In light of the preclinical and clinical literature reviewed here, OXT plays a key role in mediating several addiction-related behavioral and neurochemical processes and should be considered a promising target for the treatment of alcohol and substance use disorders. Oxytocin is intricately intertwined with neurotransmitter (e.g. dopamine, GABA, glutamate) and other central and peripheral signaling systems (e.g. noradrenaline, CRF, corticosterone) involved in the development and maintenance of addiction. Oxytocin signaling has been shown to interact with various drugs, and alcohol in particular, across the cycle of use disorders: it is part of the brain signaling cascade that creates and modulates reward and pleasure in response to drugs, as well as being able to alter the course of drug withdrawal. Additionally, OXT interacts with brain stress systems to modulation common triggers for relapse such as emotionality, anxiety and stress reactivity. However, due to its diverse interactions with neurobiological systems and its wide range of roles in governing behavior, OXT is also sensitively subject to the effects of characteristics such as species, sex, and the dose at which it enacts its various
