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The Effect of Intranasal Administration of Oxytocin on Empathic Abilities.

NCT00813436 · Status: UNKNOWN · Phase: PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 100

Last updated 2009-02-05

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Empathy constitutes one prominent ability of social cognition, which represents the human capability of understanding mental state of the other, and responding in sympathetic way. Two sets of theoretical mechanisms were designed in order to explain how empathy is possible. Theory of Mind (ToM)and Simulation.People who suffer from schizophrenia frequently exhibit social dysfunction, preventing them of a normal integration in healthy human environments. Recently it had been discovered that impairment in empathy and a specific impairment in effective TOM are mostly associated with the social malfunctioning of people who suffer from schizophrenia. One of the biological substances most connected to social cognition is the neuromodulator Oxytocin. Among its known involvement in uterine contractions and lactating females, numerous recent studies have found an indispensable role for Oxytocin in various complex prosocial behaviors such as maternal behavior, attachment, partner preference and trust. In the proposed study, we plan to examine the influence of a single dose of intranasal Oxytocin on the two primary mechanisms of empathy, namely mentalizing (Theory of Mind) and Simulation, both in healthy people and in people who suffer from schizophrenia.

Conditions

Interventions

DRUG

Oxytocin (also: syntocinon, pitocin)

24 IU for each subject (3 puffs in each nostril, 4 IU in each puff). each subject will receive a single administration, 40 minuets before task start time.

DRUG

Placebo

saline liquid, intranasally administered

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Haifa

    collaborator OTHER

  • Shalvata Mental Health Center

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Yechiel Levkovitz, MD · Shalvata Mental Health Center

  • Simone Shamay-Tsoory, MA · University of Haifa

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
45 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2008-05-31
Primary Completion
2010-01-31
Completion
2010-01-31

Countries

  • Israel

Study Locations

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Drugs
Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00813436 on ClinicalTrials.gov