***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Oxytocin has numerous prosocial and antipsychotic-like effects in animals . Prosocial effects of acute intranasal oxytocin administration have also been reported in human subjects . We conducted a r and omized , placebo-controlled trial testing the effects of twice daily intranasal oxytocin treatment for 14 days on psychotic symptoms and social cognition in patients with schizophrenia .  PANSS scores declined significantly and several social cognition measures improved significantly or nearly significantly in oxytocin ( N=11 ) but not placebo ( N=9 ) recipients . Our results suggest that , in addition to reducing classic psychotic symptoms , oxytocin may diminish certain social cognition deficits that are not improved by current antipsychotic medications The human striatum has been implicated in processing reward-related information . More recently , activity in the striatum , particularly the cau date nucleus , has been observed when a contingency between behavior and reward exists , suggesting a role for the cau date in reinforcement-based learning . Using a gambling paradigm , in which affective feedback ( reward and punishment ) followed simple , r and om guesses on a trial by trial basis , we sought to investigate the role of the cau date nucleus as reward-related learning progressed . Participants were instructed to make a guess regarding the value of a presented card  ( if the value of the card was higher or lower than 5 ) . They were told that five different cues would be presented prior to making a guess , and that each cue indicated the probability that the card would be high or low . The goal was to learn the contingencies and maximize the reward attained . Accuracy , as measured by participant 's choices , improved throughout the experiment for cues that strongly predicted reward , while no change was observed for unpredictable cues . Event-related fMRI revealed that activity in the cau date nucleus was more robust during the early phases of learning , irrespective of contingencies , suggesting involvement of this region during the initial stages of trial and error learning . Further , the reward feedback signal in the cau date nucleus for well-learned cues decreased as learning progressed , suggesting an evolving adaptation of reward feedback expectancy as a behavior- outcome contingency becomes more predictable The neuropeptide oxytocin ( OT ) is well known for its profound effects on social behavior , which appear to be mediated by an OT-dependent modulation of amygdala activity in the context of social stimuli . In humans , OT decreases amygdala reactivity to threatening faces in males , but enhances amygdala reactivity to similar faces in females , suggesting sex-specific differences in OT-dependent threat-processing . To further explore whether OT generally enhances amygdala-dependent threat-processing in females , we used functional magnetic resonance imaging ( fMRI ) in a r and omized within-subject crossover design to measure amygdala activity in response to threatening and non-threatening scenes in 14 females following intranasal administration of OT or placebo .  Participants ' eye movements were recorded to investigate whether an OT-dependent modulation of amygdala activity is accompanied by enhanced exploration of salient scene features . Although OT had no effect on participants ' gazing behavior , it increased amygdala reactivity to scenes depicting social and non-social threat . In females , OT may , thus , enhance the detection of threatening stimuli in the environment , potentially by interacting with gonadal steroids , such as progesterone and estrogen BACKGROUND Oxytocin facilitates parental caregiving and mother-infant bonding and might be involved in responses to infant crying . Infant crying provides information about the physical status and mood of the infant and elicits parental proximity and caregiving . Oxytocin might modulate the activation of brain structures involved in the perception of cry sounds-specifically the insula , the amygdala , and the thalamocingulate circuit- and thereby affect responsiveness to infant crying . METHOD In a r and omized controlled trial we investigated the influence of intranasally administered oxytocin on neural responses to infant crying with functional magnetic resonance imaging . Blood oxygenation level-dependent responses to infant crying were measured in 21 women who were administered oxytocin and 21 women who were administered a placebo .  RESULTS Induced oxytocin levels reduced , experimentally , activation in the amygdala and increased activation in the insula and inferior frontal gyrus pars triangularis . CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that oxytocin promotes responsiveness to infant crying by reducing activation in the neural circuitry for anxiety and aversion and increasing activation in regions involved in empathy Research has increasingly implicated the striatum in the processing of reward-related information in both animals and humans . However , it is unclear whether human striatal activation is driven solely by the hedonic properties of rewards or whether such activation is reliant on other factors , such as anticipation of upcoming reward or performance of an action to earn a reward . We used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate hemodynamic responses to  monetary rewards and punishments  in three experiments that made use of an oddball paradigm . We presented reward and punishment displays r and omly in time , following an anticipatory cue , or following a button press response . Robust and differential activation of the cau date nucleus occurred only when a perception of contingency existed between the button press response and the outcome . This finding suggests that the cau date is involved in reinforcement of action potentially leading to reward , rather than in processing reward per se The neuropeptide oxytocin ( OXT ) plays an important role in complex socio-affective behaviours such as affiliation , attachment , stress and anxiety . Previous studies have focused on the amygdala as an important target of OXT 's effects . However , the effects of OXT on connectivity of the amygdala with cortical regions such as medial frontal cortex , an important mediator of social cognition and emotion regulation , remain unexplored . In a r and omized , double-blind , cross-over design , 15 volunteers received intranasal OXT or placebo prior to resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging . OXT significantly increased connectivity between both amygdalae and rostral medial frontal cortex ( rmFC ) , while having only negligible effects on coupling with other brain regions . These results demonstrate that OXT is a robust and highly selective enhancer of amygdala connectivity with rmFC , a region critical to social cognition and emotion regulation , and add to our underst and ing of the neural mechanisms by which OXT modulates complex social and cognitive behaviours Romantic and maternal love are highly rewarding experiences . Both are linked to the perpetuation of the species and therefore have a closely linked biological function of crucial evolutionary importance . Yet almost nothing is known about their neural correlates in the human . We therefore used fMRI to measure brain activity in mothers while they viewed pictures of their own and of acquainted children , and of their best friend and of acquainted adults as additional controls . The activity specific to maternal attachment was compared to that associated to romantic love described in our earlier study and to the distribution of attachment-mediating neurohormones established by other studies . Both types of attachment activated regions specific to each , as well as overlapping regions in the brain 's reward system that coincide with areas rich in oxytocin and vasopressin receptors . Both deactivated a common set of regions associated with negative emotions , social judgment and ' mentalizing ' , that is , the assessment of other people 's intentions and emotions . We conclude that human attachment employs a push-pull mechanism that overcomes social distance by deactivating networks used for critical social assessment and negative emotions , while it bonds individuals through the involvement of the reward circuitry , explaining the power of love to motivate and exhilarate Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by dysfunction in three core behavioral domains : repetitive behaviors , social deficits , and language abnormalities . There is evidence that abnormalities exist in peptide systems , particularly the oxytocin system , in autism spectrum patients . Furthermore , oxytocin and the closely related peptide vasopressin are known to play a role in social and repetitive behaviors . This study examined the impact of oxytocin on repetitive behaviors in 15 adults with autism or Asperger 's disorder via r and omized double-blind oxytocin and placebo challenges . The primary outcome measure was an instrument rating six repetitive behaviors : need to know , repeating , ordering , need to tell/ask , self-injury , and touching .  Patients with autism spectrum disorders showed a significant reduction in repetitive behaviors following oxytocin infusion in comparison to placebo infusion . Repetitive behavior in autism spectrum disorders may be related to abnormalities in the oxytocin system , and may be partially ameliorated by synthetic oxytocin infusion BACKGROUND Oxytocin is known to reduce  anxiety  and  stress in social interactions as well as to modulate approach behavior . Recent studies suggest that the amygdala might be the primary neuronal basis for these effects . METHODS In a functional magnetic resonance imaging study using a double-blind , placebo-controlled within-subject design , we measured neural responses to fearful , angry , and happy facial expressions  after intranasal application of 24 IU oxytocin compared with placebo . RESULTS Oxytocin reduced right-sided amygdala responses to all three face categories even when the emotional content of the presented face was not evaluated explicitly . Exploratory whole brain analysis revealed modulatory effects in prefrontal and temporal areas as well as in the brainstem . CONCLUSIONS Results suggest a modulatory role of oxytocin on amygdala responses to facial expressions irrespective of their valence . Reduction of amygdala activity to positive and negative stimuli might reflect reduced uncertainty about the predictive value of a social stimulus and thereby facilitates social approach behavior P300 is an event-related potential elicited by infrequent target events whose amplitude is dependent on the context provided by the immediately preceding sequence of stimuli , suggesting its dependence on working memory . We employed magnetic resonance imaging sequences sensitive to blood oxygenation level to identify regional changes evoked by infrequent visual target stimuli presented in a task typically used to elicit P300 . Targets evoked transient event-related activation bilaterally in the middle frontal gyrus , in the inferior parietal lobe , and near the inferior aspect of the posterior cingulate gyrus beginning within 1.5 s of target onset and peaking between 4.5 and 6 s. These regions have been identified in previous neuroimaging studies in humans , and in single-unit recordings in monkeys , as components of a neural system mediating working memory , which suggests that this system may be activated by the same events that evoke P300 Behavioral changes after administration of the neurohypophyseal hormones vasopressin and oxytocin can be observed in animal and man . Several groups attempted to specify these changes in terms of memory or attention processing enhancement for vasopressin and amnesic properties for oxytocin . These interpretations , however , were targets for recent criticism . In a double-blind between-subject comparison with male volunteers receiving arginine-vasopressin ( AVP ) , oxytocin or placebo intranasally prior to the experimental session , we tried to develop an alternative hypothesis on the basis of behavioral and EEG measures . At the beginning of the session subjects had to learn a list of 25 unrelated nouns within five trials . Recall was assessed 1 h later . Neither learning nor long-term recall were affected by peptide treatments . In a second vigilance task subjects had to covertly count eight series of tone pips . Averaged auditory evoked potentials to these tones showed the expected habituation during the course of the task within all three groups . Vasopressin-treated subjects , however , displayed significantly higher amplitudes of the vertex potential as compared to the other treatment groups .  AVP effects were most prominent with the longest interstimulus interval . No influences on heart rate or blood pressure were found . Results indicate that vasopressin induces an enhancement of stimulus-related phasic cortical arousal , and that in this respect oxytocin has no effect Some previous studies have suggested that patients with social anxiety disorder ( SAD ) have a hypoactive central dopaminergic system . Supporting this there have been reports from neuroimaging studies of reduced striatal D2 receptor binding in subjects with SAD . The aim of this study was to investigate D2 receptor sensitivity in patients with SAD compared with a group of matched , healthy controls using a neuroendocrine challenge with the selective D2 antagonist , sulpiride . D2 receptor function was assessed in 23 subjects with generalized SAD and 23 matched , healthy controls using a challenge with 400 mg of a selective D2 antagonist , sulpiride in a r and omized , placebo-controlled , crossover design . Response to sulpiride was measured by the change in prolactin level and changes in self-rated measures of social anxiety , mood and the ability to experience pleasure . There was no significant difference in prolactin response to sulpiride between the two groups . Sulpiride result ed in no effect in either the SAD or healthy control group on measures of social anxiety , mood or the ability to experience pleasure . Contrary to our hypothesis , in this study we found no evidence of reduced D2 receptor function in subjects with SAD compared with healthy controls BACKGROUND A diagnostic hallmark of autism spectrum disorders is a qualitative impairment in social communication and interaction . Deficits in the ability to recognize the emotions of others are believed to contribute to this . There is currently no effective treatment for these problems . METHODS In a double-blind , r and omized , placebo-controlled , crossover design , we administered oxytocin nasal spray ( 18 or 24 IU ) or a placebo to 16 male youth aged 12 to 19 who were diagnosed with Autistic or Asperger 's Disorder . Participants then completed the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task , a widely used and reliable test of emotion recognition . RESULTS In comparison with placebo , oxytocin administration improved performance on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task . This effect was also shown when analysis was restricted to the younger participants aged 12 to 15 who received the lower dose . CONCLUSIONS This study provides the first evidence that oxytocin nasal spray improves emotion recognition in young people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders . Findings suggest the potential of earlier intervention 
    Output:
    
The results demonstrate consistent alterations in activation of brain regions , including the temporal lobes and insula , during the processing of social stimuli , with some variation dependent on sex and task .
The meta- analysis revealed significant left insular hyperactivation after OXT administration , suggesting a potential modulation of neural circuits underlying emotional processing .
Oxytocin has a wide range of effects over neural activity in response to social and emotional processing , which is further modulated by sex and task specificity .
The magnitude of this neural activation is largest in the temporal lobes , and a meta- analysis across all tasks and both sexes showed that the left insula demonstrated the most robust activation to OXT administration