Intranasal oxytocin modulates brain activity during emotional processing in children with treatment resistant conduct problems
Abstract One of the most highly replicated neural correlates of Conduct Problems (CP) is amygdala hypoactivity to another person’s fear. We recently reported that this correlate was only observed in boys with persistent CP (i.e. antisocial behaviour that persisted following a gold-standard psycholog...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-92276-2 |
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| author | Suzanne O’ Brien Arjun Sethi James Blair John Tully Daniel Martins Hester Velthuis Marija M. Petrinovic Stephen Scott Nigel Blackwood Declan G.M. Murphy Michael C. Craig |
| author_facet | Suzanne O’ Brien Arjun Sethi James Blair John Tully Daniel Martins Hester Velthuis Marija M. Petrinovic Stephen Scott Nigel Blackwood Declan G.M. Murphy Michael C. Craig |
| author_sort | Suzanne O’ Brien |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract One of the most highly replicated neural correlates of Conduct Problems (CP) is amygdala hypoactivity to another person’s fear. We recently reported that this correlate was only observed in boys with persistent CP (i.e. antisocial behaviour that persisted following a gold-standard psychological intervention), suggesting that amygdala hypoactivity to fear could be an important neural signature for treatment-resistant CP, and a putative target for future treatments. Potential treatment candidates include the oxytocin system, as this has been reported to modulate amygdala activity and social behaviour across species. Further, in adults with antisocial personality disorder, intranasal oxytocin improved facial emotion recognition for fearful and happy faces. However, to-date, no-one has studied whether intranasal oxytocin can normalise neural processing differences in children with CP. Twenty boys (mean age 9.85±1.26 years) with persistent CP underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging in a within-subject randomised control design to investigate whether, compared to placebo, a single-dose of intranasal oxytocin could ‘shift’ abnormal neural processing to fear. Oxytocin failed to reduce amygdala hypoactivity to fearful faces, but increased activation in the posterior cingulate cortex / precuneus to happy faces. These findings tentatively suggest that intranasal oxytocin may promote a more neurotypical profile in treatment-resistant CP children, therefore, supporting the merit of investigating oxytocin in further larger clinical studies in this population. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a1e16c780ea6458a9bcb00875d3888a6 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-a1e16c780ea6458a9bcb00875d3888a62025-08-20T01:54:22ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-04-011511910.1038/s41598-025-92276-2Intranasal oxytocin modulates brain activity during emotional processing in children with treatment resistant conduct problemsSuzanne O’ Brien0Arjun Sethi1James Blair2John Tully3Daniel Martins4Hester Velthuis5Marija M. Petrinovic6Stephen Scott7Nigel Blackwood8Declan G.M. Murphy9Michael C. Craig10Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College LondonDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College LondonResearch Unit at Child and Adolescent Mental Health Center Copenhagen, Capital Region of DenmarkAcademic Unit of Mental Health and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Institute of Mental Health, University of NottinghamDepartment of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, College London & NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, King’s, South London and Maudsley NHS TrustDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College LondonDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College LondonDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College LondonDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College LondonDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College LondonDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College LondonAbstract One of the most highly replicated neural correlates of Conduct Problems (CP) is amygdala hypoactivity to another person’s fear. We recently reported that this correlate was only observed in boys with persistent CP (i.e. antisocial behaviour that persisted following a gold-standard psychological intervention), suggesting that amygdala hypoactivity to fear could be an important neural signature for treatment-resistant CP, and a putative target for future treatments. Potential treatment candidates include the oxytocin system, as this has been reported to modulate amygdala activity and social behaviour across species. Further, in adults with antisocial personality disorder, intranasal oxytocin improved facial emotion recognition for fearful and happy faces. However, to-date, no-one has studied whether intranasal oxytocin can normalise neural processing differences in children with CP. Twenty boys (mean age 9.85±1.26 years) with persistent CP underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging in a within-subject randomised control design to investigate whether, compared to placebo, a single-dose of intranasal oxytocin could ‘shift’ abnormal neural processing to fear. Oxytocin failed to reduce amygdala hypoactivity to fearful faces, but increased activation in the posterior cingulate cortex / precuneus to happy faces. These findings tentatively suggest that intranasal oxytocin may promote a more neurotypical profile in treatment-resistant CP children, therefore, supporting the merit of investigating oxytocin in further larger clinical studies in this population.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-92276-2 |
| spellingShingle | Suzanne O’ Brien Arjun Sethi James Blair John Tully Daniel Martins Hester Velthuis Marija M. Petrinovic Stephen Scott Nigel Blackwood Declan G.M. Murphy Michael C. Craig Intranasal oxytocin modulates brain activity during emotional processing in children with treatment resistant conduct problems Scientific Reports |
| title | Intranasal oxytocin modulates brain activity during emotional processing in children with treatment resistant conduct problems |
| title_full | Intranasal oxytocin modulates brain activity during emotional processing in children with treatment resistant conduct problems |
| title_fullStr | Intranasal oxytocin modulates brain activity during emotional processing in children with treatment resistant conduct problems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Intranasal oxytocin modulates brain activity during emotional processing in children with treatment resistant conduct problems |
| title_short | Intranasal oxytocin modulates brain activity during emotional processing in children with treatment resistant conduct problems |
| title_sort | intranasal oxytocin modulates brain activity during emotional processing in children with treatment resistant conduct problems |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-92276-2 |
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