Healthy
Conditions
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to determine whether effects of intranasal oxytocin on amygdala response vary as a function of treatment dose and dose-test latency.
Detailed description
The objective of the present study is to determine whether intranasal oxytocin (IN-OXT) effects on blood oxygenation level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) in the amygdala vary as a function of dose and latency. In particular, the investigators plan to compare effects of three different IN-OXT doses (12, 24, and 48 international units, IU) and three different dose-test latencies of IN-OXT administration (task starting at 15, 45 and 75min after administration) on established neural and behavioural correlates of emotion processing. As effects of OXT are particularly promising in autism, the investigators further want to investigate how autistic-like traits influence the OXT effects in exploratory post-hoc analyses
Interventions
DRUGOxytocin
DRUGPlacebo
Sponsors
University Hospital, Bonn
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
18 Years to 40 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Healthy male volunteers * Right-handed
Exclusion criteria
* Current or past psychiatric disease * Current or past physical illness * Psychoactive medication * Tobacco smokers * MRI contraindication (e.g. metal in body, claustrophobia)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Neural substrates of emotion processing, measured via blood-oxygen-level dependent signal in the amygdala | 45min after nasal spray administration | Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will be performed to measure blood-oxygen-level dependent signal in response to emotional face stimuli of varying intensity. The investigators specifically plan to investigate amygdala response to fearful faces, as this subcortical region has repeatedly been reported to show activation changes after OXT treatment. Dose-test latency varies between the different treatment arms (i.e. imaging starts 15min \[arm 1\], 45min \[arm 2,4 and 5\] or 75min \[arm 3\] after nasal spray administration). |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Questionnaire measurement of mood (PANAS) | 10 min before and 105 min after nasal spray administration | Positive and negative affect is assessed via self-rating questionnaire 'The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule' using a categorical 5 point scale. |
| Questionnaire measurement of anxiety (STAI). | 10 min before and 105 min after nasal spray administration | State anxiety is assessed via self-rating questionnaire 'and State Trait Anxiety Inventory' using a categorical 4 point scale. |
| Ratings of emotional faces | 45min after nasal spray administration | During each trial, subjects are asked to use a button response grip to indicate whether they perceived the depicted face as neutral, fearful or happy. Depending on the treatment arm, ratings are recorded 15min (arm 1), 45min (arm 2,4 and 5) or 75min (arm 3) after nasal spray administration. |
| Plasma oxytocin concentrations | immediately before the nasal spray administration and immediately after the fMRI experiment | — |
| Modulatory effects of autistic like traits on neural and behavioral outcome measures | screening session, ~7days prior to imaging session | Autistic like traits are assessed via Autism Spectrum quotient in a screening session, preceding the testing sessions. The investigators expect pronounced OXT effects in subjects with high autistic-like traits. |
| Saliva oxytocin concentrations | immediately before the nasal spray administration and (on average) 15,40,80 and 105 min after administration | — |
Countries
Germany
Outcome results
None listed