Healthy
Conditions
Keywords
oxytocin, learning, interoception
Brief summary
The main aim of the study is to investigate whether intranasal oxytocin has effects on reinforcement learning under dynamic environment and interoceptive processing based on behavioral and electroencephalogram (EEG) responses.
Detailed description
A double-blinded, placebo-controled, between-subject design is employed in this study. In a randomized order, a total of 80 healthy males are instructed to self-administrated intranasal spray of oxytocin or placebo. (1) Participants first complete a probabilistic reward learning task 45 minutes after treatment with behavioral (response time and accuracy) and EEG data (ERP components such as FRN, ERN and P300) being collected during this task. (2) A resting-state recording and a heartbeat counting task are conducted following the learning task with ECG and EEG data being collected. Personality traits of subjects are assessed using validated Chinese version questionnaires including the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Autism Spectrum Quotient (ASQ), the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory(CFI), Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ), Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System Scale (BIS/BAS). Subjects are asked to complete Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) when they just arrive, before and after the tasks.
Interventions
DRUGIntranasal oxytocin
Each subject will be assigned to intranasal administration of oxytocin (24 IU).
DRUGintranasal placebo
Each subject will be assigned to intranasal placebo.
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 28 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioral index in the learning task: chioce accuracy | 45-65 minutes after treatment administration | The accuracy of subjects choosing the better option. |
| Behavioral index in the heartbeat counting task: interoceptive accuracy | 65-75 minutes after treatment administration | Individuals' ability to perceive internal cardiac signals |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ERP components in the learning task: ERN, FRN, P300, N2pc | 45-65 minutes after treatment administration | ERN and FRN are indices of reward expectancy and prediction error in reinforcement learning. P300 is associated with attention allocation. N2pc is an early component associated with visual selective attention. |
| ERP components in the heartbeat counting task: heartbeat-evoked potential (HEP) | 65-75 minutes after treatment administration | HEP is a scalp event-related potential that reflects cortical processing of cardiac interoceptive signals |
Countries
China
Outcome results
None listed