An Allostatic Theory of Oxytocin

Oxytocin has garnered considerable interest for its role in social behavior, as well as for the potential of intranasal administration to treat social difficulties. However, current theoretical models for understanding oxytocin’s role in social behavior have little consideration for evolutionary and developmental histories. This article aims to broaden our understanding of oxytocin’s role in social behavior by adopting an ethological approach through the lens of Niko Tinbergen’s “four questions”: How does oxytocin work? How does the role of oxytocin change during development? How does oxytocin enhance survival? How did the oxytocin system evolve? We argue that oxytocin is most accurately described as an allostatic hormone that modulates both social and non-social behavior by maintaining stability through changing environments.