Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42449131›Full record

ArticleNature neuroscience2026

Oxytocin promotes socially triggered cataplexy.

Carrie E Mahoney, Roberto De Luca, Adam A Joyal, Caroline Woods, Wenling Zhao, Alissa A Coffey, Emi Kurimoto, Daniel Kroeger, Lin Zhu, Henning Fenselau and 4 more

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature neuroscience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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.

Carrie E MahoneyDepartment of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. cmahone6@bidmc.harvard.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0094-2500
Roberto De LucaDepartment of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8105-426X
Adam A JoyalDepartment of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0658-3708
Caroline WoodsDepartment of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Wenling ZhaoDepartment of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Alissa A CoffeyDepartment of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Emi KurimotoDepartment of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Daniel KroegerDepartment of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Lin ZhuDepartment of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Henning FenselauDepartment of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7136-9751
Valery GrinevichDepartment of Neuropeptide Research in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6337-8866
Christian R BurgessDepartment of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Elda ArrigoniDepartment of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Thomas E ScammellDepartment of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. tscammel@bidmc.harvard.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7231-8558

Funding

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH) NS106032
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

People with narcolepsy have intrusive episodes of muscle weakness known as cataplexy, which are usually triggered by strong, positive emotions. As cataplexy occurs almost exclusively during social interactions, we examined whether it is promoted by the prosocial neuropeptide oxytocin. In a mouse model of narcolepsy, social reunification triggered cataplexy, and an oxytocin antagonist blocked socially induced cataplexy episodes. Oxytocin tone and the activity of oxytocin receptor-expressing neurons in the central amygdala both increased just before cataplexy triggered by social stimuli. Chemo- and optogenetic manipulations demonstrated that oxytocin-responsive neurons in the central amygdala drive cataplexy by inhibiting brainstem neurons that suppress muscle atonia. In addition, chocolate, a rewarding stimulus associated with strong, positive emotions, also engages this oxytocin-amygdala pathway and triggers cataplexy in narcoleptic mice. Together, these findings show that oxytocin acts through the amygdala to promote cataplexy triggered by social and other rewarding stimuli, offering new opportunities for treating cataplexy.

Indexed as

CataplexyOxytocinSocial BehaviorAmygdalaAnimalsMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLNeuronsReceptors, OxytocinOxytocinReceptors, Oxytocin

Identifiers

PMID42449131

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.