Behavioral effects of interactions between oxytocin and sex hormone-related proxies: a systematic review
The review found that interactions between oxytocin and sex hormones are infrequently observed and lack robust evidence, highlighting the need for improved methodologies in future research.
Where it sits
this study against the rest of the oxytocin corpusSummary and findings
This systematic review examined the interactions between oxytocin and sex hormone-related proxies in influencing social and nonsocial behavior. A total of 63 studies involving participants aged 18 years and over were included. The review found infrequent observations of oxytocin x sex hormone interactions with no robust or consistent findings.
Abstract
Central oxytocin has been widely implicated in modulating social behavior and cognitive functions, yet evidence in humans remains subtle, heterogeneous, and difficult to replicate. Interactions between oxytocin and sex hormones as a key biological moderator may partly account for the variability in findings. This review systematically synthesizes experimental and observational behavioral findings on interactions between oxytocin and sex hormones as well as their related proxies (menstrual cycle stage, hormonal contraceptive use, and participant sex) during social and nonsocial tasks. A comprehensive search across four databases yielded n=63 included studies that examined interactions in participants aged 18 years and over, covering both clinical and nonclinical samples. Methodological approaches and details on hormonal variation and validation were systematically extracted, and results were clustered into conceptually coherent task domains. Overall, oxytocin x (proxy) sex hormone interactions were infrequently observed, with no domain yielding robust or consistent findings. There is some evidence of sexually dimorphic effects of oxytocin administration on social processing, a potential modulation by age, and suggestive PTSD-specific effects. Given the strong biological plausibility of oxytocin x sex hormone interactions, the absence of robust evidence for these interactions in the behavioral studies reviewed likely reflects methodological challenges such as imprecise hormonal operationalizations, and limited statistical power. Progress in this field may require more rigorous hormonal assessments, adequately powered factorial designs, dual causal manipulation (where feasible), and more complete reporting of sex and hormonal characteristics to determine when and how oxytocin and sex hormones jointly shape human social and nonsocial task behavior.
Background
Not reported in abstract.
Methods
Not reported in abstract.
Results
Not reported in abstract.
Interpretation
Not reported in abstract.
Limitations
Not reported in abstract.