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CompletedNCT02566356ASO-fMRIUpdated May 21, 2019

Adult Study Oxytocin - fMRI

An Early Phase 1 interventional study of Oxytocin and Saline Nasal Spray in Schizophrenia, Oxytocin and Social Cognition, sponsored by University of California, San Francisco. Completed at 2 sites in United States. Open to male participants aged 18 Years to 50 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-05-21.

Sponsored by University of California, San Francisco · Early Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Early Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
59
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 50 Years
Sex
Male
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Study summary

In this study, investigators will examine the behavioral effects and neurophysiological mechanisms of the pro-social neuropeptide oxytocin in patients with recent-onset schizophrenia. Such research is a necessary first step towards identifying whether intranasal oxytocin administration can serve as an adjunct treatment for social impairments in schizophrenia.

Aim 1: To examine the effects of exogenous oxytocin on patterns of neural activation as measured by fMRI during a well-characterized affect-labeling task in patients with recent-onset schizophrenia and healthy comparison subjects.

Hypothesis A: Patients will exhibit amygdalar hyperactivity and PNS hypo-activity when passively viewing faces, which will be normalized by administration of oxytocin.

Hypothesis B: Patients will exhibit hypo-activity of the vPFC when affectively labeling faces and this hypo-activity will be normalized by oxytocin administration.

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Conditions studied

  • Schizophrenia
  • Oxytocin
  • Social Cognition
  • Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

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Keywords

  • Oxytocin
  • Syntocinon
  • Social Cognition
  • Schizophrenia
  • Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
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In context

Schizophrenia

3,471 studies on the registry are indexed under Schizophrenia; 472 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 59 is below the median of 70 across 2,872 interventional studies indexed under Schizophrenia.

Browse Schizophrenia studies →

Lead sponsor

University of California, San Francisco is the lead sponsor of 2,132 studies on the registry; 375 are open to participants now.

Of its 262 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 196 (75%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 50 Years
Sexes eligible
Male
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria for Patients:

  • Male
  • SCID-IV confirmed diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder
  • Clinically stable
  • No changes to medications for the past week

Inclusion Criteria for Healthy Controls:

  • Male
  • SCID-IV confirmed no diagnosis of a current Axis I disorder within the last year

Exclusion Criteria for Patients and Healthy Controls:

  • Meeting criteria for current substance abuse or dependence or illicit drug use within the last month (nicotine use is acceptable) as determined by a Urine Toxicology Drug Screening
  • Any illness that affects the nasal passages and impairs the delivery of a nasal spray
  • Presence of any neurological or significant medical disorder, including medical illnesses that could interfere with physiological recording such as cardiac arrhythmias
  • A pacemaker, extensive dental work, or any magnetic metal implants and upper body tattoos
  • Pregnancy
  • Claustrophpbia
  • Hearing difficulties
  • A history of seizures
  • Failure to receive a passing score on the reading test

Additional Exclusion Criteria for Patients and Healthy Controls:

  • Taking any psychotropic medication or any medication that affects the autonomic or cardiovascular systems.
  • Schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder in a first degree relative
  • Failure to receive a passing score on the MOCA
05

Study design

Phase
Early Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Crossover assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Investigator)
Enrollment
59 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Oxytocin

    40 IU Oxytocin

    Drug: Oxytocin

  • Placebo comparator
    Saline Nasal Spray

    Placebo Comparator

    Drug: Saline Nasal Spray

Interventions

  • DrugOxytocin

    40 IU of the oxytocin will be administered intranasally for a one time dose at the beginning of the visit.

    Also known as: Syntocinon

  • DrugSaline Nasal Spray

    40 IU of the saline nasal spray will be administered once at the beginning of the visit.

    Also known as: Placebo

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in fMRI neural activation patterns

    During tasks in which participants will see and hear various stimuli, investigators will measure the change in neural activity in the medial prefrontal cortex and the temporoparietal junction between placebo and oxytocin testing days using the fMRI 3T Siemens Skyra scanner.

    Time frame: 2-days at least 1-week apart

Secondary outcomes

  1. Quality of Life Scale (QLS)

    The QLS is a 21-item clinical rating scale where the interviewer rates the participant's responses on a scale of 1-6 where 6 indicates no impairment. In the fMRI study an abbreviated version of the QLS is used that includes 9 of the 21 items. The 9 items are each derived from the sections examining interpersonal relations, occupational role functioning, intrapsychic foundations, and common objects.

    Time frame: 1 day

  2. Social Functioning Scale (SFS)

    The SFS is designed to assess a subject's social skills and performance, and to measure functions that are of importance for schizophrenic patients. It is a 79-item scale completed by the subject.

    Time frame: 1 day

  3. UCLA Loneliness Scale

    The UCLA Loneliness Scale assesses the loneliness level of participants. It is a 20-item scale where responses are measured from O ("I often feel this way") to N ("I never feel this way").

    Time frame: 1 day

  4. Experiences in Close Relationships - Relationship Structures (ECR-RS)

    The ECR is used to evaluate the construct of adult attachment. The scale involves 36 itemized statements split into four parts, each part referring to a different attachment figure. Participants rank each item using a 7-point likert scale.

    Time frame: 1 day

  5. Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI)

    The PBI measures fundamental parenting styles as perceived the child. The questionnaire is retrospective in that it asks the adult participant to answer the questions based on how they remember their parents to be during up until they were 16 years old. The measure is completed for both mothers and fathers separately. There are 25 questions where half the questions are focused on how the parent cared for them and half are focused on how the parents protected them. A likert scale is used to measure responses where 1 is agree (i.e. very like) and 4 is disagree (i.e. very dislike).

    Time frame: 1 day

  6. Premorbid IQ test (AmNART)

    The American National Adult Reading Test (AMNART) is an instrument used to estimate premorbid verbal IQ in adults. Participants are shown 45 words one at a time and are asked to read the word aloud. The scorer then writes 0 if the participant read the word incorrectly or 1 if the pronunciation is correct.

    Time frame: 1 day

  7. Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ)

    The CTQ is a brief survey of 6 early traumatic experiences, including death, divorce, violence, sexual abuse, illness or other. The scale determines and assesses an individual's understanding of their childhood trauma, if applicable.

    Time frame: 1 day

  8. Emotional Quotient Scale (EQS)

    The EQ is a 60-item self-report questionnaire that is designed to measure empathy in adults. Participants use a 4 item likert scale to record their responses (1=definitely agree, 4= definitely disagree).

    Time frame: 1 day

  9. Kinsey Scale

    The Kinsey scale attempts to describe a person's sexual orientation using a scale from 0 (i.e. heterosexual) to 6 (i.e. homosexual).

    Time frame: 1 day

  10. Socioeconomic Status (SES)

    This assess participants' socioeconomic status through their educational level and occupational level using a scale from 1 (i.e. professional, higher executive level) to 7 (i.e. less than 7 years of school, unskilled employee). This scale is also used for the participants' primary and secondary caretakers.

    Time frame: 1 day

07

Study locations

2 sites
  • San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center
    San Francisco, California 94121, United States
  • University of California, San Francisco
    San Francisco, California 94143, United States
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 21, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02566356
Lead sponsor
University of California, San Francisco
Collaborators
San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Responsible party
Joshua Woolley (Principal Investigator, University of California, San Francisco) — Principal investigator
First posted
Oct 2, 2015
Start date
Sep 2012
Primary completion
Sep 2017
Completion
Sep 2017
Last update
May 21, 2019

Study contacts

Josh D Woolley, MD/PhD
principal investigator · University of California San Francisco, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in May 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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