Effect of Oxytocin Nasal Inhalation on Empathy Analgesia

Peking University People's Hospital120 enrolled

Overview

This study recruited healthy volunteers and randomly divided them into four groups. They inhaled oxytocin or saline, and watched a pain test video with photos of acquaintances or strangers, respectively, to test whether their feelings of the same thermal pain stimulus had changed.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

QUADRUPLE

Enrollment

120

Conditions

Oxytocin Pain Empathy Social Familiarity Analgesia

Interventions

Oxytocin nasal sprayDRUG

Volunteers inhale 24 units of oxytocin spray

PlaceboDRUG

Volunteers inhale 24 units of placebo spray

StrangerBEHAVIORAL

Volunteers watch a video of a pain test and attach a photo of a stranger

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 40 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Healthy volunteers Exclusion Criteria: * During pregnancy; * Have participated in any research related to pain; * Sleep disorders; * Used alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, or other psychoactive substances within 24 hours before the test; * Experienced intense pain requiring medical analgesia within three months prior to the trial; * Taking any medication, including over the counter medication; * Addiction to alcohol, tobacco, or drugs; * A history of any respiratory, circulatory, neurological, musculoskeletal, and/or mental illness; * Current symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. (See quantitative sensor testing for specific standards)

Locations (1)

Peking University People's Hospital

Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

NRS score

numerical rating scale of pain， ranging from 0 = "no pain" to 10 = "the most intense pain that is tolerable".

Time frame: Half an hour after inhaling spray

Secondary Outcomes

EEG

Frequency of electroencephalogram

Time frame: about 3 hours

Brief Profile Of Mood States

Brief Profile Of Mood States is a 30 item self-report psychological instrument intended for use with adults age 18 and above. Response format consisted of the following 5-point Likert scales: 0：not at all; 1：a little; 2：moderately; 3：quite a bit; and 4：extremely.

Time frame: about 3 hours

Beck Depression Inventory

Time frame: about 3 hours

WLEIS-C

The English version of the scale was developed by Wong and Law and used as an evaluation tool for emotional intelligence level surveys, the Chinese version of emotional intelligence level consists of 16 items scale (WLEIS-C) , including self-emotional perception (4 items), others' emotional perception (4 items), emotional control (4 items), emotional use (4 items) 4 Dimensions, a total of 16 items. Using Likert 7-level scoring method, '0' stands for 'very disagree' and '6' stands for 'very agree'. The higher the score, the higher the emotional intelligence level.

Time frame: about 3 hours

STAI

state-trait anxiety inventory

Time frame: about 3 hours

BES-C

Chinese version of Basic Empathy Scale.The scale was divided into two dimensions: emotional empathy, which comprised 11 items, and cognitive empathy, which comprised nine items, yielding a total of 20 items (including eight reverse-scoring items). A five-point Likert scale was used, where 1 = "completely disagree" and 5 = "completely agree." A high score indicated strong empathy.

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.