The Influence of Oxytocin on the Processing of Social Contact

Phase 1

Completed

• Conditions: Healthy Male Volunteers
• Interventions: Drug: Oxytocin; Drug: Placebo

• Registration Number: NCT01939639
• Lead Sponsor: University Hospital, Bonn

Brief Summary

Social touch can convey the most potent and salient of socio-emotional signals. While the hypothalamic peptide oxytocin (OXT) has been identified as a key neurochemical mediator of grooming in some other social species, its modulatory influence on human interpersonal touch is unknown. The investigators expect that OXT augments the hedonic value of touch and that this behavioral effect is paralleled at the neural level by an increased response in brain areas mediating rewarding aspects of social touch.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2013-03
• Primary Completion: 2013-06
• Study Completion: 2013-08
• Study First Submitted: 2013-08-27
• Status Verified: 2013-09
• Study First Submitted QC: 2013-09-05
• Last Update Submitted: 2013-09-05
• Study First Posted: 2013-09-11
• Last Update Posted: 2013-09-11

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: Male
• Target Recruitment: 40

Inclusion Criteria

Healthy male volunteers

Exclusion Criteria

Current or past psychiatric disease Current or past physical illness Psychoactive medication Tobacco smokers

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: CROSSOVER

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Oxytocin	Oxytocin	24 IU Oxytocin, intranasal application 30 min prior to the experiment
Placebo	Placebo	intranasal application, sodium chloride solution, 3 puffs per nostril

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Pleasantness ratings of social touch	30 minutes after the nasal spray administration	After each trial, subjects are asked to use a visual analog scale to rate the pleasantness of the administered touch.
Blood-oxygen-level dependent signal in response to social touch	30 minutes after the nasal spray administration	By using functional magnetic resonance imaging we want to examine oxytocin's effects on the neural correlates (BOLD signal) of social touch.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Questionnaire measurement of mood (PANAS) and anxiety (STAI).	15 minutes before the nasal spray administration and (on average) 10 minutes after the fMRI experiment

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn; 🇩🇪 Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany