Oxytocin pathways and the evolution of human behavior.

@article{Carter2014OxytocinPA,
  title={Oxytocin pathways and the evolution of human behavior.},
  author={C. Sue Carter},
  journal={Annual review of psychology},
  year={2014},
  volume={65},
  pages={
          17-39
        }
}
  • C. Carter
  • Published 3 January 2014
  • Biology, Psychology
  • Annual review of psychology
This review examines the hypothesis that oxytocin pathways--which include the neuropeptide oxytocin, the related peptide vasopressin, and their receptors--are at the center of physiological and genetic systems that permitted the evolution of the human nervous system and allowed the expression of contemporary human sociality. Unique actions of oxytocin, including the facilitation of birth, lactation, maternal behavior, genetic regulation of the growth of the neocortex, and the maintenance of the… 
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129 References

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Oxytocin, Vasopressin, and the Neurogenetics of Sociality

There is growing evidence that the neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin modulate complex social behavior and social cognition and suggest that variation in the genes encoding their receptors may contribute to variation in human social behavior by altering brain function.

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Evidence for structural alterations in key oxytocinergic regions emerged, particularly in the hypothalamus, and these neural characteristics predicted lower levels of reward dependence in male risk allele carriers.

Oxytocin/Vasopressin-Related Peptides Have an Ancient Role in Reproductive Behavior

Quantitative analysis indicates that mating motor patterns are fragmented and inefficient in mutants, suggesting that oxytocin/vasopressin peptides increase the coherence of mating behaviors, and results indicate that conserved molecules coordinate diverse behavioral motifs in reproductive behavior.
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