Oxytocin affects the connectivity of the precuneus and the amygdala: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled neuroimaging trial

What Was Tested

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

Thus, to understand the neurophysiological basis of oxytocin effects, the researchers used resting-state functional MRI to examine the effects of intranasal oxytocin on brain connectivity in healthy males.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 15 volunteers were involved.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover.

Because people in this Oxytocin study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

As a double-blind Oxytocin study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

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

Each person switched between Oxytocin and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Amygdala, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Neural Pathways, Neuroimaging, Neuropeptides and Oxytocin.

Author keywords: fMRI, precuneus and resting-state.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Oxytocin in 15 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 abstract goes on to report its results in about 5 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

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

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