Evidence map›Paper›PMID 18475254›Full record

ReviewBritish journal of pharmacology2008

From ultrasocial to antisocial: a role for oxytocin in the acute reinforcing effects and long-term adverse consequences of drug use?

I S McGregor, P D Callaghan, G E Hunt

Open access · greenAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in British journal of pharmacology, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
64citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
18.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

64 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 171 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  8. Complexity of oxytocin׳s effects in a chronic cocaine dependent population.European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2014
    Trial
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  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. The psychedelic-peptide paradox: a hormetic hypothesis.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025
    Review
  14. Article
  15. Facilitating mGluR4 activity reverses the long-term deleterious consequences of chronic morphine exposure in male mice.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2021
    Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. An Eye for an Eye: Neural Correlates of the Preference for Punishment-Based Justice.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2018
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

I S McGregorSchool of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. iain@psych.usyd.edu.au
P D Callaghan
G E Hunt
University of Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Addictive drugs can profoundly affect social behaviour both acutely and in the long-term. Effects range from the artificial sociability imbued by various intoxicating agents to the depressed and socially withdrawn state frequently observed in chronic drug users. Understanding such effects is of great potential significance in addiction neurobiology. In this review we focus on the 'social neuropeptide' oxytocin and its possible role in acute and long-term effects of commonly used drugs. Oxytocin regulates social affiliation and social recognition in many species and modulates anxiety, mood and aggression. Recent evidence suggests that popular party drugs such as MDMA and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) may preferentially activate brain oxytocin systems to produce their characteristic prosocial and prosexual effects. Oxytocin interacts with the mesolimbic dopamine system to facilitate sexual and social behaviour, and this oxytocin-dopamine interaction may also influence the acquisition and expression of drug-seeking behaviour. An increasing body of evidence from animal models suggests that even brief exposure to drugs such as MDMA, cannabinoids, methamphetamine and phencyclidine can cause long lasting deficits in social behaviour. We discuss preliminary evidence that these adverse effects may reflect long-term neuroadaptations in brain oxytocin systems. Laboratory studies and preliminary clinical studies also indicate that raising brain oxytocin levels may ameliorate acute drug withdrawal symptoms. It is concluded that oxytocin may play an important, yet largely unexplored, role in drug addiction. Greater understanding of this role may ultimately lead to novel therapeutics for addiction that can improve mood and facilitate the recovery of persons with drug use disorders.

Indexed as

Reinforcement, PsychologySocial BehaviorAdaptation, PhysiologicalAdaptation, PsychologicalAmphetamine-Related DisordersAnimalsBehavior, AddictiveBrainCentral Nervous System StimulantsDopamineHumansLimbic SystemNeuropeptidesN-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamineOxytocinSubstance-Related DisordersCentral Nervous System StimulantsDopamineNeuropeptidesN-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamineOxytocin

Identifiers

PMID18475254
PMCPMC2442436
OpenAlexW1480251240

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.