The Role of Oxytocin in the Perception of Infant Faces
Overview
- Phase
- Early Phase 1
- Intervention
- Syntocinon (synthetic oxytocin)
- Conditions
- Healthy
- Sponsor
- Rodrigo Cardenas
- Enrollment
- 71
- Primary Endpoint
- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Data
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 3 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
The main objective of this project is to study whether intranasal oxytocin (OT) affects how young adults perceive and attend to infant and adult faces. Based on existing research the investigators predict that oxytocin will facilitate the allocation of attentional resources on infant faces (compared to adult faces). The investigators also predict that oxytocin will enhance the activity of reward neural-networks associated with the perception of infant faces. The behavioral effects of OT (visual attention and face recognition) will be measured with eye-tracking while participants look at photographs of adult and infant faces. Neurological effects (the activity of emotion and reward networks) will be measured with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) while participants look at infant faces on a computer screen.
Investigators
Rodrigo Cardenas
Lecturer
Penn State University
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Healthy Volunteers
- •Norma or corrected to norma vision
- •Participants are non parents
- •Able to provide written informed consent and to comply with all study procedures
Exclusion Criteria
- •Dementia or severe cognitive disorders
- •Endocrine disease or malignancy
- •Nasal obstruction or upper-respiratory tract infection
- •Current or previous psychiatric disorder
- •Current or previous use of psychoactive drugs
- •Alcoholism or substance abuse
- •History of seizures
- •Neurological Disorder
- •Previous head trauma
- •Hypertension
Arms & Interventions
Intranasal oxytocin group
Participants will self-administer a single dose of 24 IU oxytocin (Syntocinon, Novartis; three puffs per nostril, each with 4 IU oxytocin, 6 puffs total).
Intervention: Syntocinon (synthetic oxytocin)
Placebo group
The placebo is identical to the oxytocin formulation with the exception of the active compound. Participants will self-administer three puffs per nostril of placebo (6 puffs total).
Intervention: Placebo
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Data
Time Frame: 45 minutes after OT manipulation
The effect of OT will be assessed by determining changes in brain activation between treatment and placebo groups.
Eye movements data
Time Frame: 45 minutes after OT manipulation
The effect of OT will be assessed by determining changes in eye movements between treatment and placebo groups.
Secondary Outcomes
- Implicit Attitudes toward infants(45 minutes after OT manipulation)
- Theory of mind(45 minutes after OT manipulation)