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Study · Systematic review · 2025

4 results

Exploring the efficacy of intranasal oxytocin (OXT) for anxiety and stress-related disorders through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study: a systematic review.

Moshfeghinia R, Sanaei E, Kavari K, Barzegari AM, Ahmadzadeh AM, Arab Bafrani M, Habibzadeh A, Boroon M, Shalbafan M

BMC pharmacology & toxicology10 Oct 2025Cited by 1 (Europe PMC)

PMID41074229 (opens in a new tab)PMCIDPMC12514844 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1186/s40360-025-00996-y (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-41074229
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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: CC BY-NC-ND. Results still quote short attributed sentences.

Results from this study4

4 results from studies that gave the peptide. 4 results from people.

  1. 01HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In people with PTSD, intranasal oxytocin improved functional connectivity between the amygdala and cortical areas in fMRI studies.

    In plain wordsIn people with PTSD, nasal oxytocin improved brain connectivity between the amygdala and cortical areas in scans.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    IncreaseAmygdala-cortical functional connectivity in PTSD
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Outcome group
    Anxiety and mood · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    OXT improved functional connectivity (FC) between the amygdala and cortical areas
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    We included 16 RCTs out of a total of 996 studies in this review.
    Summary · context
    The findings were categorized according to specific disorder types: participants with trauma-related PTSD (n = 11), those diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (SAD) (n = 5).
  2. 02HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In people with PTSD, intranasal oxytocin altered amygdala reactivity in fMRI studies, with effects influenced by sex, symptom severity and trauma or anxiety history.

    In plain wordsIn people with PTSD, nasal oxytocin changed amygdala activity in scans, and the effect varied by sex, severity and history.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    MixedAmygdala reactivity in PTSD
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Outcome group
    Anxiety and mood · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    altered amygdala reactivity, effects that were influenced by factors such as sex, symptom severity, and history of trauma or anxiety.
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    We included 16 RCTs out of a total of 996 studies in this review.
    Summary · context
    The findings were categorized according to specific disorder types: participants with trauma-related PTSD (n = 11), those diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (SAD) (n = 5).
  3. 03HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In people with social anxiety disorder, intranasal oxytocin enhanced amygdala-prefrontal cortex connectivity in fMRI studies.

    In plain wordsIn people with social anxiety disorder, nasal oxytocin increased connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex in scans.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    IncreaseAmygdala-prefrontal connectivity in social anxiety disorder
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Outcome group
    Anxiety and mood · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    OXT enhanced amygdala-prefrontal cortex connectivity
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    We included 16 RCTs out of a total of 996 studies in this review.
    Summary · context
    The findings were categorized according to specific disorder types: participants with trauma-related PTSD (n = 11), those diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (SAD) (n = 5).
  4. 04HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In people with social anxiety disorder, intranasal oxytocin decreased reactivity between the insula and amygdala in fMRI studies.

    In plain wordsIn people with social anxiety disorder, nasal oxytocin lowered reactivity between the insula and amygdala in scans.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    DecreaseInsula-amygdala reactivity in social anxiety disorder
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Outcome group
    Anxiety and mood · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    decreased reactivity between the insula and amygdala.
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    We included 16 RCTs out of a total of 996 studies in this review.
    Summary · context
    The findings were categorized according to specific disorder types: participants with trauma-related PTSD (n = 11), those diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (SAD) (n = 5).

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, 02:47 UTC

    First added · source update from Europe PMC

Subjects

Terms as the source lists them.

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