Effects of Oxytocin on Emotion Recognition in Schizophrenia

作者：Elissar Andari, Nicholas Massa, Molly Fargotstein, Nicholas Taylor, David M. Halverson, Andrew V. Owens, Danielle Currin, Arpita Bhattacharya, Dmitriy Gitman, Bruce C. Cuthbert, Larry J. Young, Erica Duncan · 发表于：Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1097/jcp.0000000000001367 · 被引用次数：12 · 研究领域：Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior、Stress Responses and Cortisol、Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that leads to poor social function. Oxytocin (OXT), a neuropeptide involved in social cognition, is a potential therapeutic agent for alleviating social dysfunction. Therefore, we investigated the effects of intranasal oxytocin (IN-OXT) on emotional processes in experimental interactive social contexts in individuals with SCZ. METHODS: In a male-only parallel randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trial, we investigated the effects of IN-OXT (24 IU) on visual fixation on pictures of faces and emotion recognition in an interactive ball-tossing game that probed processing of social and nonsocial stimuli. RESULTS: Intranasal oxytocin enhanced the recognition of emotions during an emotion-based ball-tossing game. This improvement was specific to the game that included social cue processing. Intranasal oxytocin did not affect eye gaze duration or gaze dwell time on faces in these patients. CONCLUSIONS: An acute low dose of IN-OXT had a modest effect on social cue processing and was limited to emotion recognition. Higher doses and long-term trials targeting emotional processing in SCZ may lead to improved social function.