Healthy
Conditions
Keywords
Oxytocin, affective touch, trait autism
Brief summary
The main aim of the study is to investigate whether intranasal oxytocin (24IU) increases the affective processing of touch in general or whether it's effect vary according to the affective valence of the touch (positive, neutral, negative). Moreover, associations with trait autism will be explored.
Detailed description
A double-blind, within-subject, placebo controlled design will be employed in this study. In a randomized-order a total of 40 healthy male subjects will receive oxytocin- and placebo-nasalspray (interval between the administration \> 2 weeks). 45 minutes after treatment subjects will be administered the touch-stimulation to the dorsal forearm by a trained experimenter (lengths: 8cm, rate 8cm/s). After each block of stimulation, the subjects will be asked to rate their subjective experience of the touch.The neural basis of touch processing will be measured via simultaneously acquired fMRI. Levels of trait autism will be assessed using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (ASQ) and related scales such as the Empathy Quotient (EQ), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), or the Sensory over Responsivity Scale (SOR) and Under Responsively Scale (URS).
Interventions
DRUGintranasal oxytocin
Each subject will be assigned to intranasal administration of oxytocin (24 IU).
DRUGintranasal placebo
An identical amount of intranasal administration of placebo will be assigned to each subject.
Sponsors
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Intervention model description
Randomized placebo-controlled double-blind within-subject design
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
18 Years to 30 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Healthy subjects without any past or present psychiatric or neurological disorders
Exclusion criteria
* History of brain injury Medical or mental illness
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| brain function: neural activity during affective touch as assessed via BOLD fMRI | 45-90 minutes after treatment administration | fMRI data will be analyzed using a within-subject General Linear Model approach - to determine the effects of oxytocin neural activity following oxytocin administration will be compared with neural activity following placebo administration. |
| Brain function: functional connectivity during affective touch as assessed via BOLD fMRI | 45-90 minutes after treatment administration | fMRI data will be analyzed using a within-subject General Linear Model approach - to determine the effects of oxytocin on the brain network level, functional connectivity following oxytocin administration will be compared with functional connectivity following placebo administration. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Associations with trait autism as assessed via the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) - brain function: functional connectivity | 45-90 minutes after treatment administration | Associations between individual differences in trait autism and brain connectivity differences between the oxytocin and placebo administration will be examined |
| Associations with trait autism as assessed via the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) - behaviour: pleasantness experience | 45-90 minutes after treatment administration | Associations between individual differences in trait autism and differences in pleasantness ratings between the oxytocin and placebo administration will be examined |
| Perceived affective quality of the touch | 45-90 minutes after treatment administration | Pleasantness ratings of affective touch will be compared between the oxytocin and placebo administration |
| Associations with Sensory Responsivity as assessed via the Sensory Responsivity Scale - brain function: functional connectivity | 45-90 minutes after treatment administration | Associations between individual differences in Sensory Responsivity as assessed via the Sensory Responsivity Scale and brain connectivity differences between the oxytocin and placebo administration will be examined |
| Associations with Sensory Responsivity as assessed via the Sensory Responsivity Scale - behaviour: pleasantness experience | 45-90 minutes after treatment administration | Associations between individual differences in Sensory Responsivity as assessed via the Sensory Responsivity Scale and differences in pleasantness ratings between the oxytocin and placebo administration will be examined |
| Associations with Sensory Responsivity as assessed via the Sensory Responsivity Scale - brain function: activity | 45-90 minutes after treatment administration | Associations between individual differences in Sensory Responsivity as assessed via the Sensory Responsivity Scale and brain activity differences between the oxytocin and placebo administration will be examined |
| Associations with trait autism as assessed via the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) - brain function: activity | 45-90 minutes after treatment administration | Associations between individual differences in trait autism and brain activity differences between the oxytocin and placebo administration will be examined |
Countries
China
Outcome results
None listed