The default mode network (DMN) is now known to play an important role in social cognition. Thus, we hypothesized that the social neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) will modulate the connectivity of the DMN. We used Granger Causality Analysis and found that intranasal OXT modulates the effective or ‘causal’ connectivity between the precuneus: a key DMN node and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a key region in the central executive network. Thus, OXT has the potential to enhance the cooperative role of the DMN, which could explain the mechanistic action by which OXT improves social cognition in disorders such as autism and schizophrenia.
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