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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Neuroendocrine Science
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1345527
This article is part of the Research Topic The Relationship Between Meditative States Associated with Mindfulness-Based Practices and Health of the Endocrine System View all articles

Changes in Peripheral Oxytocin and Vasopressin during a Silent Month-long Insight Meditation Retreat

Provisionally accepted
Quinn Conklin Quinn Conklin 1*Brandon G. King Brandon G. King 1Anthony Zanesco Anthony Zanesco 2Elissa Epel Elissa Epel 3Clifford D. Saron Clifford D. Saron 1
  • 1 University of California, Davis, Davis, United States
  • 2 University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, United States
  • 3 University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Given its putative roles in mediating prosocial behavior, attachment bonds, and stress physiology, oxytocin modulation has been hypothesized to be a biological correlate of the salubrious effects of meditation practice. Here we investigated the effects of a month-long silent meditation retreat on changes in oxytocin, and the related hormone and vasopressin, in relation to psychosocial changes in attachment style, anxiety, personality measures, and feelings of social connectedness with fellow meditators. Methods: Plasma oxytocin and vasopressin and selfreport questionnaires were measured in retreat participants (n = 28) at the beginning of, and 3 weeks into, a residential meditation retreat. Control participants (n = 34), who were similar in age, gender, and meditation experience, were also assessed across a 3-week interval. Linear mixed effects models were used to assess outcomes. Results: The retreat group showed a small but significant decrease in oxytocin compared to controls who showed no change. In the retreat group, higher openness to experience at Time 1 predicted greater reductions in oxytocin during the retreat, and lower oxytocin at Time 2 was related to stronger feelings of personal connection with fellow meditators. The changes in oxytocin were not related to attachment style or anxiety.Vasopressin decreased over time across both groups, suggesting no specific effect of retreat.These preliminary findings suggest that meditation training in the context of a silent residential retreat may reduce circulating levels of oxytocin. We interpret this finding from multiple theoretical perspectives, discussing key measurement limitations and proposing future study designs that may help to differentiate the effects of different meditation practices and contexts on oxytocin signaling.

    Keywords: Meditation, Oxytocin, vasopressin, prosociality, social interaction, Attachment Style

    Received: 28 Nov 2023; Accepted: 30 Apr 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Conklin, King, Zanesco, Epel and Saron. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Quinn Conklin, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.