The Role of Oxytocin in the Perception of Faces

The Role of Oxytocin in the Perception of Infant Faces

The main objective of this project is to study whether intranasal oxytocin (OT) affects how young adults perceive and attend to infant and adult faces. Based on existing research the investigators predict that oxytocin will facilitate the allocation of attentional resources on infant faces (compared to adult faces). The investigators also predict that oxytocin will enhance the activity of reward neural-networks associated with the perception of infant faces. The behavioral effects of OT (visual attention and face recognition) will be measured with eye-tracking while participants look at photographs of adult and infant faces. Neurological effects (the activity of emotion and reward networks) will be measured with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) while participants look at infant faces on a computer screen.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy Volunteers
• Norma or corrected to norma vision
• Participants are non parents
• Able to provide written informed consent and to comply with all study procedures

Exclusion Criteria:

• Dementia or severe cognitive disorders
• Endocrine disease or malignancy
• Nasal obstruction or upper-respiratory tract infection
• Current or previous psychiatric disorder
• Current or previous use of psychoactive drugs
• Alcoholism or substance abuse
• History of seizures
• Neurological Disorder
• Previous head trauma
• Hypertension
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Claustrophobia
• ferrous metal in any part of the body