Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40681546›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Interplay of plasma Oxytocin and oxytocin receptor gene methylation levels on empathy in older adults.

Rebecca J Polk, Kylie A Wright, Tian Lin, Kathleen Krol, Allison M Perkeybile, Hans P Nazarloo, C Sue Carter, Jessica Connelly, Natalie C Ebner

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

9 authors.

Rebecca J Polk *Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Kylie A Wright *Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. kyliewright@ufl.edu.
Tian LinDepartment of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Kathleen KrolDepartment of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Allison M PerkeybileDepartment of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Hans P NazarlooDepartment of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
C Sue CarterDepartment of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Jessica ConnellyDepartment of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Natalie C EbnerDepartment of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.

Funding

Mechanisms of maternal brain changes with birth interventionsR01HD098117 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA · PI JESSICA J CONNELLY, Allison M. Perkeybile · 2019 to 2026
$4.9M
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD098117
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Oxytocin (OT) levels in blood plasma and OT receptor gene (OXTRm) methylation are two crucial pieces of the endogenous OT system that have been independently associated with social cognition. Empathy is a social-cognitive skill essential for understanding others' emotions and intentions, making it vital for everyday social interactions across the lifespan. Associations of plasma OT and OXTRm levels with empathy are currently not well understood among older adults, despite this period being marked by changes in both the endogenous OT system and empathy. Tying these previously separate lines of research together, this study examined the interplay of plasma OT and OXTRm on empathy in generally healthy older adults. Plasma OT levels were not directly related to empathy but for older adults with higher OXTRm levels higher plasma OT levels were associated with lower empathy scores. These results contribute to a growing literature on the intricate role of the endogenous OT system in social cognition in aging.

Indexed as

DNA MethylationEmpathyOxytocinReceptors, OxytocinAgedAged, 80 and overAgingFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedOXTR protein, humanOxytocinReceptors, OxytocinAgingEmpathyMethylationOxytocin receptor genePlasma Oxytocin

Identifiers

PMID40681546
PMCPMC12274532

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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.