Papel de la oxitocina en la regulación de la agresión

Oxytocin (Oxt) is a neuropeptide particularly relevant for its involvement in social and affiliation behaviours, including the regulation of aggressive behaviours. An updated review is presented, examining the relationships between oxytocin and aggression in animal models. The articles for review were gathered using a combined search on Web of Knowledge, Scopus, and PubMed databases (from 1990 to September 2016). The results of these studies include evidence derived from intranasal, intraventricular and intra-cerebro-ventricular Oxt administration, or from antagonist drugs, lesion studies, microdialysis, as well as works with genetically modified animals. Overall, the results indicate that Oxt modulates aggression both in male and female rodents, although it does not always act in the same direction. It is concluded that Oxt generally exerts an inhibitory role in offensive aggression, whereas in maternal aggression both a facilitating as well as an inhibitor role has been observed, depending on different factors. It is suggested that there is a need to analyse the contextual and individual variables that might be modulating the Oxt action in aggression.