Neural mechanisms of Oxytocin in human social-emotional behaviour in males and females

Extensive animal literature point to a pivotal role of oxytocin in
social-emotional behaviour in evolutionary distant species. This leads to the
prediction that these peptides which mechnisms are at least partly conserved in
humans still exert its functions in human social-emotional behaviour. An
important question is to what amount these mechanisms play a role in humans. By
applying oxytocin administration together with neuro-imaging we try to unravel
the underlying neurobiological mechanisms in humans.

To gain insight in the neurobiological mechanisms behind oxytocin effects on
human social-emotional behaviour.

A within subjects, double blind placebo controlled OT administration study.

The participants will self administer nasal OT spray and placebo on two
separate days. The order of administration (e.g. OT on the first day/ placebo
on the second day) will be counterbalanced.

Administration of OT is not known to lead to any adverse side-effects as shown
in previous studies (e.g. Kosfeld et al., 2005), so it is unlikely that our
participants will experience adverse phenomenological alterations. FMRI is a
non-invasive technique, so there is no need for special preparation for the
subject. There are no known risks associated with fMRI acquisition. If
pathology is noticed, and medical treatment is indicated, the subject will be
notified. The benefit of the present experiment is increased understanding of
underlying neurobiological mechanisms of human social emotional processing.