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Effects of Oxytocin and Vasopressin on Moral Decision Making
Plain-language guide to NCT04890470: not phased randomized trial of Oxytocin and Vasopressin, 180 participants. Who took part, design and what was measured.
Key Facts
- Registry ID
- NCT04890470
- Phase
- not phased
- Status
- completed
- Start
- 2021-03-02
- Completion (planned or actual)
- 2022-12-12
- Participants
- 180 (actual)
- Design
- randomized, double-blind, basic_science
- Conditions studied
- Healthy
- Results posted
- not yet
What This Study Did, in Plain Language
What Was Tested
The trial (not phased) is built around Oxytocin and Vasopressin.
To determine whether the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) and vassopressin (AVP) influence moral decision making.
It had three arms (groups): oxytocin group (experimental), vasopressin group (experimental) and placebo group (placebo comparator).
Subjects with oxytocin treatment.
Subjects with vasopressin treatment.
Subjects with placebo treatment.
The registry classes the interventions as drug.
More on the Plan
After that their moral judgment and emotion towards both verbal descriptions of moral dilemma scenarios and pictures of specific interpersonal ones will be assessed and the effect of intranasal OXT and AVP between both male and female healthy subjects will be investigated.
Who Took Part
180 actual participants took part.
It was open to people of any sex aged from 18 years up to 30 years.
Healthy volunteers could join, not only people with the condition.
Examples of who could join: Healthy subjects without past or current psychiatric or neurological disorders.
The full record lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria.
How the Study Was Run
Design: randomized, parallel-group and double-blind.
Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Oxytocin and who got the comparison, which limits bias.
The Oxytocin group and the comparison group ran side by side rather than switching.
Neither the participants nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Oxytocin, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.
Those kept unaware of assignments: participant and investigator.
It started in 2021-03-02 with completion listed for 2022-12-12.
It ran at 1 site in China.
Its stated primary purpose is basic science.
What Was Measured
Primary outcome: Effect of OXT and AVP on behavioral index of moral decision task (time frame: 45 mins - 105 mins).
What This Means in Plain Language
Put simply, this is a not phased, randomized trial of Oxytocin and Vasopressin in 180 people.
The trial is marked completed; no results are posted to the registry yet, so nothing here describes outcomes.
More context: the Oxytocin compound page and the Vasopressin compound page, all human trials.
Our Notes on the Compounds
Oxytocin: A peptide hormone with established obstetric medical uses and a less settled role in research on behavior, sexual function and appetite.
Vasopressin: A 9-amino-acid hormone (antidiuretic hormone) that controls water balance and blood vessel tone; used in septic shock.
Related Pages
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov record. This explanation is written by PeptideWhiz from the public record. For research and education only. Not medical advice; no dosing information is given.