Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26210057›Full record

ReviewBiological psychiatry2016

Statistical and Methodological Considerations for the Interpretation of Intranasal Oxytocin Studies.

Hasse Walum, Irwin D Waldman, Larry J Young

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Biological psychiatry, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 137 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
137citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
64.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

137 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 334 citations in OpenAlex.

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  15. Divergent effects of oxytocin on "mind-reading" in healthy males.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2022
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77 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Hasse WalumSilvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences , Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. Electronic address: hasse.walum@emory.edu.
Irwin D WaldmanCenter for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Larry J YoungSilvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences , Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Emory University · US

Funding

Yerkes National Primate Research Center Role of type-I IFN in regulating COVID-19 induced inflammation and pathogenesisP51OD011132 · OD · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI Joon Sup Lee · 2012 to 2026
$167.0M
The Impact of Oxytocin on the Neural Representation Social Stimuli P50MH100023 · NIMH · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI YOUNG, LARRY J · 2013 to 2022
$21.8M
Oxytocin Receptors and Social BehaviorR01MH096983 · NIMH · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI YOUNG, LARRY J · 2012 to 2016
$2.2M
NIH HHS P51 OD011132NIH HHS P51OD11132NIMH NIH HHS 1P50MH100023NIMH NIH HHS P50 MH100023NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH096983NIMH NIH HHS R01MH096983
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Over the last decade, oxytocin (OT) has received focus in numerous studies associating intranasal administration of this peptide with various aspects of human social behavior. These studies in humans are inspired by animal research, especially in rodents, showing that central manipulations of the OT system affect behavioral phenotypes related to social cognition, including parental behavior, social bonding, and individual recognition. Taken together, these studies in humans appear to provide compelling, but sometimes bewildering, evidence for the role of OT in influencing a vast array of complex social cognitive processes in humans. In this article, we investigate to what extent the human intranasal OT literature lends support to the hypothesis that intranasal OT consistently influences a wide spectrum of social behavior in humans. We do this by considering statistical features of studies within this field, including factors like statistical power, prestudy odds, and bias. Our conclusion is that intranasal OT studies are generally underpowered and that there is a high probability that most of the published intranasal OT findings do not represent true effects. Thus, the remarkable reports that intranasal OT influences a large number of human social behaviors should be viewed with healthy skepticism, and we make recommendations to improve the reliability of human OT studies in the future.

Indexed as

Research DesignSocial BehaviorAdministration, IntranasalAnimalsBrainHumansOxytocinReproducibility of ResultsStatistics as TopicOxytocinBiasEffect sizeNeuroendocrinologyPositive predictive valueSocial cognitionStatistical power

Identifiers

PMID26210057
PMCPMC4690817
OpenAlexW983974319

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.