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Completed

NCT Number: NCT03074409

The Modulatory Effect of Oxytocin on Interoception

This study is designed to investigate oxytocin's effects on interoception and whether these effects vary as a function of different emotional valence.

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Key information

Conditions

Interoception

Age range

18 year–35 year

Sex eligibility

Male

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Chengdu, Sichuan, 611731, China

About this study

The present study will use a double-blind, between-subject, placebo-controlled design to investigate the modulatory effect of oxytocin on interoception and whether this effect will vary as a function of emotional valence. In Experiment 1, subjects will perform a heartbeat detection task and the group differences between oxytocin and placebo groups of the interoceptive accuracy and neural activity in the core interoceptive network will be investigated. In Experiment 2, subjects will be asked to watch emotional faces while perform the heartbeat detection task. Investigators will examine whether oxytocin's effects on interoception will be varied as a function of different emotional valence.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Healthy subjects

Exclusion criteria

  • Subjects reported having any neurological problems, psychiatric illness or drug or alcohol abuse and none were currently taking any form of medication and had not drunk any caffeine-containing beverages on the day of the experiment.

Treatment and study plan

Oxytocin

Drug

self-administration of oxytocin (nasal spray)

Placebo

Drug

self-administration of placebo (nasal spray)

Primary outcomes

  1. Heartbeat Detection (Interoception) Accuracy

    Time frame: 45 minutes after oxytocin/placebo treatment

    heartbeat detection (interoception) accuracy is calculated by the following equation: 1/N ∑ (1 - (|recorded heartbeats - counted heartbeats|)/recorded heartbeats). N was the number of blocks for the heartbeat detection task.

  2. Interoceptive Network Activity

    Time frame: 45 minutes after oxytocin/placebo treatment

    interoceptive network (including anterior insula and dorsal cingulate cortex) activity as measured by the functional MRI technique in the heartbeat detection task. In the heartbeat detection task participants were instructed to make a keypress each time they felt their heartbeat. The interoceptive network activity was indicated by the percentage of BOLD signal change. The value of the percentage of BOLD signal change indicates the level of a certain brain region activated (the involvement of a brain region in a specific cognitive process).

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2017
Primary completion
2017
Study completion
2017
First posted
Mar 8, 2017
Registry last updated
Oct 18, 2019

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

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

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.

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