None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The goal of this study is to examine the effect of Oxytocin (OT) in facilitating eye gaze during a speaking task in adults who stutter. Participants who stutter will be randomized to receive 24UI intranasal OT or placebo before giving a speech to a pre-recorded audience. The aim of the procedure is to assess whether participants who receive OT before delivering the speech show a difference in eye gaze than the placebo group. It is predicted that the experimental participants who receive OT will demonstrate increased gaze towards audience members compared with the participants in the placebo group and thus increase access to important social information from the interaction. Secondly the experimental group is hypothesized to report less fear and anxiety following the procedure than the placebo group.
Interventions
In a randomised controlled trial participants who stutter will be randomly assigned to receive a single administration (24 international units) of intranasal Oxytocin (Syntocinon) or a placebo nasal spray before presenting a 3 minute speech. This speech will be made to a pre-recorded audience of strangers who were trained to display positive, neutral or negative expressions.
Sponsors
University of Sydney
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
Male
Age
18 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Male adults who stutter Onset of stuttering before 12 years of age No treatment for stuttering or anxiety conditions within 6 months preceding the experimental procedure
Exclusion criteria
Onset of stuttering at age 12 years or older Onset of stuttering due to a known conversion or any other psychological disorder Presence of a complicating disorder (e.g., developmental delay, autism, Down’s Syndrome, cerebral palsy etc.) Currently taking ‘psychological’ medication Severe Depression with suicidal thoughts and/ or actions Severe Cardiovascular problems (e.g., heart disease, history of heart attacks) Kidney Disease- (i.e., kidney stones, recurrent bladder infections, or known kidney failure) Psychosis (i.e., bizarre beliefs that do not represent reality; sensations without any sensory input- hearing, smelling seeing, feeling things that don’t exist. Drugs: Smoking more than 15 cigarettes a day or addicted to other illegal substances. Sensitivity to preservatives (in particular E 216, E 218 and chlorobutanol hemihydrate)
Outcome results
None listed