The Effects of Oxytocin on Fairness Perception and Related Prosocial Behaviors

NCT07815496 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: UESTC-neuSCAN-105
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 80
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study aims to investigate the modulation of intranasally administered oxytocin (24 IU) on human fairness perception and related prosocial behaviors.

Conditions

Healthy Adult Participants

Keywords

oxytocin; fMRI; fairness perception; prosocial behavior

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Fairness rating scores

  Participants are asked to rate their perceived levels of fairness on a 9-point Likert scale (1 = highly fair, 9 = highly unfair) to the computer's allocation in each trial.

  1 hour

• Anticipated guilt rating scores

  Participants are asked to rate the anticipated guilt they would feel if they accepted the allocation given by the computer in each trial. Ratings were conducted on a 9-point Likert scale (1 = not at all, 9 = highly guilty).

  1 hour

• The binary decision to the initial allocation

  Participants are asked to makde decisions of accepting or rejecting the allocation provided by the computer in each trial.

  1 hour

• Brain activity patterns

  Brain activity patterns in response to the outcome of the allocation given by computer and the binary decision. We will examine these brain response patterns via both the conventional univariate analysis and the machine learning-based multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) approaches.

  1 hour

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Inequity aversion parameters derived from the Fehr-Schmidt model

  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 (24IU)

oxytocin group

Placebo DRUG

intranasal administration of placebo (24IU)

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 (UESTC)

Chengdu, Sichuan, 611731, China

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Altruism

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Social Behavior; Behavior

Study Officials

• Shuxia Yao, Dr

  University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Shuxia Yao, Dr

CONTACT

86+18111297596; yaoshuxia@uestc.edu.cn

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 3, 2026
• First Posted: September 11, 2026
• Study Start: September 5, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Last Updated: September 11, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CN (1)