The DOI matches its Crossref record; 28 of the 29 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Intranasal oxytocin reduces psychotic symptoms and improves Theory of Mind and social perception in schizophrenia
Abstract
Oxytocin has numerous prosocial and antipsychotic-like effects in animals. Prosocial effects of acute intranasal oxytocin administration have also been reported in human subjects. We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled trial testing the effects of twice daily intranasal oxytocin treatment for 14 days on psychotic symptoms and social cognition in patients with schizophrenia. PANSS scores declined significantly and several social cognition measures improved significantly or nearly significantly in oxytocin (N=11) but not placebo (N=9) recipients. Our results suggest that, in addition to reducing classic psychotic symptoms, oxytocin may diminish certain social cognition deficits that are not improved by current antipsychotic medications.
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In the citing paper
“The acute effects of intranasal OT that we found here resemble those found in many human studies, consisting of an increase in pro-social behavior and engagement (specifically time spent in contact in males)(13,15,64–66).”
From Chronic intranasal oxytocin causes long-term impairments in partner preference formation in male prairie voles (2013) · cites this paper as [15]
In the citing paper
“while some studies among patients with other psychiatric disorders (e.g., autism, alcohol use disorder) have utilized a repeated dosing strategy in the form of 1–3 daily doses, most of these studies are only 8 days or less (Dadds et al., 2014; Guastella et al., 2015; Pedersen et al., 2011).”
From Augmenting Prolonged Exposure therapy for PTSD with intranasal oxytocin: a randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial (2018) · cites this paper as Pedersen et al., 2011
In the citing paper
“Safety and feasibility of daily dosing has been demonstrated in other human OT studies including those with alcohol-dependent patients (Pedersen et al., 2013), patients with schizophrenia (Pedersen et al., 2011) and individuals with trauma exposure (van Zuiden et al., 2016).”
From Augmenting Prolonged Exposure therapy for PTSD with intranasal oxytocin: a randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial (2018) · cites this paper as Pedersen et al., 2011
In the citing paper
“Support for the notion that an effect size of d = 0.4 adequately reflects the potential of oxytocin to reduce psychiatric symptoms stems from 2 previous studies on long-term intranasal oxytocin administration in the treatment of positive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia patients [61,97].”
From Efficacy of oxytocin administration early after psychotrauma in preventing the development of PTSD: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial (2014) · cites this paper as [97]
In the citing paper
“The observed effect sizes were between d = 0.05 - 0.88 [97] and d = 0.24 -.74 (for most outcomes around d = 0.4) [61], depending on the outcome measure.”
From Efficacy of oxytocin administration early after psychotrauma in preventing the development of PTSD: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial (2014) · cites this paper as [97]
In the citing paper
“Noteworthy, oxytocin treatment greatly reduced anxiety symptoms in schizophrenic patients (d = 0.62) [97].”
From Efficacy of oxytocin administration early after psychotrauma in preventing the development of PTSD: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial (2014) · cites this paper as [97]
In the citing paper
“Previous research has shown modest effects of OT on people suffering from social deficits, such as autism spectrum disorders (Hollander et al., 2007), schizophrenia (Pedersen et al., 2011) or social anxiety disorder (Guastella et al., 2009).”
From OT promotes closer interpersonal distance among highly empathic individuals (2015) · cites this paper as Pedersen et al., 2011
Citations
Cites
The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia.
Kay, S. R., Fiszbein, A., & Opler, L. A. (1987) · Schizophrenia Bulletin · doi:10.1093/schbul/13.2.261 · Cited by 21,378
Frith, C., & Frith, U. (2005) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2005.08.041 · Cited by 3,561
The oxytocin receptor system: structure, function, and regulation
Gimpl, G., & Fahrenholz, F. (2001) · Physiological Reviews · doi:10.1152/physrev.2001.81.2.629 · Cited by 3,089
Fett, A.-K. J., Viechtbauer, W., Dominguez, M.-D.-G., Penn, D. L., van Os, J., & Krabbendam, L. (2011) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.07.001 · Cited by 1,833
The Functional Significance of Social Cognition in Schizophrenia: A Review
Couture, S. M. (2006) · Schizophrenia Bulletin · doi:10.1093/schbul/sbl029 · Cited by 1,363
Sniffing neuropeptides: A transnasal approach to the human brain
Born, J., Lange, T., Kern, W., McGregor, G. P., Bickel, U., & Fehm, H. L. (2002) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn0602-849 · Cited by 1,356
The human amygdala in social judgment
Adolphs, R., Tranel, D., & Damasio, A. R. (1998) · Nature · doi:10.1038/30982 · Cited by 1,125
Oxytocin: The Great Facilitator of Life
Lee, H.-J., Macbeth, A. H., Pagani, J., & Young, W. S. (2009) · Progress in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/j.pneurobio.2009.04.001 · Cited by 1,037
The Human Amygdala in Social Judgment
Adolphs, R., Tranel, D., & Damásio, A. R. (2002) · The MIT Press eBooks · doi:10.7551/mitpress/3077.003.0027 · Cited by 881
Paranoia and self-consciousness.
Fenigstein, A., & Vanable, P. (1992) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.62.1.129 · Cited by 643
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Items 301–305 of 305
Animal-assisted therapy in patients with psychotic disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Peraile-Huerta, A. M., Jiménez‐López, E., Goñi, V. D., de Passos, T. O. M., Peral-Martinez, F., Herráiz-Garrote, S., Perez-Moreno, A., Mesas, A. E., & Bizzozero‐Peroni, B. (2026) · Complementary Therapies in Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2026.103322
Zierhut, M. M., Hartter, N., von Eisenhart-Rothe, V., Hahne, I., Bergmann, N., Kraft, J., Braun, A., Bayer, M., Ta, T. M. T., Ripke, S., et al. (2026) · Ecopsychology · doi:10.1177/19429347261419214
New regulators in oxytocin and vasopressin release : role of the endolysosomal two-pore channels
Martucci, L. L. (2021) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/027d1ae2zd2ebz4677za019ze6ccd94cafe9
Does intranasal oxytocin reduce symptoms of mental disorders? A meta-analysis of clinical trials
Bonnieux, J. N., Gumuchian, S. T., Harboun, A., Trespalacios, F., Bélisle, K.-A., Haddad, A., Quintus-Bosz, O., McLellan, A., Chester-Trudel, L., Garred, D., et al. (2026) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2026.106749
Metadata
- Authors
- Pedersen, C. A., Gibson, C. M., Rau, S. W., Salimi, K., Smedley, K. L., Casey, R. L., Leserman, J., Jarskog, L. F., & Penn, D. L.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Corresponding author
- Pedersen, Cort A.
- Venue
- Schizophrenia Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-10
- Volume
- 132
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 50-53
- ISSN
- 0920-9964 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1974375338
- Cited by
- 305
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 36 · 2014: 34 · 2013: 51 · 2012: 23
- FWCI
- 47.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Schizophrenia Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Bank (Australian Catholic University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH093529)
- National Center for Research Resources (UL1RR025747)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- intranasal oxytocin, schizophrenia
- MeSH terms
- Administration, Intranasal, Adolescent, Adult, Analysis of Variance, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Oxytocin, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychotic Disorders, Schizophrenia, Schizophrenic Psychology, Social Perception, Antipsychotic Agents, Treatment Outcome, Young Adult, Theory of Mind
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