Positive social experiences may induce oxytocin release. However, previous studies of moral elevation have generally utilized cross-sectional and simple modeling approaches to establish the relationship between oxytocin and emotional stimuli. Utilizing a cohort of 30 non-lactating women (aged 23.6 ± 5.7 years), we tested whether exposure to a video identified as capable of eliciting moral elevation could change plasma oxytocin levels. Uniquely, we utilized a high-frequency longitudinal sampling approach and multilevel growth curve modeling with landmark registration to test physiological responses. The moral elevation stimulus, versus a control video, elicited significantly greater reports of being "touched/inspired" and "happy/joyful". However, the measured plasma oxytocin response was found to be markedly heterogeneous. While the moral elevation stimulus elicited increased plasma oxytocin as expected, this increase was only modestly larger than that seen following the control video. This increase was also only present in some individuals. We found no relationship between plasma oxytocin and self-report responses to the stimulus. From these data, we argue that future studies of the relationship between oxytocin and emotion need to anticipate heterogeneous responses and thus incorporate comprehensive individual psychological data; these should include evidence-based variables known to be associated with oxytocin such as a history of trauma, and the individual's psychological and emotional state at the time of testing. Given the complexity of physiological oxytocin release, such studies also need to incorporate frequent biological sampling to properly examine the dynamics of hormonal release and response.

A workshop titled Beyond the Symptom: The Biology of Fatigue was held virtually September 27-28, 2021. It was jointly organized by the Sleep Research Society and the Neurobiology of Fatigue Working Group of the NIH Blueprint Neuroscience Research Program. For access to the presentations and video recordings, see: https://neuroscienceblueprint.nih.gov/about/event/beyond-symptom-biology-fatigue. The goals of this workshop were to bring together clinicians and scientists who use a variety of research approaches to understand fatigue in multiple conditions and to identify key gaps in our understanding of the biology of fatigue. This workshop summary distills key issues discussed in this workshop and provides a list of promising directions for future research on this topic. We do not attempt to provide a comprehensive review of the state of our understanding of fatigue, nor to provide a comprehensive reprise of the many excellent presentations. Rather, our goal is to highlight key advances and to focus on questions and future approaches to answering them.