Effects of Intranasal Oxytocin on Emotion Regulation

Effects of Intranasal Oxytocin on Emotion Regulation

The aim is to examine whether intranasal oxytocin will influence the individuals' emotion regulation ability and related neural mechanisms.

In the present study, the investigators plan to conduct a between-subject, double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment to investigate the effects of oxytocin on neural, physiological and behavior activity related to emotion regulation. The emotion regulation ability will be assessed by emotional go-nogo task and cognitive reappraisal task. The neural activity will be explored by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). And the investigators will record participants' heart rate during fMRI to investigate the effects of oxytocin on heart rate variability in emotion regulation process.

All subjects completed a range of questionnaires measuring personality and affective traits and levels of anxiety before self-administration, including Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) , State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) , Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Cheek and Buss shyness Scale (CBSS), Autism Spectrum Quotient (ASQ), Empathy Quotient (EQ), Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), Action Control Scale (ACS), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), Berkley Expressivity Questionnaire (BEQ), and so on.

Inclusion Criteria:

• healthy subjects without past or current psychiatric or neurological disorders

Exclusion Criteria:

• history of head injury;
• claustrophobia;
• medical or psychiatric illness.