Thursday, November 13, 2014

Oxytocin Used to Help Patients Overcome Fear

A team of researchers working under the guidance of the University of Bonn Hospital in a recent study showed that the bonding hormone oxytocin inhibits the fear center in the brain and allows fear stimuli to subside more easily. The hope is that this research will provide the basis for future treatment of anxiety disorders.


Significant fear can become entrenched in a person’s brain with individuals involved in car accidents providing a key example. Individuals involved in car accidents often find it very difficult to handle street traffic after their accident due to significant anxiety. Scientists refer to this as conditioning where certain images or noises, such as screeching tires, are associated in the brain with pain or fear.

Overtime the original contents of the fearful memory are not erased; however, positive experiences overtake the original memory through the process of extinction. Nonetheless, if encountered with a dangerous situation similar to the original fear, the original fear comes back.

Dr. RenĂ© Hurlemann from the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the University of Bonn Hospital stated, “Oxytocin actually reinforces extinction: Under its influence, the expectation of recurrent fear subsequently abates to a greater extent than without this messenger.”

Specifically the team of researchers showed various images to 62 male patients. For 70 percent of the images the research subjects received a very brief electrical shock to their hand via electrodes. When the images, where the electrical shock was experienced, were viewed again anxiety was noted in the tests subject’s brains. For the second portion of the study half of the test subjects received oxytocin via a nasal spray while the other half received a placebo.


After receiving either the oxytocin or the placebo the patients were shown the same images as before; however, this time there were no electrical shocks experienced. In those patients who received the oxytocin the amygdala, fear center in the brain, was far less active than in the control group who received the placebo. In those patients that received the placebo the fear-inhibiting regions were more stimulated. The researchers hope that with the aid of oxytocin anxiety patients can be helped more quickly and that a relapses can be prevented more easily.


This article was very interesting because anxiety is something that is often overlooked and forgotten about. It’s clear that something that happens every day, such as car accidents, can have a long lasting effect on an individual even after the physical injuries have subsided. I am curious to see the results of further clinical trials that have larger sample sizes and potentially with patients with severe anxiety disorders to see how well oxytocin alleviates the anxiety in these patients.  


1 comment:

  1. Although Oxytocin seems to sound like the answer to anxiety, I don't feel like that is the right route to go. Oxytocin is also reposible for other factors such as positive feedback mechanisms regarding childbirth and milk ejection (lactation). Also, I'm not in favor of medication for emotional wellness. There are plenty of other healthy options. A person could go to a therapist, talk with friends and family, and have faith in God and they will improve. You can naturally produce the chemical as well. Medication isn't the only route and shouldn't be a first choice.

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