The effect of intranasal oxytocin on processing emotional stimuli during alcohol withdrawal: A randomized placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trial

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Oxytocin in this randomized controlled trial publication.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of oxytocin on the reading the mind in the eyes test (RMET), which indexes theory of mind ability, during a three-day period of alcohol detoxification at an addiction treatment centre in Norway.

Why It Was Studied

The researchers performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 39 patients fulfilling criteria for ICD-10 diagnosis of alcohol dependence admitted for alcohol detoxification and withdrawal treatment.

Who Took Part

The study group was 39 patients.

How the Study Was Run

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

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.

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

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

The timeline in the abstract includes three days.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Alcoholism, Bayes Theorem, Emotions, Oxytocin and Substance Withdrawal Syndrome.

The authors tagged it with the keywords Alcohol withdrawal, RMET, Social cognition and Theory of mind.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Oxytocin in 39 patients over three days.

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 2022 (Hormones and behavior), a journal based in United States.

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