Oxytocin and Interpersonal Motor Resonance

NCT03010670 | Completed Phase 4

• 2 other identifiers: S56327b2014-000586-45
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 27
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Among different social cues from the environment, the eyes constitute a very salient source for initiating social interaction or communication. Interestingly, previous work from our (Prinsen et al., 2016) and other labs demonstrated that direct eye contact between two individuals can readily evoke an increased propensity to 'mirror' other peoples' actions. Particularly, using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), the investigators showed that mirror-motor mapping at the level of the primary motor cortex (M1), also known as "interpersonal motor resonance" (IMR), is significantly increased upon the observation of actions accompanied by direct eye contact, compared to the observation of actions accompanied by averted eye gaze. With the present study, the investigators aim to investigate the role of eye contact on IMR further, and in particular, explore whether administration of the 'prosocial' neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) can influence eye-contact induced IMR. In general, OT is known to play an important role in promoting prosocial behavior and the perception of socially-relevant stimuli, such as eye gaze. To date however, the link between OT and IMR is less clear.

Conditions

Social Behavior

Keywords

Oxytocin; Gaze processing; Interpersonal motor resonance

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Assessment of interpersonal motor resonance (IMR)

  TMS will be applied to assess IMR during different observational conditions after a single dose of nasal spray

  30 minutes

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• State Adult Attachment Measure (SAAM) (sub)scores

  10 minutes

• Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) (sub)scores

  20 minutes

• Spontaneous gaze behavior

  30 minutes

• Participants' mood

  10 minutes

Study Arms (2)

Oxytocin (OT) spray

EXPERIMENTAL

Syntocinon nasal spray (product code RVG 03716) will be used to intranasally administer one single dose (24 IU) of OT (3 puffs of 4 IU per nostril).

Drug: Oxytocin

Placebo (PL) spray

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Physiological water (a solution of sodium chloride (NaCl) in water) will be used to intranasally administer one single dose (24 IU) of PL (3 puffs of 4 IU per nostril).

Other: Placebo

Interventions

Oxytocin DRUG

A single dose (24IU) of nasal spray (3 puffs of 4IU per nostril) will be administered before the assessment of the neurophysiological measures.

Also known as: Syntocinon (product code RVG 03716)

Oxytocin (OT) spray

Placebo OTHER

A single dose (24IU) of nasal spray (3 puffs of 4IU per nostril) will be administered before the assessment of the neurophysiological measures.

Also known as: Physiological water (sodium chloride (NaCl) solution)

Placebo (PL) spray

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 35 Years
• Sex: male
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Male
• Young adults (between 18 - 35 y/o)
• Right-handed

You may not qualify if:

• Left-handed
• Any neuro(psycho)logical / psychiatric illness.
• Motor dysfunctions of the hands / arms.
• Any contradiction to TMS research as assessed with the TMS screening list: no pacemaker, implanted defibrillator, ear implant / a cochlear implant, insulin or implanted pump, a neurostimulator or ventriculoperitoneal shunt, any metallic object in the eyes (metallic fragments)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• KU Leuven: lead
• The Branco Weiss Fellowship: collaborator
• Research Foundation Flanders: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Leuven, 3000, Belgium

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Prinsen J, Bernaerts S, Wang Y, de Beukelaar TT, Cuypers K, Swinnen SP, Alaerts K. Direct eye contact enhances mirroring of others' movements: A transcranial magnetic stimulation study. Neuropsychologia. 2017 Jan 27;95:111-118. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.12.011. Epub 2016 Dec 8.

  PMID: 27939365 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Social Behavior

Interventions

Oxytocin; Sodium Chloride; Solutions

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pituitary Hormones, Posterior; Pituitary Hormones; Peptide Hormones; Hormones; Hormones, Hormone Substitutes, and Hormone Antagonists; Peptides; Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins; Chlorides; Hydrochloric Acid; Chlorine Compounds; Inorganic Chemicals; Sodium Compounds; Pharmaceutical Preparations

Study Officials

• Kaat Alaerts, PhD

  KU Leuven

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: phase 4
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Prof. dr.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 23, 2016
• First Posted: January 5, 2017
• Study Start: January 1, 2016
• Primary Completion: August 1, 2016
• Study Completion: December 1, 2016
• Last Updated: January 5, 2017

Record last verified: 2016-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

BE (1)