The Oxytocin Receptor Gene (OXTR) Dependent Intranasal Oxytocin Effect on Neural Responses to Trust
Poster No:
834
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Qin Duan1, Siyang Luo1, Shihui Han2
Institutions:
1Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, GuangZhou, China, 2Department of Psychology, Peking University, Bejing, China
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Introduction:
Trust and betrayal of trust are general in social interaction. Oxytocin (OT) has been proved to be closely related to trust (Kosfeld et al., 2005; Nave, Camerer, & McCullough, 2015). The effect of OT on trust adaptation after betrayal of trust was associated with decrease activation in the amygdala, the midbrain regions, and the dorsal striatum, which indicated that OT influence trust adaptation by reducing fear processing and feedback learning (Baumgartner et al., 2008; Ide et al., 2018). Furthermore, the impact of oxytocin on trust may be influenced by variations in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR). Research suggests that certain polymorphisms of the OXTR gene may be linked to variations in social behavior, emotional cognition, and perceptions of trust (Kogan et al., 2011; Chen et al., 2020). To investigate the OXTR dependent intranasal oxytocin effect on neural mechanism underlying trust and trust adaptation after betrayal, the current research applied a double-blind economic trust experiment by using intranasal OT and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
Methods:
A total of 120 healthy university students (all male, age = 21.12±2.20 years) participated in this study, comprising 64 A/A individuals and 56 G/G individuals. At the experiment's outset, participants were randomly assigned to either the oxytocin group or the placebo group. After treated with intranasal oxytocin or placebo, participants were positioned in the scanner and required to finish the economic trust task. The fMRI experiment comprised 8 sessions, each featuring 8 trials. We employed reinforcement learning models to analyze behavioral data, determining the rate at which each participant adapted to targets deemed trustworthy and untrustworthy. Then, we constructed GLMs to investigate the neural activity responses to trustworthy and untrustworthy target peoples. Dynamic causal models (DCM) were applied to investigate the effect of OT and OXTR on neural responses to trust adaptation.
Results:
Behavioral results revealed that A/A participants treated with oxytocin increase their trust in trustworthy condition, while decrease their trust in untrustworthy condition. Conversely, G/G participants treated with oxytocin decrease their trust in trustworthy condition, while increase their trust in untrustworthy condition. The reinforcement learning model showed that trust adaptation was based on the difference between the invested amount and the feedback outcome.
The whole-brain analysis examined patterns of trust adaptation-related neural activity responses to trustworthy people and untrustworthy people in the two genotype groups following either oxytocin or placebo treatment. The difference in trust adaptation is associated with the specific activation pattern in the anterior cingulate cortex and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (Fig1). Comparing to interacting with trustworthy target people, subjects in OT group showed stronger activation in ACC and DMPFC when interacting with untrustworthy target people. However, this effect was not found in subjects in placebo group. Dynamic casual modeling (DCM) further revealed distinct connectivity patterns during trust decision between different OXTR genotype group and treatment group.
The whole-brain analysis examined patterns of trust adaptation-related neural activity responses to trustworthy people and untrustworthy people in the two genotype groups following either oxytocin or placebo treatment. The difference in trust adaptation is associated with the specific activation pattern in the anterior cingulate cortex and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (Fig1). Comparing to interacting with trustworthy target people, subjects in OT group showed stronger activation in ACC and DMPFC when interacting with untrustworthy target people. However, this effect was not found in subjects in placebo group. Dynamic casual modeling (DCM) further revealed distinct connectivity patterns during trust decision between different OXTR genotype group and treatment group.
Conclusions:
The current study underscores the significant role of OT and OXTR in shaping trust dynamics in social interactions. We observed that OT treatment consistently maintained trust, contrasting with the placebo group's varied trust responses. Brain activity in the ACC and DMPFC, alongside distinct neural connectivity patterns, underlines this genotype-dependent trust adaptation. This highlights the intricate interplay of genetics and neurobiology in shaping social trust behaviors.
Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:
Social Neuroscience Other 1
Higher Cognitive Functions:
Decision Making
Modeling and Analysis Methods:
Activation (eg. BOLD task-fMRI) 2
Novel Imaging Acquisition Methods:
BOLD fMRI
Physiology, Metabolism and Neurotransmission :
Pharmacology and Neurotransmission
Keywords:
FUNCTIONAL MRI
Modeling
Neurotransmitter
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
Provide references using author date format
Chen, X. (2020), 'OXTR methylation modulates exogenous oxytocin effects on human brain activity during social interaction', Genes, Brain and Behavior, vol. 19, no. 1, e12555. https://doi.org/10.1111/gbb.12555
Ide, J. S. (2018), 'Oxytocin attenuates trust as a subset of more general reinforcement learning, with altered reward circuit functional connectivity in males', Neuroimage, no. 174, pp. 35-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.02.035
Kogan, A. (2011), 'Thin-slicing study of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene and the evaluation and expression of the prosocial disposition', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 108, no. 48, pp. 19189-19192. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1112658108
Kosfeld, M. (2005), 'Oxytocin increases trust in humans', Nature, vol. 435, no. 7042, pp. 673-676. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03701
Nave, G. (2015), 'Does oxytocin increase trust in humans? A critical review of research', Perspectives on Psychological Science, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 772-789. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615600138