title: Oxytocin to modulate emotional processing in schizophrenia: A randomized, double-blind, cross-over clinical trial.
abstract: Deficits in social cognition, including emotional processing, are hallmarks of schizophrenia and antipsychotic agents seem to be ineffectual to improve these symptoms. However, oxytocin does seem to have beneficial effects on social cognition. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of four months of treatment with intranasal oxytocin, in 31 patients with schizophrenia, on distinct aspects of social cognition. This was assessed using standardized and experimental tests in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial. All patients underwent clinical and experimental assessment before treatment, four months after treatment and at the end of treatment. Social cognition abilities were assessed with the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes task (RMET). Furthermore, an Emotional Priming Paradigm (EPP) was developed to examine the effects of oxytocin on implicit perceptual sensitivity to affective information and explicit facial affect recognition. We found that oxytocin improved performance on MSCEIT compared to placebo in Branch 3-Understanding Emotion (p-value=0.004; Cohen׳s d=1.12). In the EPP task, we observed a significant reduction of reaction times for facial affect recognition (p-value=0.021; Cohen׳s d=0.88). No effects were found for implicit priming or for theory of mind abilities. Further study is required in order to highlight the potential for possible integration of oxytocin with antipsychotic agents as well as to evaluate psycho-social treatment as a multi-dimensional approach to increase explicit emotional processing abilities and compensate social cognition deficits related to schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Saint John of God Clinical Research Centre, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brambilla
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Saint John of God Clinical Research Centre, Brescia, Italy. Electronic address: mcotelli@fatebenefratelli.eu.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cotelli
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Saint John of God Clinical Research Centre, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Manenti
authors.affiliation: Psychiatric Epidemiology and Evaluation Unit, IRCCS Saint John of God Clinical Research Centre, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dagani
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Science, University of Urbino, Italy.
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sisti
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Science, University of Urbino, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rocchi
authors.affiliation: Psychiatric Clinic, DISM, University of Udine, Udine, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balestrieri
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pini
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health, ASST Garda (Brescia), Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Raimondi
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health, ASST Garda (Brescia), Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco Maria
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Saviotti
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health (ULSS 16), Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Scocco
authors.affiliation: Psychiatric Epidemiology and Evaluation Unit, IRCCS Saint John of God Clinical Research Centre, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: de Girolamo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D056348:Emotional Intelligence; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects*; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012938:Social Perception
chemical_list: D010121:Oxytocin
keywords: Pharmacological treatment; Psychosis; Social cognition