactions. Line graphs illustrating extracted connectivity parameter estimates during the oxytocin and placebo (PBO) conditions for GSAD and HC subjects; (a) left amygdala-left insula and left amygdala-right insula; (b) left amygdala-mid/dACC. GSAD, generalized social anxiety disorder; HC, healthy control; mid/dACC, middle cingulate/dorsal anterior cingulate cortex; OXT, oxytocin condition. A full-colour version of this figure is available at Neuropsychopharmacology journal online.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Scatter plot of correlation between: (a) left amygdala-mid/dACC functional connectivity on placebo and STAI state anxiety scores within GSAD subjects; (b) left amygdala-right insula functional connectivity during oxytocin (>placebo) and LSAS performance scores within GSAD subjects; (c) left amygdala-left insula functional connectivity during oxytocin (>placebo) and left amygdala reactivity on placebo within all subjects. L, left; LSAS, Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale; Mid/dACC, middle cingulate/dorsal anterior cingulate cortex; R, right; STAI, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.
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