Novel pharmacotherapies that improve outcomes for individuals with stress-related psychiatric disorders are needed. The
neurohormone oxytocin (OT) is a promising candidate given its influence on the social–emotional brain. In this review, we
present an overview of evidence supporting OT’s utility for treating major depressive disorder and posttraumatic stress
disorder.We first discuss endogenous OT, which research suggests is not yet a reliable biomarker of stress-related disorders.