Oxytocin's role in social cognitive changes in ageing

Examining the effects of acute administration of intranasal oxytocin on emotion recognition and related social cognitive functions in healthy ageing

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Phase 2

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12618001343291

Enrollment

Registered

2018-08-09

Start date

2016-07-08

Completion date

2018-11-30

Last updated

2019-09-16

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

The proposed research broadly aims to examine social cognitive changes and neuropeptide mechanisms in healthy older (vs. young) adults. This involves testing the effects of a small dose of acute intranasal OT (relative to placebo) on core social cognitive functions (e.g., emotion recognition, theory of mind), and to test if normal adult ageing is associated with changes in baseline levels of oxytocin and related hormones. We also explore whether individuals' level of functioning influence any of relationships between social cognition and oxytocin.

Interventions

This study will administer an acute (single) dose of oxytocin (24 IU) nasal spray, once off. Administration of the nasal spray will be guided by the researcher on the day of testing to ensure consistency in the administration of the intervention. Given the study involves a cross-over placebo-controlled design, there will be a washout period of approximately 4 weeks between active (oxytocin) and placebo testing sessions. The 4 weeks allow for the control of menstrual cycle effects in females.

Study design

Allocation

Randomised controlled trial

Intervention model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Treatment

Masking

Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to 90 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

Participants will be young (18-30 years) and older adults (65-90 years), gender balanced, recruited from the general population. Older adults will also need to pass a well-validated dementia screening assessment involving the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status .

Exclusion criteria

Since we are interested in examining social cognitive function in the context of normal ageing, we will exclude, for both groups, anyone with neurological/psychiatric illness, substance abuse or dependence, current use of antidepressants or anti-psychotics, history of heart disease, currently smoking, and pregnancy/lactating.

Outcome results