Effects of Oxytocin on Reinforcement Learning and Interoception

Healthy Clinical Trial

Official title:

The Modulatory Effects of Oxytocin on Reinforcement Learning and Interoceptive Processing

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05245708
• Other study ID #: UESTC-neuSCAN-83
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: April 15, 2021
• Est. completion date: December 15, 2021

Study information

• Verified date: January 2024
• Source: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The main aim of the study is to investigate whether intranasal oxytocin has effects on reinforcement learning under dynamic environment and interoceptive processing based on behavioral and electroencephalogram (EEG) responses.

Description:

A double-blinded, placebo-controled, between-subject design is employed in this study. In a randomized order, a total of 80 healthy males are instructed to self-administrated intranasal spray of oxytocin or placebo. (1) Participants first complete a probabilistic reward learning task 45 minutes after treatment with behavioral (response time and accuracy) and EEG data (ERP components such as FRN, ERN and P300) being collected during this task. (2) A resting-state recording and a heartbeat counting task are conducted following the learning task with ECG and EEG data being collected. Personality traits of subjects are assessed using validated Chinese version questionnaires including the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Autism Spectrum Quotient (ASQ), the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory(CFI), Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ), Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System Scale (BIS/BAS). Subjects are asked to complete Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) when they just arrive, before and after the tasks.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 80
• Est. completion date: December 15, 2021
• Est. primary completion date: September 20, 2021
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Male
• Age group: 18 Years to 28 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy subjects without any past or present psychiatric or neurological disorders.

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of brain injury medical or mental illness.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Healthy

Intervention

Drug:
• Intranasal oxytocin
Each subject will be assigned to intranasal administration of oxytocin (24 IU).
• intranasal placebo
Each subject will be assigned to intranasal placebo.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
China	University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC)	Chengdu	Sichuan

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Country where clinical trial is conducted

China, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Behavioral index in the learning task: chioce accuracy	The accuracy of subjects choosing the better option.	45-65 minutes after treatment administration
Primary	Behavioral index in the heartbeat counting task: interoceptive accuracy	Individuals' ability to perceive internal cardiac signals	65-75 minutes after treatment administration
Secondary	ERP components in the learning task: ERN, FRN, P300, N2pc	ERN and FRN are indices of reward expectancy and prediction error in reinforcement learning. P300 is associated with attention allocation. N2pc is an early component associated with visual selective attention.	45-65 minutes after treatment administration
Secondary	ERP components in the heartbeat counting task: heartbeat-evoked potential (HEP)	HEP is a scalp event-related potential that reflects cortical processing of cardiac interoceptive signals	65-75 minutes after treatment administration