TY - JOUR
T1 - The role of oxytocin on peaceful associations and sociality in mammals
AU - Romero, Teresa
AU - Onishi, Kenji
AU - Hasegawa, Toshikazu
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
PY - 2016/9/27
Y1 - 2016/9/27
N2 - There is currently substantial evidence indicating that oxytocin, a hypothalamus neuropeptide, modulates many forms of social behaviour and cognition in both human and non-human animals. The vast majority of animal research, however, has concentrated on maternal attachment and reproductive pair-bonds. In order to understand the neurochemical foundations of peaceful associations and sociality, oxytocin's contribution to other types of social bonds, as well as to individual variation in sociality, should also be explored. Here, we summarise the most current studies that have investigated oxytocin's role in regulating stable peaceful associations not directly related to mating. We also provide an overview on oxytocin's role in support of specific social structures, and propose a novel research approach to evaluate the relationship between individual variation in social tendencies and variation in the oxytociergic system. We conclude by discussing avenues of future investigation in the biological substrates of sociality.
AB - There is currently substantial evidence indicating that oxytocin, a hypothalamus neuropeptide, modulates many forms of social behaviour and cognition in both human and non-human animals. The vast majority of animal research, however, has concentrated on maternal attachment and reproductive pair-bonds. In order to understand the neurochemical foundations of peaceful associations and sociality, oxytocin's contribution to other types of social bonds, as well as to individual variation in sociality, should also be explored. Here, we summarise the most current studies that have investigated oxytocin's role in regulating stable peaceful associations not directly related to mating. We also provide an overview on oxytocin's role in support of specific social structures, and propose a novel research approach to evaluate the relationship between individual variation in social tendencies and variation in the oxytociergic system. We conclude by discussing avenues of future investigation in the biological substrates of sociality.
KW - mammalian sociality
KW - network analysis
KW - Oxytocin
KW - social bonds
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84991379365&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1163/1568539X-00003358
DO - 10.1163/1568539X-00003358
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84991379365
SN - 0005-7959
VL - 153
SP - 1053
EP - 1071
JO - Behaviour
JF - Behaviour
IS - 9-11
ER -