My research focuses on understanding the oxytocin system in the human brain and the involvement of oxytocin in pain perception, social cognition and social decision-making, both in healthy populations and its implication in neuropsychiatric disorders, such as eating disorders or schizophrenia. A key focus of my work is understanding the mechanisms through which synthetic oxytocin affects brain function and optimising methods for the administration of oxytocin in humans. I also have a keen interest in educating the next generation of brain scientists. I am the Director of the BSc in Neuroscience and Psychology, a program that cuts across disciplinary boundaries to provide students with the required knowledge and skills to understand the workings of the brain and the relationship between mental and neural processes in health and disease.

Please see my  Research Staff Profile  for more detail.

Key publications:

• Martins et al., 2022. Oxytocin modulates neurocomputational mechanisms underlying prosocial reinforcement learning. Progress in Neurobiology. 
• Martins et al., 2022. "Less is more": a dose-response account of intranasal oxytocin pharmacodynamics in the human brain. Progress in Neurobiology. 
• Houghton et al., 2021. Can Intranasal Oxytocin Reduce Craving In Automated Addictive Behaviours? A Systematic Review. British Journal of Pharmacology. 
• Martins et al., 2021. Heterogeneity in response to repeated intranasal oxytocin in schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders: a meta-analysis of variance. British Journal of Pharmacology. 
• Martins et al., 2020. Effects of route of administration on oxytocin-induced changes in regional cerebral blood flow in humans. Nature Communications. 

View all publications.

Key collaborators:

• Dr Ritika Kapoor, King's College Hospital
• Professor Janet Treasure, King’s College London
• Dr Alexis Bailey, St George's, University of London
• Professor Paolo Fusar-Poli, King’s College London
• Professor Katerina Fotopoulou, University College London