Oxytocin and Human Defensive Responses in a Dynamic Situation

What Was Tested

In this not phased trial, researchers set out to test Oxytocin.

It had two arms (groups): oxytocin group (experimental) and placebo group (placebo comparator).

Male and female subjects with oxytocin treatment.

Male and female subjects with placebo treatment.

The registry classes the interventions as drug.

More on the Plan

Predator-prey interactions are inherently dynamic, requiring adaptive responses from prey to survive.

Altough there is eviedence for oxytocin modulating anxiety and fear responses to threats, it remains unclear whether oxytocin (OT) would modulate how humans respond to threats along the predatory imminence continuum to facilitate escape during such interactions.

Their study therefore focuses on this question by combining behavioralmeasures, skin conductance response, and fMRI in a dynamic predator-prey interaction paradigm.

In this double-blind, between-subject, placebo-controlled study, participants are instructed to escape by evaluating the relative distance between themselves (i.e., the prey), the predator (slow, medium and high attacking speed) and the refuge.

Who Took Part

The registry lists 80 planned participants were the target.

It was open to people of any sex aged from 18 years up to 35 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 2 exclusion criteria; among the exclusions: history of head injury; pregnant, menstruating, taking oral contraceptives; medical or psychiatric illness,; the presence of metal in the body or claustrophobia.

How the Study Was Run

Design: randomized, parallel-group and double-blind.

The participants were allocated by chance, so the Oxytocin group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Groups ran in parallel: each of the participants stayed in one arm throughout.

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 2025-09-13 with completion listed for 2026-01-15.

It ran at 1 site in China.

Its stated primary purpose is basic science.

What Was Measured

Researchers chose this as the main measure: Escape sucess rates when confronting different predators (time frame: 1 hour). Flight initiation distance (time frame: 1 hour). The distance to refuge (time frame: 1 hour).

It also tracked 3 secondary outcomes, for example Confidence rating scores, Anxiety rating scores and SCR during task.

What This Means in Plain Language

Put simply, this is a not phased, randomized trial of Oxytocin in 80 people.

It is still recruiting; no results are posted to the registry yet, so nothing here describes outcomes.

More context: the Oxytocin compound page, all human trials.