Sex-Specific Influences of Vasopressin on Human Social Communication

Arginine vasopressin (AVP) and related peptides affect social pehaviors in numerous species, but AVP influences on human social functions have not yet been established. Here, we describe how intranasal AVP administration differentially affects social communication in men and women, and we propose a...

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Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 103; no. 20; pp. 7889 - 7894
Main Authors Thompson, R. R., George, K., Walton, J. C., Orr, S. P., Benson, J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States National Academy of Sciences 16.05.2006
Subjects
Administration, Intranasal
Adolescent
Adult
Animals
Anxiety
Arginine Vasopressin - administration & dosage
Arginine Vasopressin - metabolism
Arginine Vasopressin - pharmacology
Autism
Behavior
Behavioral neuroscience
Biological Sciences
Communication
Drug effects
Drug interactions
Electromyography
Emotional expression
Face
Facial Expression
Facial expressions
Female
Hormones
Humans
Male
Medication administration
Men
Motor Activity - drug effects
Motor Activity - physiology
Peptides
Sex Factors
Social Behavior
Social communication
Social Sciences
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Summary:Arginine vasopressin (AVP) and related peptides affect social pehaviors in numerous species, but AVP influences on human social functions have not yet been established. Here, we describe how intranasal AVP administration differentially affects social communication in men and women, and we propose a mechanism through which it may exert those influences. In men, AVP stimulates agonistic facial motor patterns in response to the faces of unfamiliar men and decreases perceptions of the friendliness of those faces. In contrast, in women, AVP stimulates affiliative facial motor patterns in response to the faces of unfamiliar women and increases perceptions of the friendliness of those faces. AVP also affected autonomic responsiveness to threatening faces and increased anxiety, which may underlie both communication patterns by promoting different social strategies in stressful contexts in men and women.
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Author contributions: R.R.T. and S.P.O. designed research; K.G., J.C.W., and J.B. performed research; J.B. screened medical records of potential subjects and examined them before allowing subjects to participate; R.R.T. and S.P.O. analyzed data; and R.R.T. wrote the paper.
Edited by Marcus E. Raichle, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, and approved April 6, 2006
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0600406103