Effects of Oxytocin and Vasopressin on Moral Decision Making

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT04890470

Enrollment

180

Registered

2021-05-18

Start date

2021-03-02

Completion date

2022-12-12

Last updated

2023-09-21

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

moral decision making, oxytocin, vasopressin

Brief summary

To determine whether the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) and vassopressin (AVP) influence moral decision making

Detailed description

In a double-blind, between- subject placebo (PLC) controlled design, subjects will first complete a series of questionnaires in terms of mood, clinical symptoms, and traits. After that their moral judgment and emotion towards both verbal descriptions of moral dilemma scenarios and pictures of specific interpersonal ones will be assessed and the effect of intranasal OXT and AVP between both male and female healthy subjects will be investigated.

Interventions

DRUGOxytocin

intranasal administration of oxytocin (24 IU)

DRUGVasopressin

intranasal administration of vasopressin (20 IU)

DRUGPlacebo

intranasal administration of placebo

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 30 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* healthy subjects without past or current psychiatric or neurological disorders

Exclusion criteria

* pregnancy

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Effect of OXT and AVP on behavioral index of moral decision task	45 mins - 105 mins	intensity of feelings

Countries

China

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026