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Oxytocin's Effects on Emotional Processing and Its Acting Routes

ConditionHealthy Adult Male
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexMale
Age18-30
SponsorUniversity of Electronic Science and Technology of China

About this trial

The main goal of this study is to investigate the modulatory effects of intranasally administrated oxytocin on the processing of emotional stimuli and its acting routes.

Eligibility criteria

This trial accepts healthy volunteers

Qualifiers

Healthy subjects without past or current psychiatric or neurological disorders

Disqualifiers

History of head injury.

Medical or psychiatric illness.

Subjects take a certain drug for a long period of time.

Subjects have metal implants in their bodies.

Trial design

Design model

Parallel

Treatments tested in this trial

  • placebo (compared to vasoconstrictor)

    Drug

    intranasal administration of placebo (4 sprays of 0.9% saline and glycerin)

  • vasoconstrictor (Otrivin)

    Drug

    intranasal administration of vasoconstrictor (4 sprays of 0.9% Otrivin)

  • placebo (compared to oxytocin)

    Drug

    intranasal administration of placebo (24 IU)

  • oxytocin

    Drug

    intranasal administration of oxytocin (24IU)

Treatment groups

120 Participants
are divided into 3 treatment groups
Group A: Placebo and oxytocin groupExperimental treatment 2 interventions
Group B: Vasoconstrictor and oxytocin groupExperimental treatment 2 interventions
Group C: Vasoconstrictor and placebo groupPlacebo comparator 2 interventions

Trial outcomes

Primary outcomes

1

Brain activity in response to emotional stimuli during task-based fMRI scanning

Subjects receive task fMRI scanning after treatment. The investigators will compare the activation differences in the brain, specifically focusing on the amygdala, among three groups.

Time frame
1 hour
2

Changes in plasma oxytocin concentrations

Blood samples will be collected two times, with one sample collected after finishing questionnaires and the other one 30-minute post-treatment.

Time frame
After finishing questionnaires and 30-minute post-treatment

Secondary outcomes

1

The valence rating in response to different emotional stimuli

The valence rating scores (1\~9) were collected in response to neutral, positive or negative emotional pictures. The higher the score (5\~9), the more positive the participants consider the picture to be; the lower the score (1\~5), the more negative the participants consider the picture to be. The rating scores will be collected after fMRI scanning.

Time frame
40 minutes
2

The intensity rating in response to different emotional stimuli

The intensity rating scores (1\~9) were collected in response to neutral, positive or negative emotional pictures. The higher the score, the stronger the intensity level. The rating scores will be collected after fMRI scanning.

Time frame
40 minutes
3

The arousal rating in response to different emotional stimuli

The arousal rating scores (1\~9) were collected in response to neutral, positive or negative emotional pictures. The higher the score, the stronger the arousal level. The rating scores will be collected after fMRI scanning.

Time frame
40 minutes
4

Resting-state fMRI

Subjects receive resting-state fMRI scanning before and after first task, with the sencond resting-state scan being mainly used as a break between the two tasks. The investigators will compare the resting-state functional connectivity (the amygdala as the seed region) among three groups.

Time frame
17 minutes in total with each lasting around 8.5 minutes.

Other outcomes

Sponsors and contacts

Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Lead sponsor

Source ClinicalTrials.gov
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