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Study · Randomized controlled trial · 2026

4 results

Post-encoding administration of oxytocin selectively enhances memory consolidation of male faces in females.

Liu W, Li J, Chen Z, Zhao Q, Sun X

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America20 Jan 2026Cited by 2 (Europe PMC)

PMID41557801 (opens in a new tab)PMCIDPMC12846807 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1073/pnas.2529865123 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-41557801
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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. 01HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In heterosexual women, oxytocin given immediately after encoding significantly improved recognition of male faces 24 h later compared with placebo.

    In plain wordsIn women, oxytocin taken right after seeing faces improved recognition of male faces a day later, compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    IncreaseRecognition of male faces 24 h later, oxytocin after encoding, females
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Cognition and memory · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated

    Source sentences

    Summary
    administering oxytocin post-encoding, but not before-retrieval or before-encoding, significantly improved female participants' ability to recognize male faces 24 h later
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    In three preregistered, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials with heterosexual participants (total N = 445, comprising 227 males and 218 females), we explored how oxytocin affects memory consolidation.
    Summary · context
    We administered oxytocin immediately after encoding (i.e., Study 1), before retrieval (i.e., Study 2), and before encoding (i.e., Study 3) in three parallel studies.
  2. 02HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    Oxytocin given before retrieval did not significantly improve face recognition compared with placebo.

    In plain wordsOxytocin taken before the memory test did not significantly improve face recognition, compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeFace recognition, oxytocin before retrieval
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Cognition and memory · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated

    Source sentences

    Summary
    administering oxytocin post-encoding, but not before-retrieval or before-encoding
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    In three preregistered, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials with heterosexual participants (total N = 445, comprising 227 males and 218 females), we explored how oxytocin affects memory consolidation.
    Summary · context
    We administered oxytocin immediately after encoding (i.e., Study 1), before retrieval (i.e., Study 2), and before encoding (i.e., Study 3) in three parallel studies.
  3. 03HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    Oxytocin given before encoding did not significantly improve face recognition compared with placebo.

    In plain wordsOxytocin taken before seeing the faces did not significantly improve face recognition, compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeFace recognition, oxytocin before encoding
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Cognition and memory · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated

    Source sentences

    Summary
    administering oxytocin post-encoding, but not before-retrieval or before-encoding
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    In three preregistered, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials with heterosexual participants (total N = 445, comprising 227 males and 218 females), we explored how oxytocin affects memory consolidation.
    Summary · context
    We administered oxytocin immediately after encoding (i.e., Study 1), before retrieval (i.e., Study 2), and before encoding (i.e., Study 3) in three parallel studies.
  4. 04HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In men, oxytocin given after encoding did not enhance recognition of opposite-gender faces compared with placebo.

    In plain wordsIn men, oxytocin taken after seeing faces did not improve recognition of women's faces, compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeRecognition of opposite-gender faces after post-encoding oxytocin, males
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Cognition and memory · Nervous system and cognition
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated

    Source sentences

    Summary
    with no similar enhancement observed in males recognizing opposite-gender faces.
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    In three preregistered, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials with heterosexual participants (total N = 445, comprising 227 males and 218 females), we explored how oxytocin affects memory consolidation.
    Summary · context
    We administered oxytocin immediately after encoding (i.e., Study 1), before retrieval (i.e., Study 2), and before encoding (i.e., Study 3) in three parallel studies.

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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