Divergent effects of oxytocin on "mind-reading" in healthy males.

Macchia A, Zebhauser PT, Salcedo S, Burum B, Gold E, Alonso-Alonso M, Pascual-Leone A, Gilbert D, Brem AK

Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience13 Sept 2021Cited by 5 (Europe PMC)

PMID34519018PMCIDPMC8791897DOI10.3758/s13415-021-00936-3PepBankPUB-34519018

Summary

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has been associated with a broad range of human behaviors, particularly in the domain of social cognition, and is being discussed to play a role in a range of psychiatric disorders. Studies using the Reading The Mind In The Eyes Test (RMET) to investigate the role of OT in mental state recognition reported inconsistent outcomes. The present study applied a randomized, double-blind, cross-over design, and included measures of serum OT. Twenty healthy males received intranasal placebo or OT (24 IU) before performing the RMET. Frequentist and Bayesian analyses showed that contrary to previous studies (Domes et al., 2007; Radke & de Bruijn, 2015), individuals performed worse in the OT condition compared to the placebo condition (p = 0.023, Cohen's d = 0.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.08, 1.02], BF₁₀ = 6.93). OT effects did not depend on item characteristics (difficulty, valence, intensity, sex) of the RMET. Furthermore, OT serum levels did not change after intranasal OT administration. Given that similar study designs lead to heterogeneous outcomes, our results highlight the complexity of OT effects and support evidence that OT might even interfere with social cognitive abilities. However, the Bayesian analysis approach shows that there is only moderate evidence that OT influences mind-reading, highlighting the need for larger-scale studies considering the discussed aspects that might have led to divergent study results.

CC BYText from Europe PMC. Highlighted sentences are the source of results.

Results from this study3

3 results from studies that gave the peptide. 3 results from people.

01HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome
In healthy males, intranasal oxytocin worsened performance on the Reading The Mind In The Eyes Test compared with placebo.
In plain wordsIn healthy men, oxytocin nasal spray made mind-reading test performance worse than placebo.
Peptide
Oxytocin
Outcome
DecreaseRMET mind-reading performance
Study
n = 20
Comparator
Placebo
Outcome group
Cognition and memory · Nervous system and cognition
Studied dose
24 IU · intranasalAs given in this study (human).
Measurements
Cohen's d
0.55
OT versus placebo
Source sentences
Summary
Frequentist and Bayesian analyses showed that contrary to previous studies (Domes et al., 2007; Radke & de Bruijn, 2015), individuals performed worse in the OT condition compared to the placebo condition (p = 0.023, Cohen's d = 0.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.08, 1.02], BF₁₀ = 6.93).
2 context sentences(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
The present study applied a randomized, double-blind, cross-over design, and included measures of serum OT.
Summary · context
Twenty healthy males received intranasal placebo or OT (24 IU) before performing the RMET.
Show in the study text Report a problemFND-3451901801
02HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome
In healthy males, the oxytocin effect on RMET performance did not depend on item difficulty, valence, intensity or sex.
In plain wordsIn healthy men, the oxytocin effect on the mind-reading test did not depend on the type of test item.
Peptide
Oxytocin
Outcome
No significant changeRMET effect by item characteristics
Study
n = 20
Comparator
Placebo
Outcome group
Cognition and memory · Nervous system and cognition
Studied dose
24 IU · intranasalAs given in this study (human).
Source sentences
Summary
OT effects did not depend on item characteristics (difficulty, valence, intensity, sex) of the RMET.
2 context sentences(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
The present study applied a randomized, double-blind, cross-over design, and included measures of serum OT.
Summary · context
Twenty healthy males received intranasal placebo or OT (24 IU) before performing the RMET.
Show in the study text Report a problemFND-3451901802
03HumanRandomized controlled trialPharmacokinetics
In healthy males, serum oxytocin levels did not change after intranasal oxytocin administration.
In plain wordsIn healthy men, blood oxytocin levels did not change after oxytocin nasal spray.
Peptide
Oxytocin
Outcome
No significant changeSerum oxytocin after intranasal oxytocin
Study
n = 20
Outcome group
Pharmacokinetics · Pharmacology
Studied dose
24 IU · intranasalAs given in this study (human).
Source sentences
Summary
Furthermore, OT serum levels did not change after intranasal OT administration.
2 context sentences(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
The present study applied a randomized, double-blind, cross-over design, and included measures of serum OT.
Summary · context
Twenty healthy males received intranasal placebo or OT (24 IU) before performing the RMET.
Show in the study text Report a problemFND-3451901803

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.

Version 2Current
11 Oct 2026, 00:50 UTC
Study results updated
Version 1
9 Oct 2026, 02:48 UTC
First added · source update from Europe PMC

Subjects

Terms as the source lists them.

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