Salivary Oxytocin Concentrations in Males following Intranasal Administration of Oxytocin: A Double-Blind, Cross-Over Study.

The use of intranasal oxytocin (OT) in research has become increasingly important over the past decade. Although researchers have acknowledged a need for further investigation of the physiological effects of intranasal administration, few studies have actually done so. In the present double-blind cr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Katie Daughters, Antony S R Manstead, Kelly Hubble, Aled Rees, Anita Thapar, Stephanie H M van Goozen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0145104
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850162140525101056
author Katie Daughters
Antony S R Manstead
Kelly Hubble
Aled Rees
Anita Thapar
Stephanie H M van Goozen
author_facet Katie Daughters
Antony S R Manstead
Kelly Hubble
Aled Rees
Anita Thapar
Stephanie H M van Goozen
author_sort Katie Daughters
collection DOAJ
description The use of intranasal oxytocin (OT) in research has become increasingly important over the past decade. Although researchers have acknowledged a need for further investigation of the physiological effects of intranasal administration, few studies have actually done so. In the present double-blind cross-over study we investigated the longevity of a single 24 IU dose of intranasal OT measured in saliva in 40 healthy adult males. Salivary OT concentrations were significantly higher in the OT condition, compared to placebo. This significant difference lasted until the end of testing, approximately 108 minutes after administration, and peaked at 30 minutes. Results showed significant individual differences in response to intranasal OT administration. To our knowledge this is the largest and first all-male within-subjects design study to demonstrate the impact of intranasal OT on salivary OT concentrations. The results are consistent with previous research in suggesting that salivary OT is a valid matrix for OT measurement. The results also suggest that the post-administration 'wait-time' prior to starting experimental tasks could be reduced to 30 minutes, from the 45 minutes typically used, thereby enabling testing during peak OT concentrations. Further research is needed to ascertain whether OT concentrations after intranasal administration follow similar patterns in females, and different age groups.
format Article
id doaj-art-dab75367e0d44e2e940f6d8a79911c23
institution OA Journals
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2015-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-dab75367e0d44e2e940f6d8a79911c232025-08-20T02:22:38ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-011012e014510410.1371/journal.pone.0145104Salivary Oxytocin Concentrations in Males following Intranasal Administration of Oxytocin: A Double-Blind, Cross-Over Study.Katie DaughtersAntony S R MansteadKelly HubbleAled ReesAnita ThaparStephanie H M van GoozenThe use of intranasal oxytocin (OT) in research has become increasingly important over the past decade. Although researchers have acknowledged a need for further investigation of the physiological effects of intranasal administration, few studies have actually done so. In the present double-blind cross-over study we investigated the longevity of a single 24 IU dose of intranasal OT measured in saliva in 40 healthy adult males. Salivary OT concentrations were significantly higher in the OT condition, compared to placebo. This significant difference lasted until the end of testing, approximately 108 minutes after administration, and peaked at 30 minutes. Results showed significant individual differences in response to intranasal OT administration. To our knowledge this is the largest and first all-male within-subjects design study to demonstrate the impact of intranasal OT on salivary OT concentrations. The results are consistent with previous research in suggesting that salivary OT is a valid matrix for OT measurement. The results also suggest that the post-administration 'wait-time' prior to starting experimental tasks could be reduced to 30 minutes, from the 45 minutes typically used, thereby enabling testing during peak OT concentrations. Further research is needed to ascertain whether OT concentrations after intranasal administration follow similar patterns in females, and different age groups.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0145104
spellingShingle Katie Daughters
Antony S R Manstead
Kelly Hubble
Aled Rees
Anita Thapar
Stephanie H M van Goozen
Salivary Oxytocin Concentrations in Males following Intranasal Administration of Oxytocin: A Double-Blind, Cross-Over Study.
PLoS ONE
title Salivary Oxytocin Concentrations in Males following Intranasal Administration of Oxytocin: A Double-Blind, Cross-Over Study.
title_full Salivary Oxytocin Concentrations in Males following Intranasal Administration of Oxytocin: A Double-Blind, Cross-Over Study.
title_fullStr Salivary Oxytocin Concentrations in Males following Intranasal Administration of Oxytocin: A Double-Blind, Cross-Over Study.
title_full_unstemmed Salivary Oxytocin Concentrations in Males following Intranasal Administration of Oxytocin: A Double-Blind, Cross-Over Study.
title_short Salivary Oxytocin Concentrations in Males following Intranasal Administration of Oxytocin: A Double-Blind, Cross-Over Study.
title_sort salivary oxytocin concentrations in males following intranasal administration of oxytocin a double blind cross over study
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0145104
work_keys_str_mv AT katiedaughters salivaryoxytocinconcentrationsinmalesfollowingintranasaladministrationofoxytocinadoubleblindcrossoverstudy
AT antonysrmanstead salivaryoxytocinconcentrationsinmalesfollowingintranasaladministrationofoxytocinadoubleblindcrossoverstudy
AT kellyhubble salivaryoxytocinconcentrationsinmalesfollowingintranasaladministrationofoxytocinadoubleblindcrossoverstudy
AT aledrees salivaryoxytocinconcentrationsinmalesfollowingintranasaladministrationofoxytocinadoubleblindcrossoverstudy
AT anitathapar salivaryoxytocinconcentrationsinmalesfollowingintranasaladministrationofoxytocinadoubleblindcrossoverstudy
AT stephaniehmvangoozen salivaryoxytocinconcentrationsinmalesfollowingintranasaladministrationofoxytocinadoubleblindcrossoverstudy