Oxytocin: Providing New Avenues for Treating and Understanding Problematic Drug Use

Abstract

Oxytocin is a neuropeptide released during birth and lactation, but also in response to social interaction and stressors. Exogenously administered oxytocin in animals augments acute drug effects, drug reward, tolerance, and withdrawal for a range of drugs and alcohol. The effects of oxytocin administration can be directly caused by oxytocin or by its bilateral interactions with numerous systems, including the dopamine system, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and immune system. The status of the endogenous oxytocin system might also enhance or reduce susceptibility to addiction through its interaction with these systems. Individual differences in the endogenous oxytocin system may therefo..