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Study · Randomized controlled trial · 2015

4 results

Oxytocin tempers calculated greed but not impulsive defense in predator-prey contests.

De Dreu CK, Scholte HS, van Winden FA, Ridderinkhof KR

Social cognitive and affective neuroscience19 Aug 2014Cited by 21 (Europe PMC)

PMID25140047 (opens in a new tab)PMCIDPMC4420750 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1093/scan/nsu109 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-25140047
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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 healthy males in a predator-prey contest, oxytocin did not change neural and behavioral responding in prey roles.

    In plain wordsIn healthy men, oxytocin did not change brain or behavior responses when defending against a predator.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeNeural and behavioral responding in prey (fear-motivated)
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Anxiety and mood · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Inconsistent with FD, oxytocin did not modulate neural and behavioral responding in prey.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Healthy males given oxytocin or placebo invested as predator to win their prey's endowment, or as prey to protect their endowment against predation.
  2. 02HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In healthy males in a predator-prey contest, oxytocin reduced investment by predators compared with placebo.

    In plain wordsIn healthy men, oxytocin lowered how much they invested when trying to win another person's money, compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    DecreasePredator investment (greed-motivated)
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Social behavior and cognition · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Consistent with SAA, oxytocin reduced predator investment, time to decide and activation in SFG.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Healthy males given oxytocin or placebo invested as predator to win their prey's endowment, or as prey to protect their endowment against predation.
  3. 03HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In healthy males in a predator-prey contest, oxytocin shortened the time predators took to decide compared with placebo.

    In plain wordsIn healthy men, oxytocin shortened decision time when trying to win another person's money, compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    DecreaseTime to decide in predators
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Social behavior and cognition · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Consistent with SAA, oxytocin reduced predator investment, time to decide and activation in SFG.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Healthy males given oxytocin or placebo invested as predator to win their prey's endowment, or as prey to protect their endowment against predation.
  4. 04HumanRandomized controlled trialMechanism

    In healthy males in a predator-prey contest, oxytocin reduced activation in the superior frontal gyrus in predators compared with placebo.

    In plain wordsIn healthy men, oxytocin lowered activity in one brain region during greedy decisions, compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    DecreaseSuperior frontal gyrus activation in predators
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Brain and neuronal activity · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Consistent with SAA, oxytocin reduced predator investment, time to decide and activation in SFG.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Healthy males given oxytocin or placebo invested as predator to win their prey's endowment, or as prey to protect their endowment against predation.

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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