The effects of oxytocin on social reward learning in humans

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Oxytocin, published as a randomized controlled trial.

It has been hypothesised that the mechanisms modulating social affiliation are regulated by reward circuitry.

However, limited data are available that test if oxytocin is directly involved in reward learning, or whether oxytocin can modulate the effect of emotion on reward learning.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 24 volunteers taking part.

PubMed indexes the participants as teenagers, young adults and adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover study.

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

Neither the volunteers nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Oxytocin, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

Some volunteers received a placebo instead of Oxytocin, giving a reference point.

In the crossover set-up each of the volunteers took both Oxytocin and the comparison in turn, acting as their own control.

What Was Measured

However, limited data are available that test if oxytocin is directly involved in reward learning, or whether oxytocin can modulate the effect of emotion on reward learning.

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Facial Expression, Interpersonal Relations, Learning, Oxytocin, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Photic Stimulation and Psychomotor Performance.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Oxytocin in 24 volunteers.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 2014 (The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology), a journal based in England.

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