ReviewPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2022
Oxytocin and oxygen: the evolution of a solution to the 'stress of life'.
Review in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 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
18 citing papers in PubMed, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- From Molecules to Meaning: Integrating Neuropeptides, Sociostasis, and Hormesis in the Brain-Heart Axis.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Review
- Psychoneuroendocrine stress response in female and male youth with major depressive disorder.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2025Article
- Oxytocin, Vasopressin and Stress: A Hormetic Perspective.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Review
- The psychedelic-peptide paradox: a hormetic hypothesis.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Review
- The intertwining of oxytocin's effects on social affiliation and inflammation.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2024Article
- History of Diversification and Adaptation from North to South Revealed by Genomic Data: Guanacos from the Desert to Sub-Antarctica.Genome biology and evolution · 2024Article
- The beneficial effects of social support and prosocial behavior on immunity and health: A psychoneuroimmunology perspective.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2024Article
- Effects of prenatal psychosocial stress and COVID-19 infection on infant attention and socioemotional development.Pediatric research · 2024Article
- The effect of a prosocial environment on health and well-being during the first COVID-19 lockdown and a year later.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- New policies on skin-to-skin contact warrant an oxytocin-based perspective on perinatal health care.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- A long and winding road: My personal journey to oxytocin with no return.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2023Review
- Oxytocin: A developmental journey.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2023Review
- Oxytocin and the microbiome.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2023Review
- Brain trust.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2023Review
- Close encounters with oxytocin.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2023Review
- Influence of Umbilical Cord Blood Biochemical Parameters and Disease Condition on the Expression of the TSG-6 Gene in Umbilical Mesenchymal Stem Cells.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2023Article
- Sex, love and oxytocin: Two metaphors and a molecule.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2022Review
- Oxytocin does not stand alone.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Oxytocin (OT) and the OT receptor occupy essential roles in our current understanding of mammalian evolution, survival, sociality and reproduction. This narrative review examines the hypothesis that many functions attributed to OT can be traced back to conditions on early Earth, including challenges associated with managing life in the presence of oxygen and other basic elements, including sulfur. OT regulates oxidative stress and inflammation especially through effects on the mitochondria. A related nonapeptide, vasopressin, as well as molecules in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, including the corticotropin-releasing hormone family of molecules, have a broad set of functions that interact with OT. Interactions among these molecules have roles in the causes and consequence of social behaviour and the management of threat, fear and stress. Here, we discuss emerging evidence suggesting that unique properties of the OT system allowed vertebrates, and especially mammals, to manage over-reactivity to the 'side effects' of oxygen, including inflammation, oxidation and free radicals, while also supporting high levels of sociality and a perception of safety. This article is part of the theme issue 'Interplays between oxytocin and other neuromodulators in shaping complex social behaviours'.
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.