The effect of methylphenidate on social cognition and oxytocin in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at Oxytocin.

The current study aimed to explore the possible effect of stimulants on oxytocin (OT), a neuropeptide which regulates social behavior, as a mediator of the pro-social effect of methylphenidate (MPH) in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared to healthy controls (HCs).

Administration of MPH attenuated this difference such that after parent-child interaction differences in OT levels between children with ADHD and HC were no longer found.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 50 children taking part.

PubMed indexes the participants as children, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

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

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

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

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

What Was Measured

Administration of MPH attenuated this difference such that after parent-child interaction differences in OT levels between children with ADHD and HC were no longer found.

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Central Nervous System Stimulants, Methylphenidate, Oxytocin, Saliva and Social Cognition.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Oxytocin in 50 children.

The publication is from 2020 (Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology), a journal based in England.

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