Clinical trial NCT03846271: Effects of Oxytocin on Reinforcement Learning
Official title: The Effects of Intranasal Oxytocin on Reward Sensitivity and Performance Monitoring During Reinforcement Learning: an ERP Study
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Phase: NA
Conditions: Learning Disabilities
Keywords: Oxytocin
performance monitoring
reinforcement learning
Lead sponsor: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2019-02-19
Enrollment: 40
Sex: MALE
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 30
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Intervention model description: Randomized placebo-controlled double-blind within-subject design
Primary purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE

Brief summary: The main aim of the study is to investigate whether intranasal oxytocin (24IU) influences reward sensitivity and performance monitoring during reinforcement learning.

Detailed description: A double-blind, within-subject, placebo-controlled pharmacological EEG design will be employed. A total of 35 healthy male subjects will be recruited which will receive either intranasal placebo or oxytocin (24IU) on two separate study days (order counter-balanced, washout period at least 2 weeks). 45 minutes after treatment subjects will undergo a probabilistic feedback reinforcement learning paradigm with concurrent EEG acquisition. During the paradigm subjects will learn the reward probabilities of two different visual stimuli from probabilistic feedback provided by social stimuli (positive, negative emoticon). The paradigm includes an initial acquisition phase and a subsequent test phase.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Age between 18-30
* Male sex
* Right handedness

Exclusion Criteria:

* History of brain injury
* Current or history of psychiatric, neurological or internist disorder
* Current or regular use of medication, psychotropic substances, including nicotine
* Contraindications for Oxytocin

Primary outcomes:
measure: Neural index: Event-related potential: Feedback Related Negativity (FRN) during acquisition phase
timeFrame: 45-105 minutes after treatment administration
measure: Neural index: Event-related potential: Error Related Negativity (ERN) during the test phase
timeFrame: 45-105 minutes after treatment administration
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Behavioral index: Response accuracy to superior stimuli during the acquisition phase
timeFrame: 45-105 minutes after treatment administration
measure: Behavioral index: Response accuracy to stimuli associated with highest probability positive feedback during the test phase
timeFrame: 45-105 minutes after treatment administration
measure: Response accuracy avoiding stimuli associated with highest probability negative feedback in the test phase.
timeFrame: 45-105 minutes after treatment administration
measure: Response accuracy in response to superior stimuli associated with relative higher probability positive feedback in the test phase.
timeFrame: 45-105 minutes after treatment administration
measure: Response accuracy avoiding stimuli associated with higher probability negative feedback in the test phase.
timeFrame: 45-105 minutes after treatment administration
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Chengdu
country: China
facility: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China(UESTC)
state: Sichuan
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China(UESTC)
name: Keith Kendrick, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: