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Study · Systematic review · 2018

4 results

Intranasal oxytocin, social cognition and neurodevelopmental disorders: A meta-analysis.

Keech B, Crowe S, Hocking DR

Psychoneuroendocrinology8 Oct 2017Cited by 99 (Europe PMC)

PMID29032324 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.09.022 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-29032324
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. 01HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In people with neurodevelopmental disorders, intranasal oxytocin had no significant effect on emotion recognition.

    In plain wordsIn people with neurodevelopmental disorders, intranasal oxytocin had no clear effect on recognising emotions.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeEmotion recognition
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Outcome group
    Social behavior and cognition · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Measurements

    Hedges g
    0.08
    emotion recognition

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Meta-analysis using a random-effects model, revealed that IN-OT had no significant effect on emotion recognition (Hedges' g=0.08)
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Seventeen studies met inclusion criteria, comprising 466 participants with a NDD.
  2. 02HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In people with neurodevelopmental disorders, intranasal oxytocin had a moderate but non-significant effect on empathy.

    In plain wordsIn people with neurodevelopmental disorders, intranasal oxytocin showed a moderate effect on empathy, but it was not statistically significant, so it is unclear.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeEmpathy
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Outcome group
    Social behavior and cognition · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Measurements

    Hedges g
    0.49
    empathy

    Source sentences

    Summary
    a moderate but non-significant effect on empathy (Hedges' g=0.49)
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Seventeen studies met inclusion criteria, comprising 466 participants with a NDD.
  3. 03HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In people with neurodevelopmental disorders, intranasal oxytocin had a small, significant effect on theory of mind.

    In plain wordsIn people with neurodevelopmental disorders, intranasal oxytocin had a small but significant effect on theory of mind.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    IncreaseTheory of mind
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Outcome group
    Social behavior and cognition · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Measurements

    Hedges g
    0.21
    theory of mind

    Source sentences

    Summary
    a small, significant effect on theory of mind (ToM) (Hedges' g=0.21).
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Seventeen studies met inclusion criteria, comprising 466 participants with a NDD.
  4. 04HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In people with neurodevelopmental disorders, the effect of intranasal oxytocin on social cognition was not moderated by diagnosis, age, dose or frequency of administration.

    In plain wordsIn people with neurodevelopmental disorders, the effect of intranasal oxytocin did not depend on diagnosis, age, dose or how often it was given.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeModerators of the effect on social cognition (diagnosis, age, dose, frequency)
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Outcome group
    Social behavior and cognition · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Meta-regression indicated that the effect of IN-OT on social cognition was not moderated by the diagnosis or age of participants, or the dose or frequency of IN-OT administration.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Seventeen studies met inclusion criteria, comprising 466 participants with a NDD.

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

    9 Oct 2026, 18:17 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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