Intranasal Oxytocin Modulates Decision-Making Depending on Outcome Predictability—A Randomized Within-Subject Controlled Trial in Healthy Males

Abstract

Oxytocin (OT) has been extensively studied with regard to its socio-cognitive and -behavioral effects. Its potential as a therapeutic agent is being discussed for a range of neuropsychiatric conditions. However, there is limited evidence of its effects on non-social cognition in general and decision-making in particular, despite the importance of these functions in neuropsychiatry. Using a crossover/within-subject, blinded, randomized design, we investigated for the first time if intranasal OT (24 IU) affects decision-making differently depending on outcome predictability/ambiguity in healthy males. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Cambridge Risk Task (CRT) were used to assess decision-making under low outcome predictability/high ambiguity and under high outcome probability/low ambiguity, respectively. After administration of OT, subjects performed worse and exhibited riskier performance in the IGT (low outcome predictability/high ambiguity), whereas they made borderline-significant less risky decisions in the CRT (high outcome probability/low ambiguity) as compared to the control condition. Decision-making in healthy males may therefore be influenced by OT and adjusted as a function of contextual information, with implications for clinical trials investigating OT in neuropsychiatric conditions.

Effects of systemic oxytocin receptor activation and blockade on risky decision making in female and male rats

“…In this study (Bozorgmehr et al, 2019), intranasal OT administration increased participants’ net earnings compared to control groups who received placebo or no treatments. In contrast, another study (Zebhauser et al, 2022) found that compared to control and placebo conditions, subjects given OT showed increased risk taking in the IGT. As these two studies employed nearly identical methods (same dose, route of administration, and general subject characteristics), the reason for their opposite outcomes is not clear, although it might be attributable to the use of a between-subjects (Bozorgmehr et al, 2019) vs. a within-subjects (Zebhauser et al, 2022) design.…”

“…In contrast, another study (Zebhauser et al, 2022) found that compared to control and placebo conditions, subjects given OT showed increased risk taking in the IGT. As these two studies employed nearly identical methods (same dose, route of administration, and general subject characteristics), the reason for their opposite outcomes is not clear, although it might be attributable to the use of a between-subjects (Bozorgmehr et al, 2019) vs. a within-subjects (Zebhauser et al, 2022) design. Another study assessed performance in patients with bulimia and healthy controls in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task, in which subjects pump up a virtual balloon to maximize earnings, without pumping so much as to pop the balloon (which results in loss of earnings).…”

Effects of oxytocin administration on non-social executive functions in humans: A preregistered systematic review and meta-analysis

“…3.2.1. Oxytocin administration76.92% of the included studies used 24 IU intranasally administered oxytocin[27,28,30,31,51,52,[71][72][73][74], whereas two studies used higher doses of intranasal oxytocin (36 IU[24], 40 IU[71]). …”

“…All studies employed a consistent dose regardless of participant body weight. Notably, the dose-to-task interval varied from 15 minutes to 90 minutes (15 minutes[72], 30 minutes[31], 45 minutes (15 minutes:[28,30,51,52,65,73,75], 50 minutes[27], 75 minutes[74], 90 minutes…”