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Goetz, Leonie ; Jarvers, Irina ; Schleicher, Daniel ; Ecker, Angelika ; Neumann, Inga D. ; Brunner, Romuald ; Kandsperger, Stephanie

Relationship of oxytocin and cortisol response to psychosocial stress in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders

Goetz, Leonie, Jarvers, Irina , Schleicher, Daniel , Ecker, Angelika , Neumann, Inga D. , Brunner, Romuald and Kandsperger, Stephanie (2026) Relationship of oxytocin and cortisol response to psychosocial stress in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders. Scientific Reports 16 (1).

Date of publication of this fulltext: 31 Mar 2026 05:27
Article
DOI to cite this document: 10.5283/epub.79059


Abstract

Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders in childhood and represent a high risk for adult mental disorders. The neurocircuitries of anxiety are known to interact with the neurocircuitry of stress. The neuropeptide oxytocin is known for its anxiolytic and antistress effects. This study is the first to examine oxytocin release in response to psychosocial stress in children and ...

Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders in childhood and represent a high risk for adult mental disorders. The neurocircuitries of anxiety are known to interact with the neurocircuitry of stress. The neuropeptide oxytocin is known for its anxiolytic and antistress effects. This study is the first to examine oxytocin release in response to psychosocial stress in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders while monitoring the reactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Altogether 32 adolescents with anxiety disorders and 32 healthy adolescents (aged 11–18 years) completed the Trier Social Stress Test. We measured salivary oxytocin and cortisol, subjective stress ratings, and heart rate. Salivary oxytocin and cortisol concentrations increased significantly after stress exposure, with no significant group differences. Pre-stress oxytocin levels positively correlated with cortisol levels in all participants during recovery. Healthy adolescents had higher levels of cortisol recovery. At all measurement points, participants with anxiety disorder reported significantly higher subjective stress and anxiety levels than the healthy controls. Across all participants, higher levels of cortisol and oxytocin recovery were associated with lower subjective stress levels during recovery. Oxytocin emerged as a consistent stress marker regardless of the presence of anxiety disorder, indicating its importance in post-stress recovery and subjective stress experience. Future studies are needed on the interactions between oxytocin and HPA axis in the context of psychopathologies.



Involved Institutions


Details

Item typeArticle
Journal or Publication TitleScientific Reports
Publisher:Springer
Open Access Type:DEAL (Springer Gold)
Volume:16
Number of Issue or Book Chapter:1
Date26 March 2026
InstitutionsMedicine > Lehrstuhl für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie
Biology, Preclinical Medicine > Institut für Zoologie > Tierphysiologie/Neurobiologie (Prof. Dr. Inga Neumann)
Identification Number
ValueType
10.1038/s41598-026-44831-8DOI
KeywordsCortisol, Oxytocin, Stress response, Adolescents, Recovery, Anxiety
Dewey Decimal Classification500 Science > 570 Life sciences
600 Technology > 610 Medical sciences Medicine
StatusPublished
RefereedYes, this version has been refereed
Created at the University of RegensburgYes
URN of the UB Regensburgurn:nbn:de:bvb:355-epub-790594
Item ID79059

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