Oxytocin Increases Gaze to the Eye Region of Human Faces
Received 25 May 2007; received in revised form 28 June 2007; accepted 29 June 2007. published online 24 September 2007.
Background
In nonhuman mammals, oxytocin has a critical role in peer recognition and social approach behavior. In humans, oxytocin has been found to enhance trust and the ability to interpret the emotions of others. It has been suggested that oxytocin may enhance facial processing by increasing focus on the eye region of human faces.
Methods
In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, between-subject design, we tracked the eye movements of 52 healthy male volunteers who were presented with 24 neutral human faces after intranasal administration of 24 IU oxytocin or placebo.
Results
Participants given oxytocin showed an increased number of fixations and total gaze time toward the eye region compared with placebo participants.
Conclusions
Oxytocin increases gaze specifically toward the eye region of human faces. This may be one mechanism by which oxytocin enhances emotion recognition, interpersonal communication, and social approach behavior in humans. Findings suggest a possible role for oxytocin in the treatment of disorders characterized by eye-gaze avoidance and facial processing deficits.
ABSTRACT