Oral Oxytocin (24IU) to be investigated for modulating attention control in social-emotional eye-tracking tasks

Oxytocin and vasopressin are known to influence social behavior and emotion processing, with intranasal administration showing divergent effects on aspects like empathy and negative emotion processing. However, the specific impact of these treatments on attention control remains unclear, particularly when administered orally. This study aims to address the gap in understanding how oral oxytocin might modulate attention in social-emotional contexts, building on previous intranasal research.

The study will investigate the effects of orally administered oxytocin (24IU) using medicated lollipops. Participants will undergo a social-emotional saccade/antisaccade eye-tracking paradigm to assess attention control. Data from subjects receiving oral oxytocin (24IU) will be compared against a placebo lollipop arm (identical ingredients without active agent). For broader context, this study will also compare its findings with existing data from previous intranasal oxytocin (NCT03486925, n = 33) and intranasal vasopressin or placebo (NCT04493554, n = 39 or 45) administration studies.