Oxytocin increases attention to the eyes and selectively enhances self-reported affective empathy for fear

Hubble, Kelly; Daughters, Katie; Manstead, Antony S.R.; Rees, Aled; Thapar, Anita; van Goozen, Stephanie H.M.

doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.10.019

Cited by 42Neuroendocrine regulation and behaviorFace Recognition and PerceptionAction Observation and Synchronization

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 78 of the 78 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 66 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Oxytocin increases attention to the eyes and selectively enhances self-reported affective empathy for fear

Open access

Hubble, Kelly, Daughters, Katie, Manstead, Antony S.R., Rees, Aled, Thapar, Anita, van Goozen, Stephanie H.M.·2017·Neuropsychologia

DOI 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.10.019

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Abstract

Oxytocin (OXT) has previously been implicated in a range of prosocial behaviors such as trust and emotion recognition. Nevertheless, recent studies have questioned the evidence for this link. In addition, there has been relatively little conclusive research on the effect of OXT on empathic ability and such studies as there are have not examined the mechanisms through which OXT might affect empathy, or whether OXT selectively facilitates empathy for specific emotions. In the current study, we used eye-tracking to assess attention to socially relevant information while participants viewed dynamic, empathy-inducing video clips, in which protagonists expressed sadness, happiness, pain or fear. In a double-blind, within-subjects, randomized control trial, 40 healthy male participants received 24 IU intranasal OXT or placebo in two identical experimental sessions, separated by a 2-week interval. OXT led to an increase in time spent fixating upon the eye-region of the protagonist's face across emotions. OXT also selectively enhanced self-reported affective empathy for fear, but did not affect cognitive or affective empathy for other emotions. Nevertheless, there was no positive relationship between eye-gaze patterns and affective empathy, suggesting that although OXT influences eye-gaze and may enhance affective empathy for fear, these two systems are independent. Future studies need to further examine the effect of OXT on eye-gaze to fully ascertain whether this can explain the improvements in emotional behavior.

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Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

In a double-blind within-subjects RCT, intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) increased eye-region dwell time across dynamic empathy-inducing clips and selectively enhanced self-reported affective empathy for fear in healthy men. Oxytocin did not improve cognitive empathy or affective empathy for sadness, happiness, or pain, and eye-gaze changes were not positively related to empathy.

Key findings

Oxytocin increased percentage dwell time to the eye-region across emotions: F(2,96) = 11.33, p = .002, ηp² = .26, 95% CIdiff [2.7, 10.9]; it also led to less time looking at the mouth and the rest of the face.
Oxytocin selectively enhanced affective empathy for fear: OXT M = 3.9, SD = 1.7 vs placebo M = 3.2, SD = 1.8, p = .02, ηp² = .14, 95% CIdiff [0.1, 1.1]; differences were not significant for pain (p = 1.00), happiness (p = .25), or sadness (p = .35).
There was no main effect of drug on cognitive empathy, F(1,39) = 0.04, p = .84, ηp² = .00, and no Drug × Emotion interaction for cognitive empathy, F(3,117) = 2.14, p = .10.
Eye-gaze and empathy were not positively related; change in affective empathy for fear was inversely correlated with change in eye-region dwell time (Spearman’s rho = −.43, p < .05, N = 33).

Methods

Double-blind, within-subjects, randomized placebo-controlled trial with 40 healthy male Cardiff University students (Mage = 20.98, SD = 4.55); participants received 24 IU intranasal oxytocin or placebo in two sessions separated by a 2-week interval.
Participants viewed dynamic, empathy-inducing film clips for pain, sadness, fear, and happiness (~120 s each) while eye movements were recorded with a Tobii X2-60 eye-tracker; after each clip they completed emotion questionnaires coded for cognitive empathy (0–9) and affective empathy (0–6).
Analyses used within-subjects ANOVAs with Drug and Emotion factors, plus Spearman correlations between OXT–placebo difference scores for empathy and eye-region dwell time; salivary oxytocin confirmed higher levels in the OXT condition (952.0 vs 46.4 pg/mL at 60 min).

Limitations

The paper states that intranasal oxytocin pathways to brain activity and behavior are not fully understood, and that doubt exists about how much intranasal oxytocin crosses the blood-brain barrier.
The paper states the sample was smaller than the >300 participants suggested by Walum et al. for sufficient power, so replication with larger samples is needed; it also notes the male-only sample limits generalizability to women, and undergraduates may not represent populations with empathy deficits.
The paper states affective empathy relied on self-reports vulnerable to demand characteristics and social desirability; it also notes eye-gaze and empathy were measured at different times (4-s eye-tracking segment vs. post-clip integration over ~2 min), and the eye-tracking correlation analyses retained only 33 participants.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.10.019

Cites

78 of 78 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

20 tests recomputed · 0 with the reported and recomputed p on opposite sides of .05

Claims the paper makes

0 of 66 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“OXT led to an increase in time spent fixating upon the eye-region of the protagonist's face across emotions.”
- Also stated in: § Eye-gaze Patterns · plain
  “OXT resulted in a greater proportion of time fixating on the eye-region”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Abstract
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibratedn = 40
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“OXT also selectively enhanced self-reported affective empathy for fear”
- Also stated in: § Affective Empathy · plain
  “Affective empathy for fear was significantly higher (p = .02,ηp 2 =.14, 90% CIes [.02, .31], in the OXT (M = 3.9, SD = 1.7) than PL (M = 3.2, SD = 1.8) condition (95% CIdiff [0.1, 1.1]).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Abstract
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibratedn = 40
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes

Show all 48 claims

It may state two separate claims as one. 33
Probably not a substantial claim. 36

A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“there was no positive relationship between eye-gaze patterns and affective empathy”
- Also stated in: § Comparing Empathy and AOI · plain
  “there was a significant inverse correlation between affective empathy for fear and dwell time to the eye-region (p < .05).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Abstract
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibratedn = 40
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Indeed, improved empathy for fear was associated with a reduced time looking at the eye region, a pattern that was also evident for other emotions, albeit to a lesser extent.”
- Also stated in: § OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 19 · plain
  “Fear -.43* Fear -.33 +”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Discussion
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibratedn = 33
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“We found that OXT led to a general increase in the amount of time participants fixated on the eye-region of the face for four different types of emotion.”
- Also stated in: § Conclusion · boosted
  “we show for the first time using an emotioninducing film clip paradigm that OXT significantly increased gaze towards the eye-region of faces across the four emotions studied here.”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Discussion
Load-bearingStrength:boosted· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“another showing that OXT results in increased gaze to the eye areas for positive faces but decreased gaze to the eyes for negative faces (Domes, Steiner, Porges & Heinrichs, 2013)”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 4
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Domes, Steiner, Porges & Heinrichs, 2013
Strength:boosted· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“one study suggesting that OXT selectively enhances gaze to the eyes (Auyeung et al. 2015)”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 4
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Auyeung et al. 2015 source
Load-bearingStrength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“two studies using subjective ratings of responses to painful stimuli found that OXT did not have a main effect on pain ratings, but did increase ratings as a function of the perspective (self vs. other) participants were asked to take, or the nationality of the person with whom to empathize (Abu-Akel, Palgi, Klein, Decety & Shamay-Tsoory 2015;Shamay-Tsoory et al., 2013).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 4
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Abu-Akel, Palgi, Klein, Decety & Shamay-Tsoory 2015
- Not checked yetcites Shamay-Tsoory et al., 2013 source
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Attempts to replicate these findings have proven unsuccessful, raising doubts about the effect of OXT on cognitive empathy (Radke & de Bruijn, 2015).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 4
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Radke & de Bruijn, 2015 source
Strength:plain· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“a recent study found that empathy-related activation in the neural circuitry of pain was strongly reduced after intranasal OXT, suggesting that OXT might decrease empathy for pain (Bos, Montoya, Hermans, Keysers, & van Honk, 2015).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 4
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Bos, Montoya, Hermans, Keysers, & van Honk, 2015 source
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:conditional· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Such findings have led to the suggestion that OXT might improve prosocial behavior by increasing attention to socially relevant cues (Guastella et al., 2008).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 4
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Guastella et al., 2008 source
Load-bearingStrength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:conditional· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim.
In the paper
“but instead are related to pupil dilation (Prehn et al., 2013).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 4
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Prehn et al., 2013 source
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“others suggesting that improvements in facial emotion recognition are unaffected by eye-gaze (Hubble et al., 2016;Lischke et al., 2012; )”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 4
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Hubble et al., 2016
- Not checked yetcites Lischke et al., 2012 source
Strength:hedged· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“A number of studies have further suggested that OXT only improves cognitive empathy in people who rate themselves as less socially proficient (Bartz et al., 2010)”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 4
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Bartz et al., 2010 source
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“or who display lower baseline trait empathy scores (Feeser et al., 2015).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 4
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Feeser et al., 2015 source
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“One set of film clips (i.e., those for pain, sadness, fear and happiness) had previously been validated (see van Rijn, Barendse, van Goozen, & Swaab, 2014).The current study used four additional clips, which were selected based on similarity scores from a pilot study to match the previous set of clips with respect to duration, content and emotional intensity.”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Measures and Materials
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites van Rijn, Barendse, van Goozen, & Swaab, 2014
Strength:plain· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Theodoridou, Rowe, and Mohr (2013) found that the selfreported components of affective empathy were unaffected by the administration of OXT, but that performance on a more implicit measure of cognitive empathy was enhanced following OXT.”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 4
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Theodoridou, Rowe, and Mohr (2013)
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Singer and colleagues (2008) found that OXT OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 5 neither enhanced subjective empathy nor increased activation in empathy-relevant brain areas such as the anterior insula (AI) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 4
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Singer et al. (2008) source
Strength:plain· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“a recent metaanalysis of 33 studies found that OXT did not significantly influence emotional theory of minda similar construct to cognitive empathyor the expression of negative emotions in healthy individuals (Leppanen, Ng, Tchanturia & Treasure, 2017).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 4
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Leppanen, Ng, Tchanturia & Treasure, 2017
Strength:plain· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“They found that intranasal OXT increased affective, but not cognitive empathy in response to both positively and negatively valenced stimuli.”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 4
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Hurlemann et al. (2010) source
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibratedn = 48
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“In response to recent reviews that are critical of the quality and rigor of OXT research (Churchland & Winkielman, 2012;Leng & Ludwig, 2016;Walum, Waldman, & Young, 2016)”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 4
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Churchland & Winkielman, 2012
- Not checked yetcites Leng & Ludwig, 2016 source
- Not checked yetcites Walum, Waldman, & Young, 2016 source
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim.
In the paper
“In a further meta-analysis, Leppanen, Ng, Kim, Tchanturia, and Treasure, (2018) found that OXT significantly increased the physiological startle response to threat in healthy participants, but did not increase fixations to threatening stimuli.”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Leppanen, Ng, Kim, Tchanturia, and Treasure, (2018)
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“doubt has been cast on the extent to which intranasal OXT crosses the blood-brain barrier (Neumann et al., 2013;Paloyelis et al., 2014;Striepens et al., 2013).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Limitations
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Neumann et al., 2013 source
- Not checked yetcites Paloyelis et al., 2014 source
- Not checked yetcites Striepens et al., 2013 source
Strength:hedged· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“OXT has also been found to increase attention and approach towards fearful facial expressions (Clark-Elford et al., 2015;Tollenaar et al., 2013).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Clark-Elford et al., 2015
- Not checked yetcites Tollenaar et al., 2013 source
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Studies examining the convergence between different measures of affective empathy show that some measurements, such as self-report measures and facial responsiveness, correlate with each other (Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous & Warden, 2007), suggesting there is a common construct that is tapped by each measure.”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 17
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous & Warden, 2007
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Self-reported emotional states can be confounded by conscious awareness of the response or even the willingness to report this response.They are also vulnerable to demand characteristics and social desirability (e.g., Eisenberg-Berg & Hand, 1979).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Limitations
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Eisenberg-Berg & Hand, 1979
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“However, our findings are partly consistent with evidence from Hurlemann et al. (2010), who found that OXT increased affective but not cognitive empathy, although these authors found increased affective empathy for both positively and negatively valenced stimuli.”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Hurlemann et al. (2010) source
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Walum et al. (2016) also raised concerns about the power of OXT studies, suggesting that a sample size of more than 300 participants is needed to achieve sufficient power, compared to the average of 49 participants (between-subjects) used in previous studies.”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Limitations
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Walum et al. (2016) source
Strength:hedged· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“while it has been demonstrated that OXT decreases amygdala activity in response to fear in men (Kirsch et al., 2005), it appears to increase amygdala activity to similar stimuli in women (Domes et al., 2010).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 17
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Kirsch et al., 2005 source
- Not checked yetcites Domes et al., 2010 source
Load-bearingStrength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“the pathways through which intranasal OXT affects brain activity and behavioral responses are not fully understood (e.g., McCullough, Churchland, & Mendez, 2013).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Limitations
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites McCullough, Churchland, & Mendez, 2013
Strength:plain· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“Evidence suggests that there are sex differences in empathic abilities (e.g., Baron-Cohen & Wheelwright, 2004)”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > OXYTOCIN, EMPATHY AND EYE-GAZE 17
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Baron-Cohen & Wheelwright, 2004 source
Load-bearingStrength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim.
In the paper
“Dynamic clips are arguably of greater ecological validity, in that they reflect more closely the kind of everyday interpersonal interaction in which an empathic response could be aroused (Karrow & Connors, 2003).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Karrow & Connors, 2003
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“These results contrast with those reported by Lischke et al. (2012), who found no evidence that OXT altered eye-gaze in healthy participants.”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Lischke et al. (2012) source
Strength:plain· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Given the evidence that OXT may be especially involved in the initial allocation of attentional resources (Gamer, Zurowski & Buchel, 2010)”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Gamer, Zurowski & Buchel, 2010
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:conditional· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“For example, Korb et al. (2016), used facial EMG to show that facial mimicry increased during OXT, particularly in response to angry infant faces.”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Limitations
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Korb et al. (2016) source
Strength:boosted· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“it is possible that OXT modulates different cortical regions that are important for processing threatening stimuli, and thereby improves affective empathy for fear (Fischer-Shofty et al., 2010).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Fischer-Shofty et al., 2010 source
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:conditional· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“suggesting that the widely held, but rarely tested, notion that OXT-induced effects on emotional responding result from increased attention to socially relevant stimuli is in need of closer scrutiny.”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Conclusion
Load-bearingStrength:hedged· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✗ Checkable: fails✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Rests on an assumption: Before this study, no research had examined eye-gaze as a possible mediator of enhanced empathy.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Although there is good evidence that intranasal OXT increases the concentration of endogenous OXT found in blood plasma and saliva (Daughters et al., 2015;Gossen et al., 2012;Weisman et al., 2012)”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Limitations
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Daughters et al., 2015 source
- Not checked yetcites Gossen et al., 2012 source
- Not checked yetcites Weisman et al., 2012 source
Strength:boosted· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“OXT binding sites have been observed in different areas of the rats brain that are involved in emotion processing (Febo, Numan & Ferris, 2005;Ferris, 2008;Smeltzer, Cutis, Aragona & Wang, 2006)”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Febo, Numan & Ferris, 2005
- Not checked yetcites Ferris, 2008 source
- Not checked yetcites Smeltzer, Cutis, Aragona & Wang, 2006
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passes
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“they reflect arousal but are relatively insensitive to valence; see Lang, Greenwald, Bradley & Hamm,”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Lang, Greenwald, Bradley & Hamm, 1993
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Nevertheless, our results are consistent with evidence from ASD literature suggesting that OXT increases attention to socially relevant stimuli, and specifically for the eye-region (e.g., Andari et al., 2010).”
§ Oxytocin Increases Attention to the Eyes and Selectively Enhances Self-Reported Affective Empathy for Fear > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Andari et al., 2010 source
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibrated
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: Improvements in facial emotion recognition caused by oxytocin administration come from increased attention to the eye region.

60 of 60

The paper relies on this without support.
No prior study has examined the effect of oxytocin on eye-gaze in relation to empathy.
“To our knowledge, no study to date has examined the effect of OXT on eye-gaze in relation to empathy.”
The paper relies on this without support.
None of the previous studies on oxytocin and empathy used dynamic real-world stimuli.
“none of the previous studies examining OXT and empathy used dynamic real-world stimuli.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Most oxytocin studies to date have used between-subjects designs.
“A further point is that most OXT studies to date have used between-subjects designs.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Salivary oxytocin concentration is a valid indicator that intranasal oxytocin has its intended central effect.
“These samples were analyzed to measure salivary OXT at each of these time points.These analyses revealed the OXT nasal sprays were successful in increasing OXT levels”
The paper relies on this without support.
Improvements in facial emotion recognition caused by oxytocin administration come from increased attention to the eye region.
“ASD researchers have argued that improvements in facial emotion recognition associated with OXT administration result from increased attention to the eye-region, although few studies have empirically tested this notion.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Before this study, no research had examined eye-gaze as a possible mediator of enhanced empathy.
“no prior study has examined eye-gaze as a possible mediator of enhanced empathy.”

6 of 6

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Statistics that don’t add up

Each reported p-value recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom.

Inconsistent p-value: F(2.29, 73.2) = .05,p = .99
Minor
The paper reports p = .99 here; recomputing from the test statistic and its degrees of freedom gives p = .966. The check cannot tell whether the statistic or the p-value is the misprint.
Reported p = .99 · recomputed p = .966

1 of 1

Statistics recomputed

Every reported test result, recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom. A result shows as not adding up only once an independent check has confirmed it.

Doesn’t add upF(2.29, 73.2) = 0.05reported p = .99 · recomputed p = .966
“F(2.29, 73.2) = .05,p = .99”
Consistentχ²(1) = 0.9reported p = .34 · recomputed p = .343
“X 2 (1) = 0.9, p = .34”
Consistentt(38) = 2.35reported p = .024 · recomputed p = .024
“t(38) = 2.35, p = .024”
ConsistentF(3, 117) = 12.93reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001
“F(3, 117) = 12.93, p < .001”
ConsistentF(1, 39) = 0.04reported p = .84 · recomputed p = .843
“F(1, 39) = 0.04, p = .84”
ConsistentF(3, 117) = 2.14reported p = .1 · recomputed p = .099
“F(3, 117) = 2.14, p = .10”
ConsistentF(3, 117) = 16.03reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001
“F(3, 117) = 16.03,p < .001”
ConsistentF(1, 39) = 0.13reported p = .73 · recomputed p = .720
“F(1, 39) = 0.13, p = .73”
ConsistentF(3, 117) = 2.77reported p = .045 · recomputed p = .045
“F(3, 117) = 2.77, p = .045”
ConsistentF(1.31, 41.95) = 35.58reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001
“F(1.31, 41.95) = 35.58,p < .001”
ConsistentF(2.49, 79.6) = 25.81reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001
“F(2.49, 79.6) = 25.81,p < .001”
ConsistentF(1, 32) = 3.76reported p = .06 · recomputed p = .061
“F(1, 32) = 3.76, p = .06”
ConsistentF(2, 64) = 10.71reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001
“F(2, 64) = 10.71,p < .001”
ConsistentF(3.72, 118.96) = 20.2reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001
“F(3.72, 118.96) = 20.2,p < .001”
ConsistentF(2, 96) = 11.33reported p = .002 · recomputed p < .001
“F(2, 96) = 11.33,p = .002”
The paper states a sphericity correction
ConsistentF(2, 96) = 3.73reported p = .06 · recomputed p = .028
“F(2, 96) = 3.73, p = .06”
The paper states a sphericity correction
ConsistentF(2, 96) = 12.86reported p = .001 · recomputed p < .001
“F(2, 96) = 12.86, p = .001”
The paper prints p at a floor (such as p < .001)
ConsistentF(4, 119) = 34.05reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001
“F(4, 119) = 34.05,p < .001”
ConsistentF(4, 119) = 21.29reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001
“F(4, 119) = 21.29,p < .001”
ConsistentF(4, 119) = 0.98reported p = .41 · recomputed p = .421
“F(4, 119) = 0.98, p = .41”
The paper states a sphericity correction

20 of 20

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Self-check results appear here once an independent check has confirmed them.

2 retracted

RETRACTED: Effect of intranasal oxytocin administration on psychiatric symptoms: A meta-analysis of placebo-controlled studies
Hofmann, S. G., Fang, A., & Brager, D. N. (2015) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2015.05.039 · Cited by 44
Retracted
Notice of Retraction and Replacement: Hofmann et al. Effect of intranasal oxytocin administration on psychiatric symptoms: A meta-analysis of placebo-controlled studies. Psychiatry Research. 2015;228:708-714
Hofmann, S. G., Fang, A., & Brager, D. N. (2016) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2016.10.055 · Cited by 3
Retracted
Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences
Muller, K. E., & Cohen, J. (1989) · Technometrics · doi:10.2307/1270020 · Cited by 99,603
The empathy quotient: an investigation of adults with asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences
Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2004) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1023/b:jadd.0000022607.19833.00 · Cited by 4,093
Oxytocin increases trust in humans
Kosfeld, M., Heinrichs, M., Zak, P. J., Fischbacher, U., & Fehr, E. (2005) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature03701 · Cited by 3,690
The functional architecture of human empathy
Decety, J., & Jackson, P. L. (2004) · Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews · doi:10.1177/1534582304267187 · Cited by 3,407
Looking at pictures: Affective, facial, visceral, and behavioral reactions
LANG, P. J., GREENWALD, M. K., BRADLEY, M. M., & HAMM, A. O. (1993) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.1993.tb03352.x · Cited by 3,190
Empathy and Moral Development
Hoffman, M. L. (2000) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511805851 · Cited by 2,967
Putting the Altruism Back into Altruism: The Evolution of Empathy
de Waal, F. B. M. (2008) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093625 · Cited by 2,483
The social neuroscience of empathy
Singer, T., & Lamm, C. (2009) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04418.x · Cited by 1,981

Flagged first, then by citations

Show all 73 references

Sorted by citations

The Emotional Brain, Fear, and the Amygdala
LeDoux, J. (2003) · Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology · doi:10.1023/a:1025048802629 · Cited by 1,818
The Caring Continuum: Evolved Hormonal and Proximal Mechanisms Explain Prosocial and Antisocial Extremes
Marsh, A. A. (2018) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-103010 · Cited by 171
“Oxytocin seems to amplify the amygdala’s sensitivity to fearful cues (Wang et al. 2017), with oxytocin administration selectively improving recognition of fearful expressions (Leppanen et al. 2017) and increasing self-reported empathy for those expressing fear (Hubble et al. 2017).”
Background
Oxytocin and the Neurobiology of Prosocial Behavior
Marsh, N., Marsh, A. A., Lee, M. R., & Hurlemann, R. (2020) · The Neuroscientist · doi:10.1177/1073858420960111 · Cited by 159
Effect of age and autism spectrum disorder on oxytocin receptor density in the human basal forebrain and midbrain
Freeman, S. M., Palumbo, M. C., Lawrence, R. H., Smith, A. L., Goodman, M. M., & Bales, K. L. (2018) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41398-018-0315-3 · Cited by 82
Associations between oxytocin and empathy in humans: A systematic literature review
Barchi-Ferreira, A. M., & Osório, F. D. L. (2021) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105268 · Cited by 62

See all 42

Authors: Hubble, K., Daughters, K., Manstead, A. S. R., Rees, A., Thapar, A., & van Goozen, S. H. M.
Affiliations: Cardiff University (GB)
ORCID: Hubble, Kelly
Daughters, Katie
Manstead, Antony S.R.
Rees, Aled
Thapar, Anita
Venue: Neuropsychologia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Published: 2017-11
Volume: 106
Pages: 350-357
ISSN: 0028-3932 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.10.019
OpenAlex: W2765126250
Cited by: 41
References: 73
Citations by year: 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 8
FWCI: 8.23
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
orca.cardiff.ac.uk
Licence: www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations: Neuropsychologia (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Open Access at Essex (University of Essex) (acceptedVersion)
ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion)
Funders: Economic and Social Research Council (ES/J500197/1)
Wellcome Trust
Topics: Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
Keywords: oxytocin, affective empathy, fear, gaze, emotion recognition, social attention, intranasal oxytocin, eye fixations
MeSH terms: Facial Recognition, Administration, Intranasal, Adult, Affect, Attention, Double-Blind Method, Empathy, Eye Movements, Fear, Fixation, Ocular, Humans, Male, Oxytocin, Eye Movement Measurements, Young Adult, Self Report

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-08, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).

A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-08 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

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Oxytocin increases attention to the eyes and selectively enhances self-reported affective empathy for fear

Abstract

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TL;DR

Key findings

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Limitations

Integrity signals

Verification

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Statistics that don’t add up

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