Oxytocin and social context moderate social support seeking in women during negative memory recall

• The effect of nasal oxytocin on the experience of recalling emotional memories was examined.
• Without social contact, oxytocin lowered perceived support during negative memory recall.
• This effect was larger in women who showed increased motivation for social affiliation.
• In contrast, oxytocin increased perceived support in these women when social contact was available.
• This pattern was not observed in men or during the recall of positive or neutral memories.

BackgroundOxytocin is theorized to promote social support seeking under stress— an alternate biobehavioural response to challenge known as the tend-and-befriend response. These effects may be context dependent, however, and no study has evaluated this effect in the presence and absence of social support. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of oxytocin on the experience of recalling emotional autobiographical memories in two contexts—with and without social contact with an experimenter.MethodSixty-three individuals (32 female) participated in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and within-subject study.ResultsDuring recall of negative memories in the absence of social contact, oxytocin decreased perceived emotional support relative to placebo F(1,62) = 10.75, p = 0.002. In this same context, women who were motivated to affiliate with the experimenter following oxytocin administration showed this effect in greater magnitude t(57) = −2.04, p = 0.047, but showed the reverse effect (i.e. increased perceived support in response to oxytocin) when social contact with the experimenter was available t(57) = 2.78, p = 0.007. Male participants did not evidence this pattern.ConclusionThese findings support the role of oxytocin in social support seeking in distressed women, and highlight the negative consequences of increasing oxytocin bioavailability in the absence of social support. Supportive relationships may be necessary to elicit the prosocial effects oxytocin.