title: The impact of intranasal oxytocin on attention to social emotional stimuli in patients with anorexia nervosa: a double blind within-subject cross-over experiment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Social factors may be of importance causally and act as maintenance factors in patients with anorexia nervosa. Oxytocin is a neuromodulatory hormone involved in social emotional processing associated with attentional processes. This study aimed to examine the impact of oxytocin on attentional processes to social faces representing anger, disgust, and happiness in patients with anorexia nervosa.
  
  
  METHODS
  A double-blind, placebo-controlled within-subject crossover design was used. Intranasal oxytocin or placebo followed by a visual probe detection task with faces depicting anger, disgust, and happiness was administered to 64 female subjects: 31 patients with anorexia nervosa and 33 control students.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Attentional bias to the disgust stimuli was observed in both groups under the placebo condition. The attentional bias to disgust was reduced under the oxytocin condition (a moderate effect in the patient group). Avoidance of angry faces was observed in the patient group under the placebo condition and vigilance was observed in the healthy comparison group; both of these information processing responses were moderated by oxytocin producing an increase in vigilance in the patients. Happy/smiling faces did not elicit an attentional response in controls or the patients under either the placebo or oxytocin conditions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oxytocin attenuated attentional vigilance to disgust in patients with anorexia nervosa and healthy controls. On the other hand, oxytocin changed the response to angry faces from avoidance to vigilance in patients but reduced vigilance to anger in healthy controls. We conclude that patients with anorexia nervosa appear to use different strategies/circuits to emotionally process anger from their healthy counterparts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul Paik Hospital, Inje University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Youl-Ri
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Severance Mental Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Gyeonggi Do, South Korea.
authors.forename: Chan-Hyung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul Paik Hospital, Inje University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Psychology, Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jin Hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul Paik Hospital, Inje University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jimin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pyo
authors.affiliation: Section of Eating Disorders, Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Treasure
mesh_terms: D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D010121:Oxytocin