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Study · Animal study (in vivo) · rat · 2011

4 results

Oxytocin reduces background anxiety in a fear-potentiated startle paradigm: peripheral vs central administration.

Ayers LW, Missig G, Schulkin J, Rosen JB

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology27 Jul 2011Cited by 75 (Europe PMC)

PMID21796104 (opens in a new tab)PMCIDPMC3194076 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1038/npp.2011.138 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-21796104
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Summary

The text of this summary is not shown here, because the article license does not allow reuse. Read it at the source (opens in a new tab)

Text rights: Publisher copyright. Results still quote short attributed sentences.

Results from this study4

4 results from studies that gave the peptide. No result from this study comes from people.

  1. 01AnimalAnimal study (in vivo)Efficacy outcome

    In male rats, subcutaneous oxytocin at 0.01 and 0.1 μg/kg reduced background anxiety in a fear-potentiated startle test.

    In plain wordsIn rats, oxytocin given under the skin at low doses reduced background anxiety in a startle test.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    DecreaseBackground anxiety after subcutaneous oxytocin
    Study

    ratn: not reported in source

    Fear-potentiated startle paradigm, male rats
    Outcome group
    Anxiety and mood · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    0.01 and 0.1 μg/kg · subcutaneousAs given in this study (rat).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Oxytocin doses of 0.01 and 0.1 μg/kg SC reduced background anxiety.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Male rats were given oxytocin either subcutaneously (SC) or intracerebroventricularly (ICV) into the lateral ventricles before fear-potentiated startle testing.
  2. 02AnimalAnimal study (in vivo)Efficacy outcome

    In male rats, intracerebroventricular oxytocin from 0.002 to 20 μg had no effect on background anxiety.

    In plain wordsIn rats, oxytocin given into the brain ventricles had no effect on background anxiety.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeBackground anxiety after intracerebroventricular oxytocin
    Study

    ratn: not reported in source

    Fear-potentiated startle paradigm, male rats
    Outcome group
    Anxiety and mood · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    0.002 to 20 μg · intracerebroventricularAs given in this study (rat).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    ICV administration of oxytocin at doses from 0.002 to 20 μg oxytocin had no effect on background anxiety or cue-specific fear-potentiated startle.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Male rats were given oxytocin either subcutaneously (SC) or intracerebroventricularly (ICV) into the lateral ventricles before fear-potentiated startle testing.
  3. 03AnimalAnimal study (in vivo)Efficacy outcome

    In male rats, intracerebroventricular oxytocin from 0.002 to 20 μg had no effect on cue-specific fear-potentiated startle.

    In plain wordsIn rats, oxytocin given into the brain ventricles had no effect on fear tied to a specific cue.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeCue-specific fear-potentiated startle after intracerebroventricular oxytocin
    Study

    ratn: not reported in source

    Fear-potentiated startle paradigm, male rats
    Outcome group
    Anxiety and mood · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    0.002 to 20 μg · intracerebroventricularAs given in this study (rat).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    ICV administration of oxytocin at doses from 0.002 to 20 μg oxytocin had no effect on background anxiety or cue-specific fear-potentiated startle.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Male rats were given oxytocin either subcutaneously (SC) or intracerebroventricularly (ICV) into the lateral ventricles before fear-potentiated startle testing.
  4. 04AnimalAnimal study (in vivo)Efficacy outcome

    In male rats not fear conditioned, the 20 μg intracerebroventricular dose of oxytocin reduced acoustic startle.

    In plain wordsIn rats without fear conditioning, a high dose of oxytocin in the brain ventricles reduced the startle response.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    DecreaseAcoustic startle in non-fear-conditioned rats
    Study

    ratn: not reported in source

    Fear-potentiated startle paradigm, male rats
    Outcome group
    Anxiety and mood · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    20 μg · intracerebroventricularAs given in this study (rat).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    The 20 μg ICV dose of oxytocin did reduce acoustic startle in non-fear conditioned rats.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Male rats were given oxytocin either subcutaneously (SC) or intracerebroventricularly (ICV) into the lateral ventricles before fear-potentiated startle testing.

AI wrote and checked these results. AI can make mistakes, so check important results against the source.

Registered trials1

Trials this study reports on, or that list this study as a reference. Registry data from ClinicalTrials.gov.

1 trial · 1 completed · source ClinicalTrials.gov (opens in a new tab)

CompletedEarly phase 1NCT03211013

Study of the Effects of Oxytocin on Attentional Bias and Startle in PTSD

Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Researchn = 1710 Jul 2017 to 9 Jun 2021

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Trial pageClinicalTrials.govUpdated 10 Jun 2021

Version history

PepBank keeps every version of the data on this study. Status changes from Retraction Watch, Europe PMC and Crossref are listed with their source.

  1. Version 2Current

    11 Oct 2026, 01:30 UTC

    Study results updated

  2. Version 1

    9 Oct 2026, 02:49 UTC

    First added · source update from Europe PMC

Subjects

Terms as the source lists them.

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