Oxytocin and Human Defensive Responses in a Dynamic Situation

NCT ID: NCT07162584

Last Updated: 2025-10-06

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 80 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-09-13
• Study Completion Date: 2026-01-28

Brief Summary

The presnet study is to investigate the effect of intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) treatment on modulating how human responsd to threat in a dynamic situation.

Detailed Description

Predator-prey interactions are inherently dynamic, requiring adaptive responses from prey to survive. Altough there is eviedence for oxytocin modulating anxiety and fear responses to threats, it remains unclear whether oxytocin (OT) would modulate how humans respond to threats along the predatory imminence continuum to facilitate escape during such interactions. Our study therefore focuses on this question by combining behavioralmeasures, skin conductance response, and fMRI in a dynamic predator-prey interaction paradigm. In this double-blind, between-subject, placebo-controlled study, participants are instructed to escape by evaluating the relative distance between themselves (i.e., the prey), the predator (slow, medium and high attacking speed) and the refuge. The MRI and Biopac electrophysiological acquisition systems are used in the study to collect subjects' brain activity and skin conductance response. Participants are also asked to rate their confidence and anxiety levels during performing the task. We will aslo examine the resulted patterns of flight initiation distance (FID) and distance to refuge (DTR) when the prey fled from different predators. Scores of questionnaires including Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory-Ⅱ, Autism Spectrum Quotient, Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire, General Risk Propensity Scale are also collected before the experiment.

Conditions

Healthy

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: DOUBLE

Study Groups

oxytocin group

male and female subjects with oxytocin treatment

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Oxytocin nasal spray

Intervention Type: DRUG

intranasal administration of oxytocin (24 IU)

placebo group

male and female subjects with placebo treatment

Group Type: PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Placebo

Intervention Type: DRUG

intranasal administration of placebo (24 IU)

Interventions

Oxytocin nasal spray

intranasal administration of oxytocin (24 IU)

Intervention Type: DRUG

Placebo

intranasal administration of placebo (24 IU)

Intervention Type: DRUG

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Healthy subjects without past or current psychiatric or neurological disorders

Exclusion Criteria

• History of head injury; pregnant, menstruating, taking oral contraceptives; medical or psychiatric illness,
• The presence of metal in the body or claustrophobia.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 35 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Shuxia Yao

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Shuxia Yao, Dr

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Locations

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

China

Central Contacts

Keith M Kendrick, Dr

Role: CONTACT

k.kendrick.uestc@gmail.com

86-28-61830811

Other Identifiers

UESTC-neuSCAN-87

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id