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Study · Systematic review · 2018

4 results

The effect of intranasal oxytocin on neural response to facial emotions in healthy adults as measured by functional MRI: A systematic review.

Tully J, Gabay AS, Brown D, Murphy DGM, Blackwood N

Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging9 Dec 2017Cited by 33 (Europe PMC)

PMID29272737 (opens in a new tab)PMCIDPMC6562202 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1016/j.pscychresns.2017.11.017 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-29272737
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Summary

Abnormalities in responses to human facial emotions are associated with a range of psychiatric disorders. Addressing these abnormalities may therefore have significant clinical applications. Previous meta-analyses have demonstrated effects of the neuropeptide oxytocin on behavioural response to facial emotions, and effects on brain, as measured by functional MRI. Evidence suggests that these effects may be mediated by sex and the role of eye gaze. However, the specific effect of oxytocin on brain response to facial emotions in healthy adults has not been systematically analysed. To address this question, this further systematic review was conducted. Twenty-two studies met our inclusion criteria. In men, oxytocin consistently attenuated brain activity in response to negative emotional faces, particularly fear, compared with placebo, while in women, oxytocin enhanced activity. Brain regions consistently involved included the amygdala, fusiform gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex. In some studies, oxytocin increased fixation changes towards the eyes with enhanced amygdala and/or fusiform gyrus activation. By enhancing understanding of emotion processing in healthy subjects, these pharmacoimaging studies provide a theoretical basis for studying deficits in clinical populations. However, progress to date has been limited by low statistical power, methodological heterogeneity, and a lack of multimodal studies.
CC BYText from Europe PMC. Highlighted sentences are the source of results.

Results from this study4

4 results from studies that gave the peptide. 4 results from people.

  1. 01HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In healthy men, intranasal oxytocin consistently attenuated brain activity in response to negative emotional faces, particularly fear, versus placebo.

    In plain wordsIn healthy men, oxytocin nasal spray lowered brain responses to negative faces, especially fearful ones, compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    DecreaseBrain activity to negative emotional faces, men
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Social behavior and cognition · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    In men, oxytocin consistently attenuated brain activity in response to negative emotional faces, particularly fear, compared with placebo, while in women, oxytocin enhanced activity.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Twenty-two studies met our inclusion criteria.
  2. 02HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In healthy women, intranasal oxytocin enhanced brain activity in response to negative emotional faces.

    In plain wordsIn healthy women, oxytocin nasal spray increased brain responses to negative faces.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    IncreaseBrain activity to negative emotional faces, women
    Study

    n: not reported in source

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

    Source sentences

    Summary
    In men, oxytocin consistently attenuated brain activity in response to negative emotional faces, particularly fear, compared with placebo, while in women, oxytocin enhanced activity.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Twenty-two studies met our inclusion criteria.
  3. 03HumanSystematic reviewMechanism

    In healthy adults, the amygdala, fusiform gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex were consistently involved in the brain response to facial emotions under intranasal oxytocin.

    In plain wordsIn healthy adults, the amygdala, fusiform gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex were the brain areas most often involved in oxytocin's effects on face responses.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    Not applicableBrain regions involved in the oxytocin response
    Study

    n: not reported in source

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

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Brain regions consistently involved included the amygdala, fusiform gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Twenty-two studies met our inclusion criteria.
  4. 04HumanSystematic reviewMechanism

    In some studies in healthy adults, intranasal oxytocin increased fixation changes towards the eyes with enhanced amygdala and/or fusiform gyrus activation.

    In plain wordsIn some studies of healthy adults, oxytocin nasal spray increased looking at the eyes, and also raised activity in two face-related brain areas.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    IncreaseEye fixation changes with amygdala and fusiform activation
    Study

    n: not reported in source

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

    Source sentences

    Summary
    In some studies, oxytocin increased fixation changes towards the eyes with enhanced amygdala and/or fusiform gyrus activation.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Twenty-two studies met our inclusion criteria.

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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