Effects of intranasal oxytocin on thermal pain in healthy men: a randomized functional magnetic resonance imaging study

What Was Tested

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

This randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover trial investigated the effect of intranasal oxytocin on the perception and processing of noxious experimental heat in 36 healthy male volunteers.

A functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment including intensity and unpleasantness ratings of tonic heat was used to investigate the effects of oxytocin within the brain.

Who Took Part

The study group was 36 volunteers.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were teenagers, young adults, adults and middle-aged adults, men only.

How the Study Was Run

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

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.

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

Thermal thresholds were determined according to the Quantitative Sensory Testing protocol.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Brain, Functional Neuroimaging, Hot Temperature, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Oxytocin, Pain Measurement and Pain Perception.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Oxytocin in 36 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.

Its findings take up roughly 7 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2015 (Psychosomatic medicine), a journal based in United States.

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