Oxytocin's role in social cognitive changes in ageing

Phase 2

Recruiting

• Conditions: Ageing; Cognition; Mental Health - Studies of normal psychology, cognitive function and behaviour

• Registration Number: ACTRN12618001343291
• Lead Sponsor: Australian Catholic University

Brief Summary

Not available

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Results First Posted: 1900-01-01
• Study Start: 2018-08-09
• Last Update Posted: 16 September 2019

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 120

Inclusion Criteria

Participants will be young (18-30 years) and older adults (65-90 years), gender balanced, recruited from the general population. Older adults will also need to pass a well-validated dementia screening assessment involving the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status .

Exclusion Criteria

Since we are interested in examining social cognitive function in the context of normal ageing, we will exclude, for both groups, anyone with neurological/psychiatric illness, substance abuse or dependence, current use of antidepressants or anti-psychotics, history of heart disease, currently smoking, and pregnancy/lactating.

Study & Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
We will test the effects of intranasal oxytocin (vs. placebo) on the performance on a computerised Emotion Recognition Task in older compared to young adults. This task was designed specifically for this study using the FACES stimuli set, and by reducing the intensity of these stimuli to 50% and 75%. [The data will be collected post the administration of the treatment (oxytocin or placebo) in the 45-80 minutes post drug administration. The Emotion Recognition Task will be administered once during this time period - order is randomised with the rest of the tasks in the cognitive assessment battery. Results will be analysed post all data collection, i.e., at the completion of the data collection.]

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
We will test the effects of intranasal oxytocin (vs. placebo) on the performance on a computerised theory of mind task (Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test) in older compared to young adults. [The data will be collected post the administration of the treatment (oxytocin or placebo) in the 45-80 minutes post drug administration. The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test will be administered once during this time period - order is randomised with the rest of the tasks in the cognitive assessment battery. Results will be analysed post all data collection, i.e., at the completion of the data collection.]