Can Oxytocin Enhance the Placebo Effect?

October 10, 2018 updated by: Keith Kendrick, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
The current study aimed to investigate whether oxytocin (OXT) had effect on placebo effect.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The current study included three phases to investigate oxytocin effect on placebo effect:

  1. In a double-blind, between-subject, placebo controlled design study to investigate the intranasal OXT (24IU) treatment in 66 healthy male subjects using working memory task.
  2. In a single-blind(subjects were informed that the treatment was oxytocin), between-subject, placebo controlled design study to investigate the intranasal OXT (24IU) treatment in 53 healthy male subjects using working memory task.They were informed that oxytocin would increase memory perfomance by a female experimenter.
  3. In a single-blind(subjects were informed that the treatment was oxytocin), between-subject, placebo controlled design study to investigate the intranasal OXT (24IU) treatment in 53 healthy male subjects using working memory task. But the subjects were told that oxytocin would decrease the performance by the same female experimenter.
  4. In a single-blind(subjects were informed that the treatment was oxytocin), between-subject, placebo controlled design study to investigate the intranasal OXT (24IU) treatment in 52 healthy male subjects using working memory task. The subjects were told that oxytocin would increase the performance by a male experimenter.

Memory performance was included as dependant factor. All subjects completed a range of questionnaires measuring personality and affective traits and levels of anxiety: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Interpersonal Trust Scale(ITS).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

224

Phase

  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • China
    • Sichuan
      • Chengdu, Sichuan, China, 611731
        • School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 30 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy subjects without past or current psychiatric or neurological disorder

Exclusion Criteria:

  • history of head injury;
  • claustrophobia;
  • medical or psychiatric illness.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Placebo nasal spray
Drug: Placebo
Experimental: Oxytocin
Oxytocin nasal spray
Drug: Oxytocin

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Memory performance in different phases
Time Frame: 1 hour
N-back memory performance (accuracy) was included into analysis.
1 hour

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

December 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2017

Study Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 11, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 19, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

April 20, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 15, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 10, 2018

Last Verified

October 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • UESTC-neuSCAN-07

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Oxytocin Effect on Memory Performance During Phase 1

  • University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
    Completed
    Behavioral, Genetic, and Epigenetic Implications of Dietary Supplementation With Alpha-linolenic Acid in Humans
    Effect of Fatty Acids on Memory Performance of Toddlers
    United States
  • Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging
    Dr. Hanneke den Ouden, Donders Centre for Cognition, Radboud University; Dr... and other collaborators
    Completed
    Dopamine and Cognition
    Sulpiride's Effect on Striatal BOLD Signal During Working Memory Gating | Interaction of Sulpiride, Average Reward Rate and Evidence Accumulation | Interaction of Sulpiride, Average Reward Rate and Cognitive Effort
    Netherlands
  • PepsiCo Global R&D
    Unknown
    Plant Based Extracts and Cognition (CEOPTB)
    Change in Cognitive Function and Fatigue During Extended Performance of the Cognitive Demand Battery (CDB) at 1, 3 and 6 Hours Post Consumption | Change in Long Term Declarative Memory at 1, 3 and 6 Hours Post-intervention.
    United Kingdom

Clinical Trials on Placebo

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Singapore

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

3
Subscribe