Intranasal oxytocin modulates EEG mu/alpha and beta rhythms during perception of biological motion

• Published in: Psychoneuroendocrinology Vol. 35; no. 10; pp. 1446 - 1453
• Main Authors: Perry, Anat, Bentin, Shlomo, Shalev, Idan, Israel, Salomon, Uzefovsky, Florina, Bar-On, Dori, Ebstein, Richard P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Administration, Intranasal; Adult; Alpha Rhythm - drug effects; Alpha rhythms; Behavioral psychophysiology; Beta Rhythm - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; Biological motion; Brain Mapping; Double-Blind Method; EEG; Electroencephalography - drug effects; Endocrinology & Metabolism; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hormones and behavior; Humans; Male; Motion Perception - drug effects; Mu rhythms; Oxytocin; Oxytocin - administration & dosage; Oxytocin - pharmacology; Photic Stimulation; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Psychomotor Performance - drug effects; Social Behavior; Social cognition; Young Adult; Biological motion; Oxytocin; Mu rhythms; EEG; Alpha rhythms; Social cognition; Vision; Body movement; Electrophysiology; Perception; Rhythm; Electroencephalography
• ISSN: 0306-4530; 1873-3360; 1873-3360
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.04.011

Oxytocin (OT) plays a determining role in social and pair bonding in many vertebrates and increasing evidence suggests it is a social hormone also in humans. Indeed, intranasal administration of OT modulates several social cognitive processes in humans. Electrophysiological studies in humans associated the suppression of EEG in the mu/alpha and beta bands with perception of biological motion and social stimuli. It has been suggested that mu and beta suppression over sensory-motor regions reflects a resonance system in the human brain analogous to mirror neurons in the monkey. We therefore hypothesized that OT, a social hormone, would enhance this suppression, hence, for the first time, link the action of this neuropeptide with a human correlate of mirror neuron activity. Twenty-four students were administered 24 IU of OT or placebo intranasally in a robust, double-blind within-subject design. 45 min later participants were shown a point-light display of continuous biological motion of a human figure's walk. In the 8–10 Hz (low alpha/mu band) and in the 15–25 Hz beta band, a significant main effect of treatment showed that suppression was significantly enhanced in the OT versus the placebo conditions and that this suppression was widespread across the scalp. These results are a first step linking OT to the modulation of EEG rhythms in humans, suggesting that OT may have a role in allocating cortical resources to social tasks partly mediated by mirror neuron activity.