The Relationship Between Plasma Oxytocin and Executive Functioning in Huntington’s Disease: A Pilot Study

Article type: Short Communication

Authors: Fisher, Emily R.^a | Rocha, Natalia P.^{a; b} | Morales-Scheihing, Diego A.^b | Venna, Venugopal Reddy^b | Furr-Stimming, Erin E.^a | Teixeira, Antonio L.^c | Rossetti, Maria A.^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Neurology, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA | [b] Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Brain Disorders, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA | [c] Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Maria A. Rossetti, PhD, Department of Neurology, McGovern School of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center, 1941 East Road #4358, Houston, Texas 77054, USA. Tel.: +1 713 486 0513; E-mail: Agustinarossetti@gmail.com.

Abstract: The role of oxytocin (OT) in social cognition of patients with Huntington’s disease (HD) has been studied, but its impact on executive functioning has not been explored yet. Healthy controls, premanifest HD, and manifest HD participants underwent executive functioning assessment and OT plasma measurement. There were no significant group differences in plasma OT levels. Higher OT levels were associated with better executive functioning in premanifest HD participants. Our findings revealed an association between OT levels and depressive symptoms in premanifest and manifest HD participants. The potential role of OT in HD deserves further investigation.

Keywords: Huntington’s disease, cognition, oxytocin, depression

DOI: 10.3233/JHD-210467

Journal: Journal of Huntington's Disease, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 349-354, 2021