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Study · Randomized controlled trial · n = 128 · 2020

5 results

Common and dissociable effects of oxytocin and lorazepam on the neurocircuitry of fear.

Kreuder AK, Scheele D, Schultz J, Hennig J, Marsh N, Dellert T, Ettinger U, Philipsen A, Babasiz M, Herscheid A, Remmersmann L, Stirnberg R, Stöcker T, Hurlemann R

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America8 May 2020Cited by 30 (Europe PMC)

PMID32385158 (opens in a new tab)PMCIDPMC7261088 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1073/pnas.1920147117 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-32385158
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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 study5

5 results from studies that gave the peptide. 5 results from people.

  1. 01HumanRandomized controlled trialSafety outcome

    In healthy men, a single dose of oxytocin did not cause sedation (reaction time increase), unlike lorazepam, which raised reaction times by 19%.

    In plain wordsIn healthy men, oxytocin did not slow reaction times, while lorazepam did.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeReaction time (sedation)
    Study

    n = 128

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Adverse events · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    24 IU · single doseAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    On the behavioral level, LZP, but not OXT, caused mild sedation, as evidenced by a 19% increase in reaction times.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    One hundred twenty-eight healthy male participants volunteered in this randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-group study. Before scanning using an emotional face-matching paradigm, participants were randomly administered a single dose of OXT (24 IU), LZP (1 mg), or placebo.
  2. 02HumanRandomized controlled trialMechanism

    In healthy men, oxytocin inhibited centromedial amygdala responses to fearful versus neutral faces.

    In plain wordsIn healthy men, oxytocin lowered activity in a fear-related brain region when viewing fearful faces.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    DecreaseCentromedial amygdala response to fearful faces
    Study

    n = 128

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Anxiety and mood · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    24 IU · single doseAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    On the neural level, both OXT and LZP inhibited responses to fearful faces vs. neutral faces within the centromedial amygdala (cmA).
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    One hundred twenty-eight healthy male participants volunteered in this randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-group study. Before scanning using an emotional face-matching paradigm, participants were randomly administered a single dose of OXT (24 IU), LZP (1 mg), or placebo.
  3. 03HumanRandomized controlled trialMechanism

    In healthy men, oxytocin strengthened coupling between the centromedial and basolateral amygdala.

    In plain wordsIn healthy men, oxytocin strengthened the link between two parts of the amygdala.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    IncreaseCoupling between centromedial and basolateral amygdala
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Brain and neuronal activity · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    24 IU · single doseAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    OXT strengthened the coupling between the cmA and basolateral amygdala, whereas LZP increased the interplay between the cmA and superficial amygdala.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    One hundred twenty-eight healthy male participants volunteered in this randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-group study. Before scanning using an emotional face-matching paradigm, participants were randomly administered a single dose of OXT (24 IU), LZP (1 mg), or placebo.
  4. 04HumanRandomized controlled trialMechanism

    In healthy men, oxytocin, but not lorazepam, enhanced coupling between the centromedial amygdala and the precuneus.

    In plain wordsIn healthy men, oxytocin strengthened the link between the amygdala and the precuneus brain region. Lorazepam did not.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    IncreaseCoupling between centromedial amygdala and precuneus
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Brain and neuronal activity · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    24 IU · single doseAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Furthermore, OXT, but not LZP, enhanced the coupling between the cmA and the precuneus and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    One hundred twenty-eight healthy male participants volunteered in this randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-group study. Before scanning using an emotional face-matching paradigm, participants were randomly administered a single dose of OXT (24 IU), LZP (1 mg), or placebo.
  5. 05HumanRandomized controlled trialMechanism

    In healthy men, oxytocin, but not lorazepam, enhanced coupling between the centromedial amygdala and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex.

    In plain wordsIn healthy men, oxytocin strengthened the link between the amygdala and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Lorazepam did not.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    IncreaseCoupling between centromedial amygdala and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Brain and neuronal activity · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    24 IU · single doseAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Furthermore, OXT, but not LZP, enhanced the coupling between the cmA and the precuneus and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    One hundred twenty-eight healthy male participants volunteered in this randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-group study. Before scanning using an emotional face-matching paradigm, participants were randomly administered a single dose of OXT (24 IU), LZP (1 mg), or placebo.

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, 00:50 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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