Natalie Ebner - Oxytocin and human aging

This lecture is part of the IHMC Evening Lecture series.

The oxytocin (OT) system is involved in various aspects of social cognition and prosocial behavior. Specifically, OT has been examined in the context of social memory, emotion recognition, cooperation, trust, and bonding, and─though evidence is somewhat mixed─OT appears to benefit aspects of cognition and socioemotional functioning. However, most of the extant data on aging and OT is from animal research and human OT research has focused largely on young male adults. As such, though we know that various cognitive and socioemotional capacities change with age, we know little about whether changes in the OT system with age underlie age-related differences in cognition and socioemotional functioning. Also, effects of gender are still largely unaddressed in this field. Based on our Age-Related Genetic, Neurobiological, Sociobehavioral Model of Oxytocin (AGeNeS-OT model), we examine age-related changes in the OT system and effects of these alterations on cognition and socioemotional functioning, considering hormonal, neural, behavioral, and (epi)genetic data in young and older women and men. Our results suggest a role of peripheral levels of OT on adult attachment and cognitive function. In addition, findings from a single-dose intranasal intervention study propose an age-by-gender modulatory effect of OT on resting-state functional connectivity between amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex as well as on meta-mood. Furthermore, data from our 4-week intranasal OT intervention provide first evidence of amygdala, hippocampus, and putamen as key targets of OT’s neuroplastic potential on the human brain and suggest that chronic OT administration may constitute a potential treatment in counteracting cognitive decline in aging. Preliminary data also support a possible role of OT in chronic pain, and effects of OT administration on physical functioning in aging will be addressed. The talk concludes with a brief discussion of the broader translational potential of this line of research.

Dr. Ebner is an expert in experimental aging research using a multi-methods approach that includes self-report, cognitive-behavioral measures, neuroimaging techniques, and hormone/neuropeptide markers. As a pre- and postdoctoral fellow at the Free University Berlin and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, she has supervised behavioral research on emotion-cognition interactions across adulthood. As a postdoctoral fellow and later as Associate Research Scientist at Yale University and as faculty at University of Florida (UF), she has expanded her research to examine neuropsychological changes associated with cognition-emotion interactions across adulthood using neuroimaging and eye-tracking as well as pharmacological, neurofeedback-based training, and field-experimental interventions. In addition to her primary appointment in the Department of Psychology at UF, she holds a joint appointment as faculty in the Florida Institute for Cyber Security Research (FICS) and she is affiliated with the Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory (CAM), the Institute on Aging (IoA), the McKnight Brain Institute (MBI), the Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence (PRICE), and the Center for Addiction Research and Education on campus.

Dr. Ebner has received multiple awards, such as the Young Research Scientist Award from the German Psychological Association, the International Max Planck Research School on the Life Course Outstanding Alumni Award, the UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences International Educator of the Year Award, and the UF Research Foundation Professorship Award. Since 2015, she is a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences. Her body of work is documented in over 60 peer-reviewed publications and her research has been continually funded through NIH and NSF as well as other national and international funding agencies.

[chiledoug]

There is a type of pro-biotic lactobacillis Reuteri you can make yogurt using pre-biotics such as inulin. the one strain used(BIO-GAIA OUT OF GERMANY) is not that high in the bacteria so the combination of the bacteria and the inulin made with half and half increases the bacteria. One thing that it is supposed to do is increase production of OIxytocin. I am not sure if it has It or that it helps you produce it. I have been eating it for about two mos it has made my mood better .Even my lady noticed it. This came from Dr William Davis of Wheatbelly fame is where I got the recipe. There is also a Australian company that manufactures yogurt makers is talking about it. i guess there are a few studies On rats and actually some on humans..So the idea is being studied..

[royzlatanestevez]

Recent research comes out with processing speed not declining until 60. Additionally, AGING is linked across the body. It's no wonder that those who show stronger negative trend in the aging department "oxytocin level" would also exhibit greater decline of neurological functioning. This is due to body wide epigenetic aging.

[WohaliTheOneandOnly]

To all the l. reuteri yogurt makers on here just discovered Lifeway Kefir has l. reuteri.

[OIOnaut]

What about breathing as with meditative mindfullness? This stimulates the vagus nerve.

[donnagleewilliams]

I wish they would put the dates on these things.

[Hisloyalservantslistenlovec]

Why not just eat plant estrogens to increase oxytocin binding in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus?

[bennguyen]

Was it ever established if the negative long-term effects of MDMA, whose main primary mode of action appears to be increasing levels of oxytocin and prolactin, were due to repeated exposure, or impurities in the drug?

Regarding ways to increase oxytocin, any thoughts on Lactobacillus reuteri (ATCC PTA 6475 and DSM 17938 strains).. available in BioGaia's Gastrus? Also wouldn't taking melatonin also lead to more oxytocin?

According to V.S. Ramachandran, intranasal oxytocin appears to modulate/suppress 8-13 Hz Mu/alpha/beta waves in the brain, leading to more mirror neuron activation. He also suggest mirror neurons may explain why the brain of patients show more suffering when they are surrounded by friends/relatives!

BTW, regarding the question at the 52m mark.. anyone have more details about how night vision loss is strongly correlated to aging?

[quinnsmith]

Some lines of research relevant to the creation of medical therapies based on damage repair are already in clinical trials (with many more soon to follow).

[teresajohnson]

Why was this amazing German scientist SUDDENLY stopped by a rude man???? Her research is SO SO INTERESTING??? I hope he was not annyoyed because he is old and defifccient in oxytocin!!... I wonder...It really angers me when this rudeness pops

[gstlynx]

The opening slide misspelled the word Cognitive, they wrote Cognative, which could be a German spelling. But it is still funny.

[Rocky]

That’s not the only reason. They cover almost every inch of their body from sunlight

[chiledoug]

They have it on Amazon but like you said what is in it..the rating are not great .but that may have something to do with the age and sex..as your study found.

[jsgehrke]

Can't she see that when graphs show a decrease in five year olds and an increase in 80 year olds, the problem is to get more five year olds, not to prioritize 80 years olds?

[pierrelarouge]

So at 9.10 talk about how oxytocin and willingness to trust within own group, she mentions sex and gender but not race, how about a study on how mixing groups of different races together vs same race group effects oxytocin levels. My betting is that the mixed group oxytocin levels would be way lower, this would prove that multiculturalism is bad for health and bad for society, so please go ahead and do that study, but I know you wont.


If we made a better society you wouldn't need to be sticking artificial oxytocin up peoples noses.