Association between salivary oxytocin levels and the amygdala and hippocampal volumes

This study aimed to investigate whether the salivary oxytocin level is associated with the volume of the amygdala and hippocampus in 178 adults (92 women and 86 men) in their third to seventh decade of life. We performed volumetric analysis of the amygdala and hippocampus using FreeSurfer and measured salivary oxytocin levels using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The results showed contradictory effects of the salivary oxytocin level on the amygdala volume by sex and no significant effect on the hippocampal volume. Specifically, men showed a positive correlation between the salivary oxytocin level and amygdala volume, whereas women showed a negative correlation between the salivary oxytocin level and amygdala volume. The present study ’s finding of sex differences in the association between salivary oxytocin and brain structure supports previous findings that there are sex differences in the oxytocin system.

Source: Anatomy and Embryology - August 9, 2022 Category: Anatomy Source Type: research