Healthy
Conditions
Keywords
Oxytocin, Eye tracking, Autistic trait
Brief summary
The main aim of the study is to examine whether the effects of intranasal oxytocin on eye-gaze behavior towards social stimuli are modulated via individual differences in trait autism
Detailed description
In this double-blind, within subject, placebo controlled design a total of n = 40 healthy male subjects will receive either 24 IU of oxytocin or placebo (interval between administration \> two weeks). 45 minutes after treatment subjects will undergo a total of 7 eye-tracking paradigms examining eye-gaze behavior during social processing: (1) dynamic social-nonsocial visual preference task during which movies of dynamic geometric images (DGI) and dynamic social images (DSI) will be presented; (2) non-biological versus biological motion task; (3) social attention and motivation of sharing enjoyment; (4) preference for emotional faces versus schematic faces (emoticons); (5) shared social attention - shared gaze direction with an actor shifting his attention to different objects; (6) preferred visual scanning of face regions in emotional faces; and, (7) eye gaze in response to empathy eliciting visual stimuli. Autistic and associated traits will be assessed using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (ASQ), Social Responsibilities Scale (SRS) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). Within-subject differences in the effects of oxytocin on social eye gazing behaviour will be related to individual differences in autistic traits.
Interventions
DRUGintranasal oxytocin
24 IU of oxytocin nasal spray will be applied to each subject.
DRUGintranasal placebo
24 IU of of placebo nasal spray will be applied 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 * Visual impairments * Use of medication * Contraindications for oxytocin administration
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Global eye gaze characteristic: differences between oxytocin and placebo treatment | 45-90 minutes after treatment administration | Global eye-gaze patterns will be compared between the administration of oxytocin and placebo |
| Feature-specific eye gaze characteristics: differences between oxytocin and placebo treatment | 45-90 minutes after treatment administration | Localized feature-specific eye gaze patterns will be compared between oxytocin and placebo treatment |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Global eye gaze characteristic - associations with autism traits | 45-90 minutes after treatment administration | Within-subject differences in global eye gaze characteristics between the oxytocin and placebo administration will be examined for associations with individual differences in autism traits |
| Feature-specific eye gaze characteristics - associations with trait autism | 45-90 minutes after treatment administration | Within-subject differences in localized feature-specific eye gaze characteristics between the oxytocin and placebo administration will be examined for associations with individual differences in autism traits |
Countries
China
Contacts
Primary ContactKeith M Kendrick, PhD
Backup ContactBenjamin Becker, PhD
Outcome results
None listed