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Study · Measured the body's own peptide · 2021

4 results

Oxytocin synchrony between patients and therapists as a mechanism underlying effective psychotherapy for depression.

Zilcha-Mano S, Goldstein P, Dolev-Amit T, Shamay-Tsoory S

Journal of consulting and clinical psychology1 Jan 2021Cited by 28 (Europe PMC)

PMID33507775 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1037/ccp0000619 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-33507775
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

No result from this study comes from a test of the peptide.

Natural levels measured4

These results measure the body's own peptide. Nobody was given the peptide. They are not evidence about taking it. They are left out of key results, evidence counts and charts.

  1. 01HumanEndogenous levelObservational studyOther

    In 37 patient-therapist dyads in psychotherapy for depression, synchrony of the body's own oxytocin changes was associated with effective treatment.

    In plain wordsIn patient-therapist pairs in depression therapy, matching changes in the body's own oxytocin were linked to effective treatment.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    Not applicablePatient-therapist oxytocin synchrony and effective treatment
    Study

    n = 37

    Outcome group
    Endogenous peptide levels · Mental health and mood

    Source sentences

    Summary
    OT synchrony between patients and therapists was found to be associated with effective treatment.
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    Five hundred eighty OT saliva samples were collected from 37 patient-therapist dyads on a fixed schedule over a 16-session ongoing randomized controlled trial for psychotherapy for depression.
    Summary · context
    Biological synchrony was operationalized as the correlation between changes occurring repeatedly over treatment in patient and therapist OT levels pre- to postsession.

    This result measures the body's own Oxytocin. Nobody was given the peptide. It is not evidence about taking it.

  2. 02HumanEndogenous levelObservational studyOther

    In patient-therapist dyads in psychotherapy for depression, poorer baseline social functioning predicted lower synchrony of the body's own oxytocin changes.

    In plain wordsIn patient-therapist pairs in depression therapy, poorer social functioning at the start was linked to less matching of the body's own oxytocin changes.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    Not applicableBaseline social functioning and patient-therapist oxytocin synchrony
    Study

    n = 37

    Outcome group
    Endogenous peptide levels · Mental health and mood

    Source sentences

    Summary
    (a) poorer social functioning at baseline predicted lower levels of patient-therapist synchrony in OT changes from pre- to postsession over the course of treatment
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    Five hundred eighty OT saliva samples were collected from 37 patient-therapist dyads on a fixed schedule over a 16-session ongoing randomized controlled trial for psychotherapy for depression.
    Summary · context
    Biological synchrony was operationalized as the correlation between changes occurring repeatedly over treatment in patient and therapist OT levels pre- to postsession.

    This result measures the body's own Oxytocin. Nobody was given the peptide. It is not evidence about taking it.

  3. 03HumanEndogenous levelObservational studyOther

    In patient-therapist dyads in psychotherapy for depression, lower synchrony of the body's own oxytocin changes predicted less reduction in depressive symptoms.

    In plain wordsIn patient-therapist pairs in depression therapy, less matching of the body's own oxytocin changes was linked to a smaller drop in depressive symptoms.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    Not applicablePatient-therapist oxytocin synchrony and reduction in depressive symptoms
    Study

    n = 37

    Outcome group
    Anxiety and mood · Mental health and mood

    Source sentences

    Summary
    (b) lower levels of therapist-patient OT synchrony, in turn, predicted less reduction in depressive symptoms during treatment
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    Five hundred eighty OT saliva samples were collected from 37 patient-therapist dyads on a fixed schedule over a 16-session ongoing randomized controlled trial for psychotherapy for depression.
    Summary · context
    Biological synchrony was operationalized as the correlation between changes occurring repeatedly over treatment in patient and therapist OT levels pre- to postsession.

    This result measures the body's own Oxytocin. Nobody was given the peptide. It is not evidence about taking it.

  4. 04HumanEndogenous levelObservational studyOther

    In patient-therapist dyads in psychotherapy for depression, oxytocin synchrony significantly mediated the association between social impairment and reduction in depressive symptoms.

    In plain wordsIn patient-therapist pairs in depression therapy, matching of the body's own oxytocin changes helped explain the link between social difficulties and symptom improvement.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    Not applicableMediation of social impairment and symptom reduction by oxytocin synchrony
    Study

    n = 37

    Outcome group
    Anxiety and mood · Mental health and mood

    Source sentences

    Summary
    (c) based on quasi-Bayesian Monte Carlo simulations, the levels of therapist-patient synchrony significantly mediated the association between social impairment and reduction in depressive symptoms
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    Five hundred eighty OT saliva samples were collected from 37 patient-therapist dyads on a fixed schedule over a 16-session ongoing randomized controlled trial for psychotherapy for depression.
    Summary · context
    Biological synchrony was operationalized as the correlation between changes occurring repeatedly over treatment in patient and therapist OT levels pre- to postsession.

    This result measures the body's own Oxytocin. Nobody was given the peptide. It is not evidence about taking it.

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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