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Study · Randomized controlled trial · n = 47 · 2013

4 results

Effects of intranasal oxytocin on pupil dilation indicate increased salience of socioaffective stimuli.

Prehn K, Kazzer P, Lischke A, Heinrichs M, Herpertz SC, Domes G

Psychophysiology3 Apr 2013Cited by 67 (Europe PMC)

PMID23551070 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1111/psyp.12042 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-23551070
Publisher pagePubMedAsk about this study
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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. 4 results from people.

  1. 01HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In men, intranasal oxytocin lowered the intensity at which all facial expressions were recognised compared with placebo.

    In plain wordsIn men, those given oxytocin recognised facial expressions at lower intensity than those given placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    DecreaseIntensity needed to recognise facial expressions
    Study

    n = 47

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Cognition and memory · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    24 IU · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Participants in the OXT group recognized all facial expressions at lower intensity levels than did participants in the PLC group.
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    To investigate the mechanisms by which oxytocin improves socioaffective processing, we measured behavioral and pupillometric data during a dynamic facial emotion recognition task.
    Summary · context
    In a double-blind between-subjects design, 47 men received either 24 IU intranasal oxytocin (OXT) or a placebo (PLC).
  2. 02HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In men, improved emotion recognition after intranasal oxytocin was accompanied by increased task-related pupil dilation.

    In plain wordsIn men, oxytocin came with larger pupil widening during the emotion task, which suggests more attention was used.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    IncreaseTask-related pupil dilation
    Study

    n = 47

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Cognition and memory · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    24 IU · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Improved performance was accompanied by increased task-related pupil dilation, indicating an increased recruitment of attentional resources.
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    To investigate the mechanisms by which oxytocin improves socioaffective processing, we measured behavioral and pupillometric data during a dynamic facial emotion recognition task.
    Summary · context
    In a double-blind between-subjects design, 47 men received either 24 IU intranasal oxytocin (OXT) or a placebo (PLC).
  3. 03HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In men, the larger pupil dilation to female than to male faces diminished in the oxytocin group.

    In plain wordsIn men, oxytocin reduced the usual larger pupil response to female faces compared with male faces.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    DecreaseGender-specific pupil dilation effect (female versus male faces)
    Study

    n = 47

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Cognition and memory · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    24 IU · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    We also found increased pupil dilation during the processing of female compared with male faces. This gender-specific stimulus effect diminished in the OXT group, in which pupil size specifically increased for male faces.
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    To investigate the mechanisms by which oxytocin improves socioaffective processing, we measured behavioral and pupillometric data during a dynamic facial emotion recognition task.
    Summary · context
    In a double-blind between-subjects design, 47 men received either 24 IU intranasal oxytocin (OXT) or a placebo (PLC).
  4. 04HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In men given intranasal oxytocin, pupil size specifically increased for male faces.

    In plain wordsIn men given oxytocin, pupils widened more for male faces.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    IncreasePupil size for male faces
    Study

    n = 47

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Cognition and memory · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    24 IU · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    in which pupil size specifically increased for male faces.
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    To investigate the mechanisms by which oxytocin improves socioaffective processing, we measured behavioral and pupillometric data during a dynamic facial emotion recognition task.
    Summary · context
    In a double-blind between-subjects design, 47 men received either 24 IU intranasal oxytocin (OXT) or a placebo (PLC).

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

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, 02:50 UTC

    First added · source update from Europe PMC

Subjects

Terms as the source lists them.

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