Social behaviour is essential for animal survival, and the hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) critically
impacts bonding, parenting, and decision-making. Dopamine (DA), is released by ventral tegmental area (VTA)
dopaminergic neurons, regulating social cues in the mesolimbic system. Despite extensive exploration of OXT
and DA roles in social behaviour independently, limited studies investigate their interplay. This narrative review
integrates insights from human and animal studies, particularly rodents, emphasising recent research on pharmacological
manipulations of OXT or DA systems in social behaviour. Additionally, we review studies correlating
social behaviour with blood/cerebral OXT and DA levels. Behavioural facets include sociability, cooperation,
pair bonding and parental care. In addition, we provide insights into OXT-DA interplay in animal models of social
stress, autism, and schizophrenia. Emphasis is placed on the complex relationship between the OXT and DA
systems and their collective influence on social behaviour across physiological and pathological conditions.
Understanding OXT and DA imbalance is fundamental for unravelling the neurobiological underpinnings of
social interaction and reward processing deficits observed in psychiatric conditions.