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Study · Randomized controlled trial · 2018

4 results

Oxytocin blurs the self-other distinction implicitly but not explicitly.

Pfundmair M, Rimpel A, Duffy K, Zwarg C

Hormones and behavior3 Jan 2018Cited by 5 (Europe PMC)

PMID29289658 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.12.016 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-29289658
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. 01HumanRandomized controlled trialMechanism

    In an eye-tracking prediction task (Study 1), oxytocin changed the usual eye movement pattern so that other predictions approached self predictions, an implicit self-other blurring.

    In plain wordsIn an eye-tracking task, oxytocin made eye movements for predicting others look more like those for predicting oneself.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    Not applicableEye movements during other predictions versus self predictions (Study 1)
    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
    OT changed this pattern: the eye movement behavior during other predictions approached the eye movement behavior during selfpredictions under OT in Study 1.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    After participants intranasally self-administered OT or placebo, they were eye-tracked while conducting a prediction task (Study 1) or they were video-recorded while conducting a distraction task with a human counterpart (Study 2).
  2. 02HumanRandomized controlled trialMechanism

    In a distraction task with a human counterpart (Study 2), oxytocin made participants mimic their confederates' mannerisms more strongly.

    In plain wordsIn a task with another person, oxytocin made participants copy the other person's mannerisms more.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    IncreaseMimicry of a confederate's mannerisms (Study 2)
    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 Study 2, OT made the participants to mimic their confederates' mannerisms more strongly, displaying a behavioral self-other merge.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    After participants intranasally self-administered OT or placebo, they were eye-tracked while conducting a prediction task (Study 1) or they were video-recorded while conducting a distraction task with a human counterpart (Study 2).
  3. 03HumanRandomized controlled trialMechanism

    In Study 1, conscious likelihood estimates still differentiated sharply between other and self predictions under oxytocin, so no explicit self-other merge occurred.

    In plain wordsIn the eye-tracking task, people's conscious estimates still kept self and other apart under oxytocin.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeExplicit likelihood estimates for self and other predictions (Study 1)
    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 Study 1, conscious likelihood estimates sharply differentiated between other and selfpredictions
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    After participants intranasally self-administered OT or placebo, they were eye-tracked while conducting a prediction task (Study 1) or they were video-recorded while conducting a distraction task with a human counterpart (Study 2).
  4. 04HumanRandomized controlled trialMechanism

    In Study 2, participants were not aware of mimicking the others' behaviors, so the self-other merge was not explicit.

    In plain wordsIn the second task, people did not notice they were copying others, so the merging stayed implicit.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeAwareness of mimicking (Study 2)
    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
    participants in Study 2 were not aware of mimicking the others' behaviors
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    After participants intranasally self-administered OT or placebo, they were eye-tracked while conducting a prediction task (Study 1) or they were video-recorded while conducting a distraction task with a human counterpart (Study 2).

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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