Healthy Male Volunteers
Conditions
Keywords
oxytocin, social cognition, fMRI, oxytocin receptor gene
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to determine whether oxytocin influences memory of social stimuli and reaction to social stimuli. Furthermore the investigators explore the effect of oxytocin receptor (OXTR) polymorphism in terms of behavioral and neural responses to social stimuli.
Detailed description
The prevailing view of OXT as a key facilitator of prosocial behaviors has been highly influenced by a plethora of studies in healthy volunteers, which demonstrated increased interpersonal trust, generosity, social learning/empathy and positively biased social stimulus processing as a result of OXT treatment. However, this interpretation is challenged by observations that OXT also promotes envy and schadenfreude (gloating), ethno-centrism (including prejudice, xenophobia, and racial bias), and defensive aggression towards outsiders.We investigate the neural correlates of emotion perception and subsequent memory effects of aversive and neutral stimuli. Tthe oxytocin effect on personal space is questioned. Additionally the effect of OXTR polymorphism regarding behavioral and neural response is explored.
Interventions
DRUGOxytocin
intranasal administration, 24 IU oxytocin; ; 3 puffs per nostril, each with 4 IU OXT
Sponsors
University Hospital, Bonn
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
20 Years to 35 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Healthy male volunteers
Exclusion criteria
* Current or past psychiatric disease * Current or past physical illness * Psychoactive medication * Tobacco smokers * MRI contraindication
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| neural correlates of emotion perception and subsequent memory effects of aversive and neutral stimuli | two years | MRI data are analyzed using SPM8 (Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, London, UK). In the first level analysis the following conditions are modeled: 'neutral: subsequently remembered', 'neutral: subsequently forgotten', 'aversive: subsequently remembered', and 'aversive: subsequently forgotten'. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| the effect of oxytocin receptor (OXTR) polymorphism in terms of behavioral and neural responses to social stimuli | two years | behavioral social testing, fMRI analysis using SPM8, OXTR genotyping |
| The oxytocin effect on social behavior e.g. personal space is questioned | two years | behavioral testing e.g. personal space |
Countries
Germany
Outcome results
None listed