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Study · Randomized controlled trial · n = 37 · 2014

6 results

The effect of intranasal oxytocin administration on acute cold pressor pain: a placebo-controlled, double-blind, within-participants crossover investigation.

Rash JA, Campbell TS

Psychosomatic medicine1 Jul 2014Cited by 52 (Europe PMC)

PMID24979580 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1097/psy.0000000000000068 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-24979580
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 study6

6 results from studies that gave the peptide. 6 results from people.

  1. 01HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In pain-free young adults, intranasal oxytocin lowered cold pressor pain intensity versus placebo.

    In plain wordsIn pain-free young adults, oxytocin nasal spray lowered rated pain intensity more than placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    DecreasePain intensity (cold pressor)
    Study

    n = 37

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

    Source sentences

    Summary
    lower pain intensity (50.57 [20.94] versus 56.73 [20.12], p = .047
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    Thirty-seven (18 were male) pain-free young adults underwent two laboratory sessions separated by 1 week.
    Summary · context
    Participants were given an intransal administration of 40 IU oxytocin or placebo.
  2. 02HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In pain-free young adults, intranasal oxytocin lowered cold pressor pain unpleasantness versus placebo.

    In plain wordsIn pain-free young adults, oxytocin nasal spray lowered how unpleasant the pain felt compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    DecreasePain unpleasantness (cold pressor)
    Study

    n = 37

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

    Source sentences

    Summary
    pain unpleasantness (47.00 [27.24] versus 55.78 [22.46], p = .033
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    Thirty-seven (18 were male) pain-free young adults underwent two laboratory sessions separated by 1 week.
    Summary · context
    Participants were given an intransal administration of 40 IU oxytocin or placebo.
  3. 03HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In pain-free young adults, intranasal oxytocin lowered Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire-2 pain descriptor scores versus placebo.

    In plain wordsIn pain-free young adults, oxytocin nasal spray lowered pain-description scores compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    DecreaseSF-MPQ-2 pain descriptors
    Study

    n = 37

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

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire-2 pain descriptors (53.38 [31.18] versus 60.92 [31.17], p = .031
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    Thirty-seven (18 were male) pain-free young adults underwent two laboratory sessions separated by 1 week.
    Summary · context
    Participants were given an intransal administration of 40 IU oxytocin or placebo.
  4. 04HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In pain-free young adults, intranasal oxytocin raised the cold pressor pain threshold versus placebo.

    In plain wordsIn pain-free young adults, oxytocin nasal spray raised the pain threshold compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    IncreasePain threshold (cold pressor)
    Study

    n = 37

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

    Source sentences

    Summary
    higher pain threshold (45.70 [59.55] versus 38.35 [59.12], p = .040) after oxytocin administration relative to placebo
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    Thirty-seven (18 were male) pain-free young adults underwent two laboratory sessions separated by 1 week.
    Summary · context
    Participants were given an intransal administration of 40 IU oxytocin or placebo.
  5. 05HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In pain-free young adults, intranasal oxytocin attenuated the pain-related increase in heart rate.

    In plain wordsIn pain-free young adults, oxytocin nasal spray reduced the heart rate rise that came with pain.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    DecreasePain-related increase in heart rate
    Study

    n = 37

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Heart function · Cardiovascular
    Studied dose
    40 IU · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    There was a nasal spray by phase interaction on HR (p = .006). Pain-related increase in HR was attenuated by oxytocin nasal spray.
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    Thirty-seven (18 were male) pain-free young adults underwent two laboratory sessions separated by 1 week.
    Summary · context
    Participants were given an intransal administration of 40 IU oxytocin or placebo.
  6. 06HumanRandomized controlled trialSafety outcome

    In pain-free young adults, systolic and diastolic blood pressure rose during pain testing and was unaffected by the nasal spray.

    In plain wordsIn pain-free young adults, blood pressure rose during pain testing but oxytocin nasal spray did not change it.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeBlood pressure during pain testing
    Study

    n = 37

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Blood pressure · Cardiovascular
    Studied dose
    40 IU · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased during pain testing but were unaffected by nasal spray.
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    Thirty-seven (18 were male) pain-free young adults underwent two laboratory sessions separated by 1 week.
    Summary · context
    Participants were given an intransal administration of 40 IU oxytocin or placebo.

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, 02:49 UTC

    First added · source update from Europe PMC

Subjects

Terms as the source lists them.

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