NCT03282162

The Effects of Oxytocin on Affective Touch

Oxytocin Effects on Neural Processing of Affective Touch and Associations With Trait Autism

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 50 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China · Academic / Other
• Sex: Male
• Age: 18 Years – 30 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The main aim of the study is to investigate whether intranasal oxytocin (24IU) increases the affective processing of touch in general or whether it's effect vary according to the affective valence of the touch (positive, neutral, negative). Moreover, associations with trait autism will be explored.

Detailed description

A double-blind, within-subject, placebo controlled design will be employed in this study. In a randomized-order a total of 40 healthy male subjects will receive oxytocin- and placebo-nasalspray (interval between the administration \> 2 weeks). 45 minutes after treatment subjects will be administered the touch-stimulation to the dorsal forearm by a trained experimenter (lengths: 8cm, rate 8cm/s). After each block of stimulation, the subjects will be asked to rate their subjective experience of the touch.The neural basis of touch processing will be measured via simultaneously acquired fMRI. Levels of trait autism will be assessed using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (ASQ) and related scales such as the Empathy Quotient (EQ), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), or the Sensory over Responsivity Scale (SOR) and Under Responsively Scale (URS).

Conditions

• Healthy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	intranasal oxytocin	Each subject will be assigned to intranasal administration of oxytocin (24 IU).
DRUG	intranasal placebo	An identical amount of intranasal administration of placebo will be assigned to each subject.

Timeline

• Start date: 2017-08-28
• Primary completion: 2018-01-31
• Completion: 2018-07-12
• First posted: 2017-09-13
• Last updated: 2018-10-29

Locations

1 site across 1 country: China