Genetic modulation of oxytocin sensitivity: a pharmacogenetic approach

What Was Tested

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

Here, the researchers undertook a study to investigate the role of genetic variation in sensitivity to exogenous oxytocin using a socioemotional task.

Why It Was Studied

However, considerable variability exists in individual responses to oxytocin administration.

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment with a repeated-measures (crossover) design, the researchers assessed the performance of 203 men on an emotion recognition task under oxytocin and placebo.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 203 men taking part.

The age groups tagged for this paper are young adults and adults, men only.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Oxytocin and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Blinding on both sides kept the men and researchers unaware of who received Oxytocin.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Oxytocin could be set against what happens without it.

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

What Was Measured

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment with a repeated-measures (crossover) design, the researchers assessed the performance of 203 men on an emotion recognition task under oxytocin and placebo.

The subject headings attached to it are Emotions, Genetic Variation, Haplotypes, Oxytocin, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Receptors, Oxytocin and Recognition, Psychology.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Oxytocin in 203 men.

The publication is from 2015 (Translational psychiatry), a journal based in United States.

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