Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39094516›Full record

ArticlePsychoneuroendocrinology2024

Effects of human-animal interaction on salivary and urinary oxytocin in children and dogs.

Gitanjali E Gnanadesikan, Katherine M King, Elizabeth Carranza, Abigail C Flyer, Gianna Ossello, Paige G Smith, Netzin G Steklis, H Dieter Steklis, C Sue Carter, Jessica J Connelly and 4 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Gitanjali E GnanadesikanSchool of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Cognitive Science Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: gnanadesikan@emory.edu.
Katherine M KingSchool of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA. Electronic address: kingk@arizona.edu.
Elizabeth CarranzaCollege of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Oro Valley, AZ, USA.
Abigail C FlyerSchool of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Gianna OsselloSchool of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Paige G SmithSchool of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Netzin G SteklisSchool of Animal & Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Tucson, AZ, USA.
H Dieter SteklisSchool of Animal & Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Tucson, AZ, USA.
C Sue CarterDepartment of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Jessica J ConnellyDepartment of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Melissa BarnettHuman Development and Family Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Nancy GeeSchool of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
Stacey R TecotSchool of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Laboratory for the Evolutionary Endocrinology of Primates, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Evan L MacLeanCollege of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Oro Valley, AZ, USA. Electronic address: evanmaclean@arizona.edu.

Funding

Oxytocin Pathways and the Health Effects of Human-Animal InteractionR21HD095217 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA · PI MACLEAN, EVAN, TECOT, STACEY ROBYN · 2018 to 2019
$437k
NICHD NIH HHS R21 HD095217
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Oxytocin pathways are hypothesized to play important roles in human-animal interactions and may contribute to some benefits of these interspecific social relationships. We explored the effects of naturalistic interactions between children and dogs on oxytocin release in both species, as well as associations between methylation of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTRm), social behavior, and oxytocin response in this context. Children (N = 55) participated in a within-subjects design involving a) interaction with their pet dog, b) interaction with an unfamiliar dog, and c) a nonsocial control condition (solitary play). We used immunoassays to measure salivary and urinary oxytocin in both the children and dogs, behavioral coding to characterize dog-child interactions, and bisulfite sequencing to quantify methylation of the oxytocin receptor gene (N = 32 children). Child salivary oxytocin decreased moderately across time in all conditions, but the extent of this effect varied between conditions, with greater oxytocin output during interactions with dogs than the control condition. In the pet dog condition, children's salivary oxytocin response was positively associated with the duration of visual co-orientation between the child and dog. Child urinary oxytocin did not deviate substantially from baseline in any condition. Children with higher levels of OXTRm had greater oxytocin output during interactions with their pet dogs, but lower oxytocin output in the control condition, and engaged in lower levels of affectionate interaction with dogs across conditions. Children's pet dogs exhibited increases in salivary oxytocin, but we observed the opposite pattern in the unfamiliar dog, who exhibited decreases in both urinary and salivary oxytocin on average. Collectively, our results support the hypothesis that oxytocin pathways may shape and respond to social interactions between children and dogs, highlighting an important role for companion animals in child development.

Indexed as

Human-Animal InteractionOxytocinReceptors, OxytocinSalivaSocial BehaviorAnimalsChildChild, PreschoolDogsFemaleHuman-Animal BondHumansMaleOxytocinReceptors, Oxytocin

Identifiers

PMID39094516
PMCPMC11381145

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.