ArticleFrontiers in human neuroscience2016
Lower Oxytocin Plasma Levels in Borderline Patients with Unresolved Attachment Representations.
Article in Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 85 citations in OpenAlex.
- Oxytocin dysfunction in severe mental illnesses following adverse childhood experiences: a systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- The vicious circle of social exclusion and psychopathology: a systematic review of experimental ostracism research in psychiatric disorders.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2020Pooled it
- Impact of social exclusion on empathy in women with borderline personality disorder.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2023Trial
- Genetic and epigenetic signatures associated with plasma oxytocin levels in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2023Trial
- The neural and physiological mechanisms of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI): A systematic review and integrated framework.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2026Review
- Trait-Like and State-Like Oxytocin: A Biomarker of Alliance in Patients with Depression and Borderline Personality Disorder.Psychotherapy and psychosomatics · 2025Article
- The role of oxytocin as an indicator of outcome and therapeutic alliance.Research in psychotherapy (Milano) · 2025Article
- The Promise of Intranasal Oxytocin in Treating Borderline Personality Disorder: A Narrative Review.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- The Role of Oxytocin and Vasopressin in People with Borderline Personality Disorder: A Closer Look at Adolescents.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Treating depression in patients with borderline personality disorder: clinical clues on the use of antidepressants.Annals of general psychiatry · 2024Review
- The interplay between borderline personality disorder and oxytocin: a systematic narrative review on possible contribution and treatment options.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Review
- The Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis and Social Cognition in Borderline Personality Disorder.Current neuropharmacology · 2024Review
- Attachment-Related Differences in Emotion Regulation in Adults: A Systematic Review on Attachment Representations.Brain sciences · 2023Review
- Article
- Oxytocin as an adolescent treatment for methamphetamine addiction after early life stress in male and female rats.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2022Article
- The Relationship Between the Oxytocin Level and Rejection Sensitivity, Childhood Traumas, and Attachment Styles in Borderline Personality Disorder.Psychiatry investigation · 2022Article
- Role of Oxytocin in the Pathogenesis and Modulation of Borderline Personality Disorder: A Review.Cureus · 2021Review
- Plasma Oxytocin Concentrations During and After Gestation in Japanese Pregnant Women Affected by Anxiety Disorder and Endometriosis.Yonago acta medica · 2020Article
- Microglial Function in the Effects of Early-Life Stress on Brain and Behavioral Development.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Review
- The Influence of an Attachment-Related Stimulus on Oxytocin Reactivity in Poly-Drug Users Undergoing Maintenance Therapy Compared to Healthy Controls.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Interpersonal problems and affective dysregulation are core characteristics of borderline personality disorder (BPD). BPD patients predominantly show unresolved attachment representations. The oxytocin (OT) system is associated with human social attachment and affiliative behavior, and OT dysregulation may be related to distinct attachment characteristics. Here, we investigated whether attachment representations are related to peripheral OT levels in BPD patients. Twenty-one female BPD patients and 20 age-, gender-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) were assessed with clinical scales and measures of interpersonal and attachment-related characteristics, including the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP). Plasma OT concentrations were measured prior to and during social exclusion in a virtual ball tossing game (Cyberball). The majority of BPD patients (63.2%) but no HCs showed unresolved (disorganized) attachment representations. In this subgroup of patients, baseline OT plasma levels were significantly lower than in BPD patients with organized attachment representations. This pilot study extends previous findings of altered OT regulation in BPD as a putative key mechanism underlying interpersonal dysregulation. Our results provide first evidence that altered OT plasma levels are related to disorganized attachment representations in BPD patients.
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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.