To mirror or not to mirror upon mutual gaze, oxytocin can pave the way: A cross-over randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Prinsen J, Brams S, Alaerts K

Psychoneuroendocrinology22 Feb 2018Cited by 14 (Europe PMC)

PMID29494953DOI10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.02.016PepBankPUB-29494953

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 study2

2 results from studies that gave the peptide. 2 results from people.

01HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome
In healthy men, a single dose of intranasal oxytocin did not uniformly enhance motor resonance upon direct gaze.
In plain wordsIn healthy men, one dose of oxytocin nasal spray did not boost mirroring of others' movements for everyone.
Peptide
Oxytocin
Outcome
No significant changeMotor resonance upon direct versus averted gaze
Study
n = 27
Comparator
Placebo
Outcome group
Social behavior and cognition · Nervous system and cognition
Studied dose
24 IU · intranasal · single doseAs given in this study (human).
Source sentences
Summary
a single dose of OXT did not uniformly enhance this effect.
1 context sentence(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
The study involved a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial with twenty-seven healthy adult men (19-32 y).
Report a problemFND-2949495301
02HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome
In healthy men with high self-reported attachment avoidance, intranasal oxytocin showed a stronger enhancement of motor resonance upon direct eye contact than in men with low attachment avoidance.
In plain wordsIn healthy men who avoid close attachment, oxytocin nasal spray increased mirroring of others' movements during eye contact more than in men with low avoidance.
Peptide
Oxytocin
Outcome
IncreaseMotor resonance upon direct eye contact in men with high attachment avoidance
Study
n: not reported in source
Comparator
Placebo
Outcome group
Social behavior and cognition · Nervous system and cognition
Studied dose
24 IU · intranasal · single doseAs given in this study (human).
Source sentences
Summary
Significant moderations of the treatment effect were noted however, indicating that participants with high self-reports of attachment avoidance displayed a stronger OXT-treatment effect (enhancement of motor resonance upon direct eye contact), compared to participants with low attachment avoidance.
2 context sentences(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
Particularly, while participants with high attachment avoidance initially displayed a reduced propensity to increase their motor resonance upon direct eye contact, a single dose of OXT was able to promote an otherwise avoidant individual's propensity to engage in motor resonance upon a salient socia…
Summary · context
The study involved a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial with twenty-seven healthy adult men (19-32 y).
Report a problemFND-2949495302

AI wrote and checked these results. AI can make mistakes, so check important results against the source.

Registered trials1

Trials this study reports on, or that list this study as a reference. Registry data from ClinicalTrials.gov.

1 trial · 1 completed · source ClinicalTrials.gov (opens in a new tab)

CompletedPhase 3NCT03640156

Modulating Socially Adaptive Mirror System Functioning in Autism by Oxytocin

KU Leuvenn = 2526 Jul 2018 to 19 Dec 2019

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Trial page ClinicalTrials.govUpdated 5 Feb 2020

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.

Version 2Current
11 Oct 2026, 01:30 UTC
Study results updated
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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