Oxytocin and Approach-avoid in Grief

This is a completed project which was initiated prior to January 18,2017

Background: Theoretical models of complicated grief (CG) suggest that maladaptive approach (e.g., perseverative proximity-seeking of the deceased) or avoidance (e.g., excessive avoidance of reminders) behaviors interfere with a person's ability to integrate the loss and recover from their loved one's death. Due in part to conflicting evidence, little mechanistic understanding of how these behaviors develop in grief exists. We sought to (1) identify behavioral differences between CG and non-CG groups based on implicit bias for grief-, deceased-, and social-related stimuli, and (2) test the role of the neuropeptide oxytocin in shaping approach/avoidance bias.

Methods: Widowed older adults with and without CG completed an approach/avoidance task measuring implicit bias for personalized, non-specific, grief-related, and other stimuli. In a double-blinded, randomized, counterbalanced design, each participant attended both an intranasal oxytocin session and a placebo session. Aims were to (1) identify differential effects of CG and stimulus type on implicit approach/avoidance bias [placebo session], and (2) investigate interactive effects of CG, stimulus type, and oxytocin vs. placebo on approach/avoidance bias [both sessions].

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Key information

Conditions

Prolonged Grief Disorder Bereavement Mental Disorders Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders

Age range

55 year–80 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona, 85721, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Adult individual experiencing death of a spouse or partner between 6 and 36 months prior to enrollment

Exclusion criteria

Inability to comprehend English;
medical contraindications for other components of the study,
active suicidality
active homicidality
active psychotic symptoms
ongoing major health conditions such as cancer; uncontrolled hypertension; and medications likely to impact the oxytocin system (e.g., systemic corticosteroids).
pregnant status or suspected pregnant status
premenopausal status

Treatment and study plan

Syntocinon

Drug

Synthetic oxytocin spray, 24 IU per spray.

Placebo

Drug

Placebo spray with no active ingredient.

Primary outcomes

Reaction Time (ms) of a Push or Pull of a Joystick in a Standard Interactive Approach/Avoid Task.

Time frame: 120 minutes

Participants completed the approach avoid task twice per session, with reversed instructions on the second run (i.e., "pull for yellow" became "push for yellow"). Each seven-minute run of the task consisted of 144 2500ms trials (288 trials per visit, 576 trials total across runs/sessions; 500ms inter-trial-interval). Order of instructions (i.e., "push yellow" vs. "pull yellow") was randomized and counterbalanced across participants and sessions, to address potential for order effects/habituation. Stimuli were presented via Inquisit 4 (2014), in a pseudorandomized order determined by genetic algorithm (Wager & Nichols, 2003).

Relative approach/avoidance bias was computed by subtracting median response time (RT; latency to joystick full extension) on PULL/approach trials in each stimulus category from PUSH/avoid trials in the same category (Rinck & Becker, 2007). Positive response bias values indicate relative approach bias; negative values indicate relative avoidance bias.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Arizona

Other

Registry information

Official study title

A Pull to be Close: the Differentiating Effects of Oxytocin and Grief Stimulus Type on Approach Behavior in Complicated Grief

Important dates

Study start: 2015
Primary completion: 2017
Study completion: 2017
First posted: Aug 10, 2020
Registry last updated: Mar 4, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

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This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed