Elevated cerebrospinal fluid and blood concentrations of oxytocin following its intranasal administration in humans

Nadine Striepens, Keith M Kendrick, Vanessa Hanking, Rainer Landgraf, Ullrich Wüllner, Wolfgang Maier, René Hurlemann, Nadine Striepens, Keith M Kendrick, Vanessa Hanking, Rainer Landgraf, Ullrich Wüllner, Wolfgang Maier, René Hurlemann

Abstract

There has been an unprecedented interest in the modulatory effects of intranasal oxytocin on human social cognition and behaviour, however as yet no study has actually demonstrated that this modality of administration increases concentrations of the peptide in the brain as well as blood in humans. Here using combined blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sampling in subjects receiving either 24 IU of oxytocin (n = 11) or placebo (n = 4) we have shown that oxytocin levels significantly increased in both plasma and CSF. However, whereas oxytocin plasma concentrations peaked at 15 min after intranasal administration and decreased after 75 min, CSF concentrations took up to 75 min to reach a significant level. Moreover, there was no correlation (r = <0.10) between oxytocin plasma and CSF concentrations. Together, these data provide crucial insights into the plasma and CSF kinetics of intranasally administered oxytocin.

Figures

Figure 1. Plasma and CSF kinetics of…
Figure 1. Plasma and CSF kinetics of oxytocin (OXT) administered intranasally at a dose of 24 IU.
(A) Shown are OXT plasma concentrations (mean ± SD) immediately before (baseline, 0 min) and after intranasal OXT or placebo (PLC) treatment. OXT plasma concentrations reached a plateau after 15 min and decreased after 60 min. Given for each time point in this period is the percentage increase (corrected for the lowest OXT concentration at 0 min) over PLC mean (0–90 min). (B) Shown are oxytocin (OXT) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations following intranasal oxytocin (OXT) or placebo (PLC) treatment. CSF levels took up to 75 min to reach a significantly increased level in the OXT group. Given is the percentage increase (corrected for the lowest OXT concentration at 45 min) over PLC mean (45–75 min). Abbreviation: cOXT, oxytocin concentration.

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