Oxytocin Modulates Eye Gaze Behavior During Social Processing

October 26, 2018 updated by: Keith Kendrick, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Oxytocin Modulates Eye Gaze Behavior During Social Processing and Associations With Trait Autism

The main aim of the study is to examine whether the effects of intranasal oxytocin on eye-gaze behavior towards social stimuli are modulated via individual differences in trait autism

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

In this double-blind, within subject, placebo controlled design a total of n = 40 healthy male subjects will receive either 24 IU of oxytocin or placebo (interval between administration > two weeks). 45 minutes after treatment subjects will undergo a total of 7 eye-tracking paradigms examining eye-gaze behavior during social processing: (1) dynamic social-nonsocial visual preference task during which movies of dynamic geometric images (DGI) and dynamic social images (DSI) will be presented; (2) non-biological versus biological motion task; (3) social attention and motivation of sharing enjoyment; (4) preference for emotional faces versus schematic faces (emoticons); (5) shared social attention - shared gaze direction with an actor shifting his attention to different objects; (6) preferred visual scanning of face regions in emotional faces; and, (7) eye gaze in response to empathy eliciting visual stimuli. Autistic and associated traits will be assessed using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (ASQ), Social Responsibilities Scale (SRS) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). Within-subject differences in the effects of oxytocin on social eye gazing behaviour will be related to individual differences in autistic traits.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

40

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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, 610054
        • Recruiting
        • School of Life science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
        • Contact:
      • Chengdu, Sichuan, China, 611731
        • Recruiting
        • University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

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 any past or present psychiatric or neurological disorders

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of brain injury
  • Visual impairments
  • Use of medication
  • Contraindications for oxytocin administration

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: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Order of administration: oxytocin - placebo
Participants first receive oxytocin (24 IU). After a washout period of 2 weeks, they receive placebo nasal spray
Drug: intranasal oxytocin
24 IU of oxytocin nasal spray will be applied to each subject.
Drug: intranasal placebo
24 IU of of placebo nasal spray will be applied to each subject.
Experimental: Order of administration: placebo - oxytocin
Participants first received placebo nasal spray. After a washout period of 2 weeks, they then receive oxytocin (24 IU).
Drug: intranasal oxytocin
24 IU of oxytocin nasal spray will be applied to each subject.
Drug: intranasal placebo
24 IU of of placebo nasal spray will be applied to each subject.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Global eye gaze characteristic: differences between oxytocin and placebo treatment
Time Frame: 45-90 minutes after treatment administration
Global eye-gaze patterns will be compared between the administration of oxytocin and placebo
45-90 minutes after treatment administration
Feature-specific eye gaze characteristics: differences between oxytocin and placebo treatment
Time Frame: 45-90 minutes after treatment administration
Localized feature-specific eye gaze patterns will be compared between oxytocin and placebo treatment
45-90 minutes after treatment administration

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Global eye gaze characteristic - associations with autism traits
Time Frame: 45-90 minutes after treatment administration
Within-subject differences in global eye gaze characteristics between the oxytocin and placebo administration will be examined for associations with individual differences in autism traits
45-90 minutes after treatment administration
Feature-specific eye gaze characteristics - associations with trait autism
Time Frame: 45-90 minutes after treatment administration
Within-subject differences in localized feature-specific eye gaze characteristics between the oxytocin and placebo administration will be examined for associations with individual differences in autism traits
45-90 minutes after treatment administration

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

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Juan Kou, MSc, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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)

June 9, 2017

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

July 1, 2019

Study Completion (Anticipated)

July 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 20, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 20, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

September 26, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 29, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 26, 2018

Last Verified

October 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • UESCT_neuSCAN_42

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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.

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