Interoception
Conditions
Keywords
Oxytocin
Brief summary
This study is designed to investigate oxytocin's effects on interoception and whether these effects vary as a function of different emotional valence.
Detailed description
The present study will use a double-blind, between-subject, placebo-controlled design to investigate the modulatory effect of oxytocin on interoception and whether this effect will vary as a function of emotional valence. In Experiment 1, subjects will perform a heartbeat detection task and the group differences between oxytocin and placebo groups of the interoceptive accuracy and neural activity in the core interoceptive network will be investigated. In Experiment 2, subjects will be asked to watch emotional faces while perform the heartbeat detection task. Investigators will examine whether oxytocin's effects on interoception will be varied as a function of different emotional valence.
Interventions
DRUGoxytocin
self-administration of oxytocin (nasal spray)
DRUGplacebo
self-administration of placebo (nasal spray)
Sponsors
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
18 Years to 35 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Healthy subjects
Exclusion criteria
* Subjects reported having any neurological problems, psychiatric illness or drug or alcohol abuse and none were currently taking any form of medication and had not drunk any caffeine-containing beverages on the day of the experiment.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Heartbeat Detection (Interoception) Accuracy | 45 minutes after oxytocin/placebo treatment | heartbeat detection (interoception) accuracy is calculated by the following equation: 1/N ∑ (1 - (\|recorded heartbeats - counted heartbeats\|)/recorded heartbeats). N was the number of blocks for the heartbeat detection task. |
| Interoceptive Network Activity | 45 minutes after oxytocin/placebo treatment | interoceptive network (including anterior insula and dorsal cingulate cortex) activity as measured by the functional MRI technique in the heartbeat detection task. In the heartbeat detection task participants were instructed to make a keypress each time they felt their heartbeat. The interoceptive network activity was indicated by the percentage of BOLD signal change. The value of the percentage of BOLD signal change indicates the level of a certain brain region activated (the involvement of a brain region in a specific cognitive process). |
Countries
China
Participant flow
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Oxytocin intranasal administration of oxytocin
oxytocin: self-administration of oxytocin (nasal spray) | 41 |
| Placebo intranasal administration of the same ingredient except oxytocin
placebo: self-administration of placebo (nasal spray) | 42 |
| Total | 83 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Placebo | Total | Oxytocin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Continuous | 21.5 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.4 | 21.35 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 4.45 | 21.2 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.5 |
| Race and Ethnicity Not Collected | — | 0 Participants | — |
| Region of Enrollment China | 42 Participants | 83 Participants | 41 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 42 Participants | 83 Participants | 41 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 41 | 0 / 42 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 41 | 0 / 42 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 41 | 0 / 42 |
Outcome results
Primary
Heartbeat Detection (Interoception) Accuracy
heartbeat detection (interoception) accuracy is calculated by the following equation: 1/N ∑ (1 - (\|recorded heartbeats - counted heartbeats\|)/recorded heartbeats). N was the number of blocks for the heartbeat detection task.
Time frame: 45 minutes after oxytocin/placebo treatment
Population: 83 subjects were recruited and 8 subjects were excluded due to low quality of electrocardiogram data (6 subjects) or failure of behavioral data acquisition (2 subjects).
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oxytocin | Heartbeat Detection (Interoception) Accuracy | 0.637 ratio of correct heartbeat counting | Standard Error 0.035 |
| Placebo | Heartbeat Detection (Interoception) Accuracy | 0.735 ratio of correct heartbeat counting | Standard Error 0.034 |
Primary
Interoceptive Network Activity
interoceptive network (including anterior insula and dorsal cingulate cortex) activity as measured by the functional MRI technique in the heartbeat detection task. In the heartbeat detection task participants were instructed to make a keypress each time they felt their heartbeat. The interoceptive network activity was indicated by the percentage of BOLD signal change. The value of the percentage of BOLD signal change indicates the level of a certain brain region activated (the involvement of a brain region in a specific cognitive process).
Time frame: 45 minutes after oxytocin/placebo treatment
Population: 83 subjects were recruited and 8 subjects were excluded due to low quality of electrocardiogram data (6 subjects) or failure of behavioral data acquisition (2 subjects).
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oxytocin | Interoceptive Network Activity | 0.548 percentage of BOLD signal change | Standard Error 0.095 |
| Placebo | Interoceptive Network Activity | 0.091 percentage of BOLD signal change | Standard Error 0.092 |