ArticleSocial cognitive and affective neuroscience2014
Cumulative risk on the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) underpins empathic communication difficulties at the first stages of romantic love.
Article in Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 86 citations in OpenAlex.
- Genetic modulation of oxytocin sensitivity: a pharmacogenetic approach.Translational psychiatry · 2015Trial
- The Impact of OXTR, COMT, and GRIN2B Polymorphisms on Brain Development in Preterm Infants.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Genetic variations as predictors of dispositional and dyadic empathy-a couple study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- How shared versus unshared parental contribution to child risk influences guilt responses.Journal of health psychology · 2024Article
- Joint Roles of Oxytocin- and Dopamine-Related Genes and Childhood Parenting Experience in Maternal Supportive Social Network.Child psychiatry and human development · 2024Article
- Intranasal Oxytocin Combined With Social Skills Training for Schizophrenia: An Add-on Randomized Controlled Trial.Schizophrenia bulletin open · 2024Article
- Article
- Genetic and epigenetic effects on couple adjustment in context of romantic relationship: A scoping systematic review.Frontiers in genetics · 2023Article
- Oxytocin-Receptor Gene Modulates Reward-Network Connection and Relationship with Empathy Performance.Psychology research and behavior management · 2023Article
- The Importance of Experimental Investigation of the CNS Oxytocin System.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2022Article
- Article
- Empathy and Hormonal Changes as Predictors of Sensitive Responsiveness towards Infant Crying: A Study Protocol.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Oxytocin, Dopamine, and Opioid Interactions Underlying Pair Bonding: Highlighting a Potential Role for Microglia.Endocrinology · 2021Review
- The etiology of maternal postpartum depressive symptoms: Childhood emotional maltreatment, couple relationship satisfaction, and genes.Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43) · 2021Article
- Impact ofFrontiers in genetics · 2021Article
- Oxytocin and Three Kinds of Dangerous Behaviors in a Romantic Relationship: Playing, Suffering, and Stalking.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Article
- Cumulative Risk on Oxytocin-Pathway Genes Impairs Default Mode Network Connectivity in Trauma-Exposed Youth.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2020Article
- Associations between spouses' oxytocin receptor gene polymorphism, attachment security, and marital satisfaction.PloS one · 2019Article
- Oxytocin-related single-nucleotide polymorphisms, family environment, and psychopathic traits.Personality disorders · 2018Article
- The Influence of Genetic Variation on Social Disposition, Romantic Relationships and Social Networks: a Replication Study.Adaptive human behavior and physiology · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Empathic communication between couples plays an important role in relationship quality and individual well-being and research has pointed to the role of oxytocin in providing the neurobiological substrate for pair-bonding and empathy. Here, we examined links between genetic variability on the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and empathic behaviour at the initiation of romantic love. Allelic variations on five OXTR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously associated with susceptibility to disorders of social functioning were genotyped in 120 new lovers: OXTRrs13316193, rs2254298, rs1042778, rs2268494 and rs2268490. Cumulative genetic risk was computed by summing risk alleles on each SNP. Couples were observed in support-giving interaction and behaviour was coded for empathic communication, including affective congruence, maintaining focus on partner, acknowledging partner's distress, reciprocal exchange and non-verbal empathy. Hierarchical linear modelling indicated that individuals with high OXTR risk exhibited difficulties in empathic communication. OXTR risk predicted empathic difficulties above and beyond the couple level, relationship duration, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Findings underscore the involvement of oxytocin in empathic behaviour during the early stages of social affiliation, and suggest the utility of cumulative risk and plasticity indices on the OXTR as potential biomarkers for research on disorders of social dysfunction and the neurobiology of empathy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.