Men perform comparably to women in a perspective taking task after administration of intranasal oxytocin but not after placebo

“Both are required for normal “empathic ability” (Davis, 1983; Duan and Hill, 1996; Cialdini et al., 1997) and are shown to be related (Thakkar et al., 2009; Mohr et al., 2010; Thakkar and Park, 2010; Gronholm et al., 2012) and modulated by individual difference variables and personal experiences…”

“This finding is in line with previous reports regarding the mental rotation of objects (Shepard and Metzler, 1971; Wohlschläger and Wohlschläger, 1998), body parts (Cooper and Shepard, 1975; Parsons, 1987; Bonda et al., 1995; Petit et al., 2003; Seurinck et al., 2004), and perspective taking tasks…”

“Given the overall caution with regard to selfreport measures in this domain (Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright, 2004; Kämpfe et al., 2009), we suggest that empathic concern adjectives might tap onto sex stereotypes regarding emotions, i.e., women being more caring and higher in sympathy than men (Plant…”

“ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE published: 27 May 2013 doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00197 Men perform comparably to women in a perspective taking task after administration of intranasal oxytocin but not after placebo”

“The amygdala is a structure that is part of the limbic system, associated with social behavior and emotion processing (Phelps and LeDoux, 2005), or more broadly with “relevance detection” (Sander et al., 2003).”

“…in interpersonal information processing and behavior, it can be assumed that it also plays a role in empathy, that is, the ability to understand another’s emotional perspective and to be personally affected by it in a way that mirrors the feelings of the individual (Eisenberg and Miller, 1987).”

“ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE published: 27 May 2013 doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00197 Men perform comparably to women in a perspective taking task after administration of intranasal oxytocin but not after placebo”

“OT is also proposed to have anxiolytic effects (Uvnäs-Moberg, 1997; Heinrichs et al., 2003).”

“OT might act anxiolytically (Carter et al., 2001; Heinrichs et al., 2001, 2003; Cardoso et al., 2012; de Oliveira et al., 2012; for reviews see Meyer-Lindenberg et al., 2011; Striepens et al., 2011; MacDonald and Feifel, 2012) decreasing discomfort and concern for one’s own self.”

“The present conclusion is relevant to empathy and OT researchers as it suggests that OT’s beneficial effects might not be general but nuanced (Bartz et al., 2011), i.e., affecting men more strongly than women, at least in the context of social perspective taking.”

“Both are required for normal “empathic ability” (Davis, 1983; Duan and Hill, 1996; Cialdini et al., 1997) and are shown to be related (Thakkar et al., 2009; Mohr et al., 2010; Thakkar and Park, 2010; Gronholm et al., 2012) and modulated by individual difference variables and personal experiences…”

“Thus, OT acts centrally and peripherally as a central neurotransmitter/neuromodulator and a peripheral hormone in both males and females (Carter, 1998; MacDonald and MacDonald, 2010).”

“, perspective taking), and the second concerns vicarious emotional affective empathy (Davis, 1983; Hoffman, 2000; Blair, 2005), herein referred to as “affective empathy.”

“…of unfamiliar faces (Theodoridou et al., 2009), (3) increased charitable donations (Barraza et al., 2011), (4) promoted positive inferences about others’ mental states (Domes et al., 2007), and (5) facilitated the identification of emotions regardless of valence (Lischke et al., 2012).”

“For instance, OT might increase empathic concern for a person in need and/or attenuate feelings of personal distress (Batson et al., 1987).”

“Firstly, most studies have used self-report questionnaires, which lack accuracy and are prone to socially desirable responding Tierney and McCabe, 2001; Kämpfe et al., 2009; Gerdes et al., 2010; Taras et al., 2010.”

“Empathy is crucial to successful interpersonal skills and relations (Miller and Eisenberg, 1988; Batson, 1991; Eisenberg et al., 2002).”

“On the one hand, studies show that OT administration enhances self-reported emotional (but not cognitive) empathy (Hurlemann et al., 2010) as measured by the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET; Dziobek et al., 2008) as well as empathic accuracy (Bartz et al., 2010), that is, the ability to accurately rate others’ feelings…”

“The amygdala is a structure that is part of the limbic system, associated with social behavior and emotion processing (Phelps and LeDoux, 2005), or more broadly with “relevance detection” (Sander et al., 2003).”

“…and schizophrenia (Caldwell et al., 2009; Guastella et al., 2009b; Bartz et al., 2010; Feifel et al., 2010; Rubin et al., 2010; Luminet et al., 2011; Pedersen et al., 2011; Hall et al., 2012) as it has already been shown in autism spectrum disorders (Andari et al., 2010; Guastella et al., 2010).”

“…reported effects of OT Frontiers in Human Neuroscience www.frontiersin.org May 2013 | Volume 7 | Article 197 | 2 specifically on empathy and/or perspective taking either recruited only men (Zak et al., 2007; Bartz et al., 2010) or found that OT selectively affected men (Hurlemann et al., 2010).”

“In study 1, we provided participants with a scenario designed to elicit empathy [modified version used by Coke et al. (1978); Batson et al. (1989)] and assessed two levels of self-reported empathy (empathic concern and personal distress) by having participants rate empathy relevant adjectives.”

“In light of the above inconsistent evidence (Ditzen et al., 2009; Hurlemann et al., 2010), we considered the possibility that OT might exert sexspecific effects on empathy and perspective taking and tested an equal number of women and men.”

“On the one hand, studies show that OT administration enhances self-reported emotional (but not cognitive) empathy (Hurlemann et al., 2010) as measured by the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET; Dziobek et al., 2008) as well as empathic accuracy (Bartz et al., 2010), that is, the ability to accurately…”

“…to OT influences in clinical populations, individuals with autism benefited from OT administration by showing enhanced affective speech comprehension (Hollander et al., 2007), “mind-reading” (Guastella et al., 2010), and processing of social signals and social feedback (Andari et al., 2010).”

“Both are required for normal “empathic ability” (Davis, 1983; Duan and Hill, 1996; Cialdini et al., 1997) and are shown to be related (Thakkar et al., 2009; Mohr et al., 2010; Thakkar and Park, 2010; Gronholm et al., 2012) and modulated by individual difference variables and personal experiences…”

“Given that OT has been previously shown to enhance interpersonal processes and behavior (for reviews see MacDonald and MacDonald, 2010; Bartz et al., 2011; Guastella and MacLeod, 2012); including empathy (Hurlemann et al., 2010) and related phenomena such as “mind-reading” (Domes et al., 2007;…”

“ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE published: 27 May 2013 doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00197 Men perform comparably to women in a perspective taking task after administration of intranasal oxytocin but not after placebo”

“, women being more caring and higher in sympathy than men (Plant et al., 2000).”

“…provided with audio tapes narrating the plight of a needy person showed that women reported higher levels of empathy than men for the needy person (Batson et al., 1988, studies 1 and 3), and that reports of empathy for the needy person were relatively high (Batson et al., 1988, studies 1 and 3;…”

“USA considering another’s viewpoint (i.e., perspective taking), and the second concerns vicarious emotional affective empathy (Davis, 1983; Hoffman, 2000; Blair, 2005), herein referred to as “affective empathy.””

“, 2008) as well as empathic accuracy (Bartz et al., 2010), that is, the ability to accurately rate others’ feelings when they narrate emotional events, in particular in listeners that are not socially proficient.”

“It is worth noting that in line with previous relevant studies (Batson et al., 1988, 1989; Mikulincer et al., 2001) we only tested affective responses to a woman’s plight.”

“OT is involved in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and thus affects processes such as birth and breast-feeding in females and sexual mating, attachment and bonding in both sexes (see Carmichael et al., 1987, 1994; Carter, 1992; Altemus et al., 1995; Meston et al., 2004; Vignozzi et al.,…”

“OT might act anxiolytically (Carter et al., 2001; Heinrichs et al., 2001, 2003; Cardoso et al., 2012; de Oliveira et al., 2012; for reviews see Meyer-Lindenberg et al., 2011; Striepens et al., 2011; MacDonald and Feifel, 2012) decreasing discomfort and concern for one’s own self.”

“…of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and thus affects processes such as birth and breast-feeding in females and sexual mating, attachment and bonding in both sexes (see Carmichael et al., 1987, 1994; Carter, 1992; Altemus et al., 1995; Meston et al., 2004; Vignozzi et al., 2008).”

“Given that OT has been previously shown to enhance interpersonal processes and behavior (for reviews see MacDonald and MacDonald, 2010; Bartz et al., 2011; Guastella and MacLeod, 2012); including empathy (Hurlemann et al.”

“ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE published: 27 May 2013 doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00197 Men perform comparably to women in a perspective taking task after administration of intranasal oxytocin but not after placebo”

“…low in appropriate social abilities, such as individuals with alexithymia, social anxiety disorder, and schizophrenia (Caldwell et al., 2009; Guastella et al., 2009b; Bartz et al., 2010; Feifel et al., 2010; Rubin et al., 2010; Luminet et al., 2011; Pedersen et al., 2011; Hall et al., 2012)…”

“This task has been used to examine various questions on cognitive functioning such as those underpinning different forms of mental rotation (Ratcliff, 1979; Zacks et al., 1999), cognitive correlates of out-of-body experiences (Blanke et al.”

“According to most models, empathy consists of at least two components (Gladstein, 1983; Mahrer et al., 1994; Kerem et al., 2001).”

“Immediately afterwards, the experimenter read out 10 adjectives (taken from Batson et al., 1989; see below), each of which participants verbally rated on a 7-point visual analog scale according to how they felt while listening to the story (1—not at all felt, 7—very strongly felt).”

“…studies should balance out for possible sex-specific effects and include a male target, although a faster reaction toward women is generally likely (see Lewin and Herlitz, 2002; Cellerino et al., 2004; Mohr et al., 2010) in line with our finding of speeded responses to female figures in study 2.”

“…mental rotation of objects (Shepard and Metzler, 1971; Wohlschläger and Wohlschläger, 1998), body parts (Cooper and Shepard, 1975; Parsons, 1987; Bonda et al., 1995; Petit et al., 2003; Seurinck et al., 2004), and perspective taking tasks (e.g., Kaiser et al., 2008; Rilea, 2008) which report…”

“As in study 1 (Theodoridou et al., 2009), we observed no influence of drug and/or sex on participants’ current affect, wakefulness, or calmness.”

“…regarding the mental rotation of objects (Shepard and Metzler, 1971; Wohlschläger and Wohlschläger, 1998), body parts (Cooper and Shepard, 1975; Parsons, 1987; Bonda et al., 1995; Petit et al., 2003; Seurinck et al., 2004), and perspective taking tasks (e.g., Kaiser et al., 2008; Rilea, 2008)…”

“…as individuals with alexithymia, social anxiety disorder, and schizophrenia (Caldwell et al., 2009; Guastella et al., 2009b; Bartz et al., 2010; Feifel et al., 2010; Rubin et al., 2010; Luminet et al., 2011; Pedersen et al., 2011; Hall et al., 2012) as it has already been shown in autism…”

“…in line with previous reports regarding the mental rotation of objects (Shepard and Metzler, 1971; Wohlschläger and Wohlschläger, 1998), body parts (Cooper and Shepard, 1975; Parsons, 1987; Bonda et al., 1995; Petit et al., 2003; Seurinck et al., 2004), and perspective taking tasks (e.g., Kaiser…”

“The first component accounts for the cognitive effort involved in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience www.frontiersin.org May 2013 | Volume 7 | Article 197 | 1”

“…of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and thus affects processes such as birth and breast-feeding in females and sexual mating, attachment and bonding in both sexes (see Carmichael et al., 1987, 1994; Carter, 1992; Altemus et al., 1995; Meston et al., 2004; Vignozzi et al., 2008).”

“On the other hand, OT versus placebo administration exerted a null effect on emotional empathic responses to a romantic partner’s pain, i.e., on self-reported unpleasantness ratings when considering the partner’s experience of painful hand stimulation (Singer et al., 2008).”

“This finding is in line with previous reports regarding the mental rotation of objects (Shepard and Metzler, 1971; Wohlschläger and Wohlschläger, 1998), body parts (Cooper and Shepard, 1975; Parsons, 1987; Bonda et al., 1995; Petit et al., 2003; Seurinck et al., 2004), and perspective taking tasks…”

“OT is involved in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and thus affects processes such as birth and breast-feeding in females and sexual mating, attachment and bonding in both sexes (see Carmichael et al., 1987, 1994; Carter, 1992; Altemus et al., 1995; Meston et al., 2004; Vignozzi et al.,…”

“…processing, such as during approachavoidance motor responses to emotional faces (Theodoridou et al., 2013) and identification of fearful faces (Di Simplicio et al., 2009), it has not been found to have a slowing effect on approachavoidance motor responses to non-social stimuli (Theodoridou et…”

“This conjecture, if supported in the future, might be relevant to sub-populations low in appropriate social abilities, such as individuals with alexithymia, social anxiety disorder, and schizophrenia (Caldwell et al., 2009; Guastella et al., 2009b; Bartz et al., 2010; Feifel et al., 2010; Rubin et al., 2010; Luminet e…”

“Firstly, most studies have used self-report questionnaires, which lack accuracy and are prone to socially desirable responding Tierney and McCabe, 2001; Kämpfe et al., 2009; Gerdes et al., 2010; Taras et al., 2010.”

“ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE published: 27 May 2013 doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00197 Men perform comparably to women in a perspective taking task after administration of intranasal oxytocin but not after placebo”

“This time window is likely sensitive to OT effects; Gossen et al. (2012) showed that OT reaches its peak plasma level at approximately 30 min after a dose of 26 IU intranasal OT.”

“, 2009a) and recognition of emotional faces (Fischer-Shofty et al., 2010).”

“OT might act anxiolytically (Carter et al., 2001; Heinrichs et al., 2001, 2003; Cardoso et al., 2012; de Oliveira et al., 2012; for reviews see Meyer-Lindenberg et al., 2011; Striepens et al., 2011; MacDonald and Feifel, 2012) decreasing discomfort and concern for one’s own self.”

“…in both sexes (for evidence of absence of sex-dimorphic effects of OT see Ditzen et al., 2009; Theodoridou et al., 2009, 2011; Alvares et al., 2010; Rockliff et al., 2011), but others yield direct evidence for potential sex-specific effects of this neuropeptide Fischer-Shofty et al., 2013;…”

“…studies should balance out for possible sex-specific effects and include a male target, although a faster reaction toward women is generally likely (see Lewin and Herlitz, 2002; Cellerino et al., 2004; Mohr et al., 2010) in line with our finding of speeded responses to female figures in study 2.”

“…and schizophrenia (Caldwell et al., 2009; Guastella et al., 2009b; Bartz et al., 2010; Feifel et al., 2010; Rubin et al., 2010; Luminet et al., 2011; Pedersen et al., 2011; Hall et al., 2012) as it has already been shown in autism spectrum disorders (Andari et al., 2010; Guastella et al., 2010).”

“…as social desirability and stereotyping come strongly into play when using such paradigms, resulting in artificially elevated scores and commonly observed sex differences (women having higher scores than men) when using self-report measures (see for example Massa et al., 2005; Wraga et al., 2007).”

“ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE published: 27 May 2013 doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00197 Men perform comparably to women in a perspective taking task after administration of intranasal oxytocin but not after placebo”

“…al., 2009, 2011; Alvares et al., 2010; Rockliff et al., 2011), but others yield direct evidence for potential sex-specific effects of this neuropeptide Fischer-Shofty et al., 2013; Theodoridou et al., 2013; for a recent review on the role of sex in individual responses to OT see MacDonald, 2012).”

“OT might act anxiolytically (Carter et al., 2001; Heinrichs et al., 2001, 2003; Cardoso et al., 2012; de Oliveira et al., 2012; for reviews see Meyer-Lindenberg et al., 2011; Striepens et al., 2011; MacDonald and Feifel, 2012) decreasing discomfort and concern for one’s own self.”

“This finding is in line with previous reports regarding the mental rotation of objects (Shepard and Metzler, 1971; Wohlschläger and Wohlschläger, 1998), body parts (Cooper and Shepard, 1975; Parsons, 1987; Bonda et al., 1995; Petit et al., 2003; Seurinck et al., 2004), and perspective taking tasks (e.”

“Given that these sex differences are absent in the OT group, we infer that OT might have sex-dimorphic effects on this measure of perspective taking ability, an inference that is in line with a recent review by MacDonald (2012).”

“…low in appropriate social abilities, such as individuals with alexithymia, social anxiety disorder, and schizophrenia (Caldwell et al., 2009; Guastella et al., 2009b; Bartz et al., 2010; Feifel et al., 2010; Rubin et al., 2010; Luminet et al., 2011; Pedersen et al., 2011; Hall et al., 2012)…”

“…relevant to sub-populations low in appropriate social abilities, such as individuals with alexithymia, social anxiety disorder, and schizophrenia (Caldwell et al., 2009; Guastella et al., 2009b; Bartz et al., 2010; Feifel et al., 2010; Rubin et al., 2010; Luminet et al., 2011; Pedersen et al.,…”

“…anxiety disorder, and schizophrenia (Caldwell et al., 2009; Guastella et al., 2009b; Bartz et al., 2010; Feifel et al., 2010; Rubin et al., 2010; Luminet et al., 2011; Pedersen et al., 2011; Hall et al., 2012) as it has already been shown in autism spectrum disorders (Andari et al., 2010;…”

“, 2009), (3) increased charitable donations (Barraza et al., 2011), (4) promoted positive inferences about others’ mental states (Domes et al.”

“Firstly, most studies have used self-report questionnaires, which lack accuracy and are prone to socially desirable responding Tierney and McCabe, 2001; Kämpfe et al., 2009; Gerdes et al., 2010; Taras et al., 2010.”

“In study 2, we recorded reaction times in a computerized 3PP-task to assess empathy more implicitly (e.g., Thakkar et al., 2009; Mohr et al., 2010, in press) and to also avoid the response biases often associated with self-report measures (Kämpfe et al., 2009).”

“…behavioral responses in both sexes (for evidence of absence of sex-dimorphic effects of OT see Ditzen et al., 2009; Theodoridou et al., 2009, 2011; Alvares et al., 2010; Rockliff et al., 2011), but others yield direct evidence for potential sex-specific effects of this neuropeptide Fischer-Shofty…”

“, 1997) and are shown to be related (Thakkar et al., 2009; Mohr et al., 2010; Thakkar and Park, 2010; Gronholm et al., 2012) and modulated by individual difference variables and personal experiences (Mohr et al.”

“…objects (Shepard and Metzler, 1971; Wohlschläger and Wohlschläger, 1998), body parts (Cooper and Shepard, 1975; Parsons, 1987; Bonda et al., 1995; Petit et al., 2003; Seurinck et al., 2004), and perspective taking tasks (e.g., Kaiser et al., 2008; Rilea, 2008) which report longer reaction times…”

“…than normal OT availability may facilitate men’s tendency to step into another person’s shoes, a fundamental component of empathy (e.g., Frontiers in Human Neuroscience www.frontiersin.org May 2013 | Volume 7 | Article 197 | 7 see Kaiser et al., 2008; Thakkar et al., 2009; Gardner et al., 2012).”

“…of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and thus affects processes such as birth and breast-feeding in females and sexual mating, attachment and bonding in both sexes (see Carmichael et al., 1987, 1994; Carter, 1992; Altemus et al., 1995; Meston et al., 2004; Vignozzi et al., 2008).”

“…further studies on computerized perspective taking ability indicate that social strategies might be more prevalent in women and object-based spatial strategies more prevalent in men, and that women find the 3PP-task more effortful, as reflected in lower accuracy rates (Kaiser et al., 2008).”

“…forms of mental rotation (Ratcliff, 1979; Zacks et al., 1999), cognitive correlates of out-of-body experiences (Blanke et al., 2005; Easton et al., 2009; Braithwaite et al., 2011) and schizotypy (Mohr et al., 2006; Easton FIGURE 1 | (A) Examples of figures used in the perspective taking task.”

“However, it should be noted here that other studies have shown better perspective taking to be linked to faster reaction times (e.g., Mohr et al., 2010; Thakkar and Park, 2010).”

“In the baseline session, participants provided demographic information (e.g., age, sex) and filled in self-report questionnaires such as the Major Depression Inventory (MDI; Bech, 1997); results from these measures can be found in Theodoridou et al. (2009) and Theodoridou et al. (2013).”

“OT might act anxiolytically (Carter et al., 2001; Heinrichs et al., 2001, 2003; Cardoso et al., 2012; de Oliveira et al., 2012; for reviews see Meyer-Lindenberg et al., 2011; Striepens et al., 2011; MacDonald and Feifel, 2012) decreasing discomfort and concern for one’s own self.”

“OT might act anxiolytically (Carter et al., 2001; Heinrichs et al., 2001, 2003; Cardoso et al., 2012; de Oliveira et al., 2012; for reviews see Meyer-Lindenberg et al., 2011; Striepens et al., 2011; MacDonald and Feifel, 2012) decreasing discomfort and concern for one’s own self.”

“…forms of mental rotation (Ratcliff, 1979; Zacks et al., 1999), cognitive correlates of out-of-body experiences (Blanke et al., 2005; Easton et al., 2009; Braithwaite et al., 2011) and schizotypy (Mohr et al., 2006; Easton FIGURE 1 | (A) Examples of figures used in the perspective taking task.”

“…different forms of mental rotation (Ratcliff, 1979; Zacks et al., 1999), cognitive correlates of out-of-body experiences (Blanke et al., 2005; Easton et al., 2009; Braithwaite et al., 2011) and schizotypy (Mohr et al., 2006; Easton FIGURE 1 | (A) Examples of figures used in the perspective…”

“In study 2, we recorded reaction times in a computerized 3PP-task to assess empathy more implicitly (e.g., Thakkar et al., 2009; Mohr et al., 2010, in press) and to also avoid the response biases often associated with self-report measures (Kämpfe et al., 2009).”

“…OT has been previously shown to enhance interpersonal processes and behavior (for reviews see MacDonald and MacDonald, 2010; Bartz et al., 2011; Guastella and MacLeod, 2012); including empathy (Hurlemann et al., 2010) and related phenomena such as “mind-reading” (Domes et al., 2007; Guastella…”

“This instruction was based on previously used instructions (Massa et al., 2005) and was included to ensure that the task was introduced as a test of empathic abilities.”

“In Study 2, reaction times shorter than 200 ms and longer than 5000 ms were considered to be outliers and were dropped (Harris et al., 2002; Mohr et al., 2010).”

“, 2004), and perspective taking tasks (e.g., Kaiser et al., 2008; Rilea, 2008) which report longer reaction times when the position of a stimulus (or own current body position) does not match the position of the target stimulus.”

“…than normal OT availability may facilitate men’s tendency to step into another person’s shoes, a fundamental component of empathy (e.g., Frontiers in Human Neuroscience www.frontiersin.org May 2013 | Volume 7 | Article 197 | 7 see Kaiser et al., 2008; Thakkar et al., 2009; Gardner et al., 2012).”

“, 2009), to evaluate learning (Bailey et al., 2007), and spatial compatibility effects (Gardner and Potts, 2011).”

“ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE published: 27 May 2013 doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00197 Men perform comparably to women in a perspective taking task after administration of intranasal oxytocin but not after placebo”

“, 2007), and spatial compatibility effects (Gardner and Potts, 2011).”

“Also note that the present protocol has led to established methods and findings in our laboratory before (see Theodoridou et al., 2009, 2011, 2013).”

“If these assumptions are confirmed, one could infer that OT effects on empathic responses are more pronounced in males than females, and that any such effect is best studied using more implicit measures of empathy rather than explicit self-report measures (Theodoridou et al., 2013).”

“, 2014), and slowed reaction times in an implicit perspective taking task in men to that of the level of women (Theodoridou et al., 2013).”

“This view is consistent with the studies showing that OT increases theory of mind/perspective-taking abilities (Domes et al., 2007; Theodoridou et al., 2013), as well as with the reports showing that imagining others in pain was associated with activations in the precuneus and the pSTS (Jackson et al.”

“…of intranasal oxytocin (OXT) on cognitive aspects of empathy, including the processing of social information (e.g. Hurlemann et al., 2010; Unkelbach et al., 2008), mindreading (Domes et al., 2007; Guastella et al., 2010; Theodoridou et al., 2013), and emotion recognition (Bartz et al., 2010).”

“…differences remain “ very difficult ” to state (Caldwell, 2018), and evidence that oxytocin responses and reactions can be more pronounced in males is not unusual (Dumais et al., 2016; Feldman et al., 2010; Herzmann et al., 2013; Lynn et al., 2014; Rilling et al., 2014; Theodoridou et al., 2013).”

“Might oxytocin improve EA by increasing affective empathy? To date, studies designed to answer this question have produced mixed findings [41,42].”

“…review found no differences between male and female participants with regard to the situational form visuo-spatial social perspective-taking accuracy (e.g., Arzy et al. 2006; Erle and Topolinski 2015; Mohr et al. 2010; Theodoridou et al. 2013; see Online Resource 1 for task descriptions).”

“Additionally, women typically report higher levels of affective empathy than men (Hurlemann et al., 2010; Theodoridou et al., 2013).”

“…contradictory findings, such as the observation that increased empathy is associated with slower responses on MBT tasks (Mohr et al., 2010; Theodoridou et al., 2013) and that perceptual aberrations are positively related to reaction times, potentially reflectingmore effort in adopting a…”

“It should be noted that in contrast to the current results, Theodoridou et al. (2013) did not find that OT had an effect on self-reported empathy scales, after reading vignettes in which a woman described an unfortunate plight.”

“, social desirability) might affect self-report measures of empathy (Theodoridou et al. 2013).”

“At the same time, evidence (Theodoridou et al., 2013) suggests that oxytocin enhances social perspective taking in men, having no effect in women, perhaps because, in women, this heightened tendency is already present, regardless of oxytocin intake.”

“As we have seen, for males, PT is less automatic (Brehm et al., 1984; Theodoridou et al., 2013; Tremblay et al., 2020).”

“, orientation effect; [14,15,16,17,18,19]).”

“According to the explanation by Theodoridou et al. (2013), this may indicate that OXT promotes the attempts of male subjects to adopt similar perspective taking processing strategies as female subjects, and as such, there is a slowing trend in response time.”

“…of a study on empathy received lower empathy quotient (EQ) scores compared to female participants (Baron-Cohen et al., 2014) and intranasal administration of oxytocin has been shown to significantly enhance male, but not female, perspective taking abilities over placebo (Theodoridou et al., 2013).”

“Several studies reported no significant effects on empathy (Straccia et al., 2023; Tabak et al., 2015; Theodoridou et al., 2013).”

“There are numerous studies either showing supporting evidence of the connection between oxytocin and the participants’ affective empathy performance (e.g., [45]) or the lack of such associations (e.g., [46]).”