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Study · Randomized controlled trial · n = 20 · 2013

4 results

Oxytocin enhances brain reward system responses in men viewing the face of their female partner.

Scheele D, Wille A, Kendrick KM, Stoffel-Wagner B, Becker B, Güntürkün O, Maier W, Hurlemann R

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America25 Nov 2013Cited by 239 (Europe PMC)

PMID24277856 (opens in a new tab)PMCIDPMC3864312 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1073/pnas.1314190110 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-24277856
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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 pair-bonded men, intranasal oxytocin made the partner's face seem more attractive compared with unfamiliar women.

    In plain wordsIn men with a partner, oxytocin made their partner's face seem more attractive compared with unfamiliar women.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    IncreaseAttractiveness of partner's face versus unfamiliar women
    Study

    n = 20

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Sexual function · Reproductive and sexual health
    Studied dose
    24 IU · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    In both experiments, intranasal OXT treatment (24 IU) made subjects perceive their female partner's face as more attractive compared with unfamiliar women
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Here, we report the results of a discovery and a replication study, each involving a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject, pharmaco-functional MRI experiment with 20 heterosexual pair-bonded male volunteers.
  2. 02HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In pair-bonded men, intranasal oxytocin had no effect on the attractiveness of other familiar women.

    In plain wordsIn men with a partner, oxytocin did not change how attractive other familiar women seemed.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeAttractiveness of other familiar women
    Study

    n = 20

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Sexual function · Reproductive and sexual health
    Studied dose
    24 IU · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    In both experiments, intranasal OXT treatment (24 IU) made subjects perceive their female partner's face as more attractive compared with unfamiliar women but had no effect on the attractiveness of other familiar women.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Here, we report the results of a discovery and a replication study, each involving a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject, pharmaco-functional MRI experiment with 20 heterosexual pair-bonded male volunteers.
  3. 03HumanRandomized controlled trialMechanism

    In pair-bonded men, oxytocin increased the response to partner stimuli compared with unfamiliar women in reward regions including the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens.

    In plain wordsIn men with a partner, oxytocin increased brain reward responses to their partner compared with unfamiliar women.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    IncreaseBrain reward region response to partner versus unfamiliar women
    Study

    n = 20

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

    Source sentences

    Summary
    This enhanced positive partner bias was paralleled by an increased response to partner stimuli compared with unfamiliar women in brain reward regions including the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens (NAcc).
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Here, we report the results of a discovery and a replication study, each involving a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject, pharmaco-functional MRI experiment with 20 heterosexual pair-bonded male volunteers.
  4. 04HumanRandomized controlled trialMechanism

    In pair-bonded men, oxytocin augmented the left nucleus accumbens response to the partner compared with a familiar woman.

    In plain wordsIn men with a partner, oxytocin raised a reward-region response to their partner compared with another familiar woman.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    IncreaseLeft nucleus accumbens response to partner versus familiar woman
    Study

    n = 20

    Comparator
    Placebo; response to a familiar woman
    Outcome group
    Receptor activity and mechanism · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    24 IU · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    In the left NAcc, OXT even augmented the neural response to the partner compared with a familiar woman, indicating that this finding is partner-bond specific rather than due to familiarity.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Here, we report the results of a discovery and a replication study, each involving a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject, pharmaco-functional MRI experiment with 20 heterosexual pair-bonded male volunteers.

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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