Oxytocin and Non-verbal Communication

Phase 2

Completed

• Conditions: Social Interaction
• Interventions: Drug: Placebos; Drug: Oxytocin

• Registration Number: NCT03228901
• Lead Sponsor: Yale-NUS College

Brief Summary

In this protocol registration, the investigators plan a secondary data analysis of a dataset to explore the effects of intra-nasal oxytocin on the non-verbal expression of affiliation.

Detailed Description

Using Liu et al.'s (2012) dataset, the investigators seek to observe whether the administration of oxytocin modifies non-verbal communication with a stranger.

This dataset involves a conversation between two strangers that took place 45 minutes after drug administration. While Liu et al. coded the video for markers of interpersonal distance (physical distance, eye contact, conversational intimacy), the investigators seek to analyse oxytocin's effects on non-verbal communication of affiliative and sexual cues (e.g., smiles, lip puckers). Based on findings that oxytocin's effects depend on context, the investigators will explore these relationships as a function of the conversational context (where participants converse with each other using low-, medium-, and high-intimacy topics, or in an unstructured conversation).

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2007-01
• Primary Completion: 2009-07
• Study Completion: 2009-07
• Status Verified: 2017-07
• Study First Submitted: 2017-07-21
• Study First Submitted QC: 2017-07-21
• Study First Posted: 2017-07-25
• Last Update Submitted: 2017-07-25
• Last Update Posted: 2017-07-27

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 104

Inclusion Criteria

• healthy

Exclusion Criteria

• pregnant;
• history of epilepsy, severe depression, severe anxiety, or psychosis;
• smoking more than 15 cigarettes a day;
• addicted to illegal substances.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: FACTORIAL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Placebo	Placebos	Matched nasal spray
Oxytocin	Oxytocin	24IU Syntocinon, delivered in a single nose via a nasal spray

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Non-verbal communication	Measured in the interaction which commenced 45mins after drug administration	Based on coding the video-recorded interaction between two strangers, using a coding scheme by Gonzaga et al. (for affiliative and sexual cues)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Ratings of the person participants interacted with	Measured following the interaction (which commenced 45 mins after drug administration)	Positivity or sexual attraction towards the other participant in the conversation (as measured using visual analogue scales based on person perception studies)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of New South Wales; 🇦🇺 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia