Effects of Oxytocin on Behavior and Physiology in a Psychotherapy Setting

Summary

Subjects-currently in outpatient mental health care--will participate in 2 psychotherapy sessions, one with oxytocin spray and one with placebo spray. Sessions will be videotaped, and cortisol and heart rate will be measured. We hypothesize that oxytocin will have positive benefits on nonverbal behavior in the therapy session, as well as have positive effects on subjective anxiety, cortisol and heart rate.

Timeline

Start

2008-12

Primary completion

2012-07

Completion

2012-07

Publications

• Background Macdonald K, Macdonald TM. The peptide that binds: a systematic review of oxytocin and its prosocial effects in humans. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2010 Jan-Feb;18(1):1-21. doi: 10.3109/10673220903523615.
• MacDonald K, MacDonald TM, Brune M, Lamb K, Wilson MP, Golshan S, Feifel D. Oxytocin and psychotherapy: a pilot study of its physiological, behavioral and subjective effects in males with depression. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2013 Dec;38(12):2831-43. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.05.014. Epub 2013 Jun 28.

Drugs

Indications