Oxytocin and Human Defensive Responses in a Dynamic Situation

NCT07162584 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: UESTC-neuSCAN-87
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 80
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

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.

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

oxytocin; fMRI; escape decisions; dynamic predator-prey interaction; defensive responses

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Escape sucess rates when confronting different predators

  Escape sucess rates in successfully entering the refuge when confronting the fast, medium and slow predators.

  1 hour

• Flight initiation distance

  It is the prey-predator distance when a prey flees from a threat, a key index quantifying escape decisions.

  1 hour

• The distance to refuge

  The distance to refuge when a prey flees from a threat.

  1 hour

• Brain activity patterns in response to threats along the predatory imminence continuum

  Brain activity patterns in response to different predators along the predatory imminence continuum. We will examine these brain response patterns via both the conventional univariate analysis and the machine learning-based multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) approaches. Based on previous studies, the medium predator is a priori used as an anchor for fast and slow predators for a more sensitive measure of brain activity differences and contrasts with the medium predator would be reported in the suplemental files for completeness (if there were significant effects).

  1 hour

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Confidence rating scores

  1 hour

• Anxiety rating scores

  1 hour

• SCR during task

  1 hour

Study Arms (2)

oxytocin group

EXPERIMENTAL

male and female subjects with oxytocin treatment

Drug: Oxytocin nasal spray

placebo group

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

male and female subjects with placebo treatment

Drug: Placebo

Interventions

Oxytocin nasal spray DRUG

intranasal administration of oxytocin (24 IU)

oxytocin group

Placebo DRUG

intranasal administration of placebo (24 IU)

placebo group

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Healthy subjects without past or current psychiatric or neurological disorders

You may not qualify if:

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

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Electronic Science and Technology of China: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Chengdu, Sichuan, 611731, China

RECRUITING

Study Officials

• Shuxia Yao, Dr

  University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Keith M Kendrick, Dr

CONTACT

86-28-61830811; k.kendrick.uestc@gmail.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 1, 2025
• First Posted: September 9, 2025
• Study Start: September 13, 2025
• Primary Completion: January 15, 2026
• Study Completion: January 28, 2026
• Last Updated: October 6, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CN (1)