Sex- and Context-dependent Effects of Oxytocin on Social Reward Processing

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The aim of the present study is to examine whether the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) influences social reward processing and whether the effects are context- and sex-dependent.

Detailed Description
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In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, between-subject design healthy volunteers will receive either oxytocin or placebo nasal spray (40IU in 10 puffs). Subjects will come to the experiment in pairs (two friends of the same sex). 45 min after drug administration, the two subjects will simultaneously undergo a social reward task - during the task, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data will be acquired from one of them. During the social reward task subjects will be asked to rate the valence and arousal of emotional pictures in three different conditions: alone, share with a stranger and share with their friend. Before treatment, subjects will complete a range of validated questionnaires to control for potential confounders, such as level of depression (assessed using the BDI) and to explore associations between relevant personality factors and treatment effects, such as adult attachment style (assessed using the AAS).

Conditions
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Mental Health Wellness 1, Social Behavior, Emotion

Intervention / Treatment
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* Drug: Oxytocin
* Drug: Placebo


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Healthy subjects without past or current psychiatric or neurological disorder, right-handed, had normal or corrected-to normal vision. Exclusion Criteria: self-reported medication use, substance abuse, and presence of medical or psychiatric disorders

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 17 Years
Maximum Age: 30 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Basic Science
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Oxytocin<br>Oxytoxin nasal spray | Drug: Oxytocin<br>* 40IU<br>|
| Placebo Comparator: Placebo<br>Placebo nasal spray | Drug: Placebo<br>* 40IU<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| fMRI: neural activity during social reward processing | Main effects of treatment will be analyzed on fMRI activity during a social reward processing paradigm. | 45-115 minutes after administration | 
| Modulatory effects of sex on fMRI based neural indices during social reward processing | Interaction between treatment effects and sex will be analyzed on fMRI indices acquired during reward processing | 45-115 minutes after administration | 
| fMRI: functional connectivity during social reward processing | Main effects of treatment will be analyzed on fMRI connectivity during a social reward processing paradigm. | 45-115 minutes after administration | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Behavior: arousal ratings during social reward processing | Main effects of treatment will be analyzed on behavioral ratings of arousal acquired during the social reward processing paradigm. | 45-115 minutes after administration | 
| Behavior: valence rating during social reward processing | Main effects of treatment will be analyzed on behavioral ratings of valence acquired during the social reward processing paradigm. | 45-115 minutes after administration | 
| Modulatory effects of sex on arousal ratings during social reward processing | Interactions between treatment and sex will be analyzed on behavioral arousal ratings acquired during the social reward processing paradigm. | 45-115 minutes after administration | 
| Modulatory effects of sex on valence ratings during social reward processing | Interactions between treatment and sex will be analyzed on behavioral valence ratings acquired during the social reward processing paradigm. | 45-115 minutes after administration | 
| Pre-treatment modulators: attachment style (AAS) | Associations between neural and behavioral effects of treatment with pre-treatment attachment style as assessed by the Adult Attachment Scale (AAS) | 45-115 minutes after administration | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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reward circuit, social sharing, social reward, functional magnetic resonance imaging