Healthy Adult ParticipantsNCT07815496
The Effects of Oxytocin on Fairness Perception and Related Prosocial Behaviors
A study testing Oxytocin nasal spray in people with Healthy Adult Participants, run by University of Electronic Science and Technology of China at 1 site in China.
Trial summary
This study aims to investigate the modulation of intranasally administered oxytocin (24 IU) on human fairness perception and related prosocial behaviors. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 35 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Healthy Adult Participants
- What is being tested?
- Oxytocin nasal spray
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 80 participants
- Where
- 1 siteChina
- Study dates
- 5 Sep 2026to 31 Dec 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 35 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Healthy subjects without past or current psychiatric or neurological disorders.
Who cannot join
- History of head injury; pregnant, menstruating, taking oral contraceptives; medical or psychiatric illness.
- The presence of metal in the body or claustrophobia.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
China1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC)
Chengdu, Sichuan, 611731
Shuxia Yao, Dr, 86+18111297596, yaoshuxia@uestc.edu.cn
About this study
Official title: The Modulatory Effects of Oxytocin on Fairness Perception and Related Prosocial Behaviors
This study aims to investigate the modulation of intranasally administered oxytocin (24 IU) on human fairness perception and related prosocial behaviors.
Read the detailed description
Fairness preference is a cornerstone of human sociality, often driving individuals to incur personal costs in order to uphold fairness norms. Oxytocin (OT), a neuropeptide, is considered a potential modulator of prosocial behavior, yet its specific mechanism of action in fairness decision-making remains unclear. Previous research has predominantly focused on the overall effects of OT on behaviors, without differentiating its roles across distinct processing stages such as cognitive evaluation and emotional anticipation. Furthermore, there is a lack of systematic investigation into whether its effects are modulated by social context and gain-loss contexts. Using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled between-subjects design, the present study combines functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with the Dictator Game (DG) and the Ultimatum Game (UG) to elucidate how intranasal OT influences fairness perception and related prosocial behavior. The UG additionally involves strategic considerations of the proposer arising from the recipient's ability to reject the offer. Participants, act as proposers, are instructed to rate their perceived levels of fairness and guilt when receiving advantageous inequity and fair allocations in both gain and loss contexts. Following ratings, participants make decisions of accepting or rejecting the current allocation. Their brain activity and behavioral responses will be synchronously recorded during the tasks, and scores of questionnaires including Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire, Social Value Orientation, Self-Report Altruism Scale, Prosocial Tendencies Measure, Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System Scale, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Beck Depression Inventory-Ⅱ, Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale, Test of Self-Conscious Affect are also collected before the experiment.
- Conditions
- Healthy Adult Participants
- Being tested
- Oxytocin nasal spray, Placebo
- Keywords
- oxytocin, fMRI, fairness perception, prosocial behavior
- Medical subject headings
- Altruism
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Oxytocin nasal sprayDrug
intranasal administration of oxytocin (24IU)
PlaceboDrug
intranasal administration of placebo (24IU)
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| oxytocin group | Experimental | male and female subjects with oxytocin treatment Receives: Drug: Oxytocin nasal spray |
| placebo group | Placebo comparator | male and female subjects with placebo treatment Receives: Drug: Placebo |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Fairness rating scores
Participants are asked to rate their perceived levels of fairness on a 9-point Likert scale (1 = highly fair, 9 = highly unfair) to the computer's allocation in each trial.
Measured: 1 hour
Anticipated guilt rating scores
Participants are asked to rate the anticipated guilt they would feel if they accepted the allocation given by the computer in each trial. Ratings were conducted on a 9-point Likert scale (1 = not at all, 9 = highly guilty).
Measured: 1 hour
The binary decision to the initial allocation
Participants are asked to makde decisions of accepting or rejecting the allocation provided by the computer in each trial.
Measured: 1 hour
Brain activity patterns
Brain activity patterns in response to the outcome of the allocation given by computer and the binary decision. We will examine these brain response patterns via both the conventional univariate analysis and the machine learning-based multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) approaches.
Measured: 1 hour
Secondary outcomes (1)
Inequity aversion parameters derived from the Fehr-Schmidt model
Inequity aversion parameters derived from the Fehr-Schmidt model are used to elucidate whether OT would modulate inequity aversion. This model-based analysis was conducted based on choices using hierarchical Bayesian modeling. In the Fehr-Schmidt model, the subjective value of a given allocationis determined by one's own and the other's allocation using the following formula:
SV(Mself, Mother) = Mself - βmax{ Mself - Mother, 0}, Mself ≠ Mother where Mself is one's payoff and Mother is the other's payoff. Parameter β represents the weight assigned to inequity. Higher parameter values indicate a stronger degree of inequity aversion in participants.
Measured: 1 hour
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted11 Sep 2026
- Study start5 Sep 2026
- Primary completion30 Dec 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Dec 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Healthy Adult ParticipantsStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Investigator
- Enrolment
- 80 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Shuxia Yao, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
- Investigators
- Shuxia Yao, Dr, Principal investigator, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07815496
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- UESTC-neuSCAN-105
- Status last verified
- Sep 2026
- First submitted
- 3 Sep 2026
- Last updated
- 11 Sep 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 11 Sep 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Modulatory Effects of Oxytocin on Fairness Perception and Related Prosocial Behaviors
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07815496
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- UESTC-neuSCAN-105
- Conditions
- Healthy Adult Participants
- Keywords
- oxytocin, fMRI, fairness perception, prosocial behavior
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 80 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 5 Sep 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Dec 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 31 Dec 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 11 Sep 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study aims to investigate the modulation of intranasally administered oxytocin (24 IU) on human fairness perception and related prosocial behaviors.
Detailed description
Fairness preference is a cornerstone of human sociality, often driving individuals to incur personal costs in order to uphold fairness norms. Oxytocin (OT), a neuropeptide, is considered a potential modulator of prosocial behavior, yet its specific mechanism of action in fairness decision-making remains unclear. Previous research has predominantly focused on the overall effects of OT on behaviors, without differentiating its roles across distinct processing stages such as cognitive evaluation and emotional anticipation. Furthermore, there is a lack of systematic investigation into whether its effects are modulated by social context and gain-loss contexts. Using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled between-subjects design, the present study combines functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with the Dictator Game (DG) and the Ultimatum Game (UG) to elucidate how intranasal OT influences fairness perception and related prosocial behavior. The UG additionally involves strategic considerations of the proposer arising from the recipient's ability to reject the offer. Participants, act as proposers, are instructed to rate their perceived levels of fairness and guilt when receiving advantageous inequity and fair allocations in both gain and loss contexts. Following ratings, participants make decisions of accepting or rejecting the current allocation. Their brain activity and behavioral responses will be synchronously recorded during the tasks, and scores of questionnaires including Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire, Social Value Orientation, Self-Report Altruism Scale, Prosocial Tendencies Measure, Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System Scale, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Beck Depression Inventory-Ⅱ, Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale, Test of Self-Conscious Affect are also collected before the experiment.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind (participant, investigator)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| oxytocin group | Experimental | Drug: Oxytocin nasal spraymale and female subjects with oxytocin treatment |
| placebo group | Placebo comparator | Drug: Placebomale and female subjects with placebo treatment |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 35 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Healthy subjects without past or current psychiatric or neurological disorders.
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- History of head injury; pregnant, menstruating, taking oral contraceptives; medical or psychiatric illness.
- The presence of metal in the body or claustrophobia.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Oxytocin nasal sprayintranasal administration of oxytocin (24IU) | Drug | oxytocin group |
| Placebointranasal administration of placebo (24IU) | Drug | placebo group |
Primary outcome
Fairness rating scores
Time frame: 1 hour
Participants are asked to rate their perceived levels of fairness on a 9-point Likert scale (1 = highly fair, 9 = highly unfair) to the computer's allocation in each trial.
Anticipated guilt rating scores
Time frame: 1 hour
Participants are asked to rate the anticipated guilt they would feel if they accepted the allocation given by the computer in each trial. Ratings were conducted on a 9-point Likert scale (1 = not at all, 9 = highly guilty).
The binary decision to the initial allocation
Time frame: 1 hour
Participants are asked to makde decisions of accepting or rejecting the allocation provided by the computer in each trial.
Brain activity patterns
Time frame: 1 hour
Brain activity patterns in response to the outcome of the allocation given by computer and the binary decision. We will examine these brain response patterns via both the conventional univariate analysis and the machine learning-based multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) approaches.
1 secondary outcome
Inequity aversion parameters derived from the Fehr-Schmidt model
Time frame: 1 hour
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 11 Sep 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Shuxia Yao, Dr principal investigator
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Oxytocin nasal spray in people with Healthy Adult Participants, run by University of Electronic Science and Technology of China at 1 site in China.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 11 Sep 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in China. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Shuxia Yao, Dr (86+18111297596, yaoshuxia@uestc.edu.cn), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Fairness rating scores (time frame: 1 hour). The study lists 4 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 11 Sep 2026.