Trial reportJournal of psychiatric research2018
Augmenting Prolonged Exposure therapy for PTSD with intranasal oxytocin: A randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial.
Trial report in Journal of psychiatric research, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03238924 (Augmenting Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD With Intranasal Oxytocin), which is not on this map. Cited by 50 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Augmenting Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD With Intranasal Oxytocin
Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness and moderators of PE and CPT in adult PTSD treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Pooled it
- Exploring the efficacy of intranasal oxytocin (OXT) for anxiety and stress-related disorders through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study: a systematic review.BMC pharmacology & toxicology · 2025Pooled it
- Role of social cognition in post-traumatic stress disorder: A review and meta-analysis.Genes, brain, and behavior · 2019Pooled it
- Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial Examining the Efficacy of Intranasal Oxytocin to Enhance Alcohol Behavioral Couple Therapy.The Journal of clinical psychiatry · 2025Trial
- The effects of intranasal oxytocin on the efficacy of psychotherapy for major depressive disorder: a pilot randomized controlled trial.Psychological medicine · 2024Trial
- Daily mother-infant skin-to-skin contact and maternal mental health and postpartum healing: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Effects of oxytocin administration on fear-potentiated acoustic startle in co-occurring PTSD and alcohol use disorder: A randomized clinical trial.Psychiatry research · 2022Trial
- Effects of intranasal oxytocin on threat- and reward-related functional connectivity in men and women with and without childhood abuse-related PTSD.Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging · 2021Trial
- Oxytocin increases physiological linkage during group therapy for methamphetamine use disorder: a randomized clinical trial.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Oxytocin-enhanced group therapy for methamphetamine use disorder: Randomized controlled trial.Journal of substance abuse treatment · 2020Trial
- Effects of Oxytocin Administration on Cue-Induced Craving in Co-occurring Alcohol Use Disorder and PTSD: A Within-Participant Randomized Clinical Trial.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2019Trial
- Effects of oxytocin on stress reactivity and craving in veterans with co-occurring PTSD and alcohol use disorder.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2019Trial
- A Preliminary Examination of Endogenous Peripheral Oxytocin in a Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial of Oxytocin-Enhanced Psychotherapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.Journal of clinical psychopharmacologyTrial
- Investigational drugs in PTSD.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Circuit logic of oxytocin and vasopressin complementary actions.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A State-of-the-art Review.Current neuropharmacology · 2024Review
- Therapeutic uses of oxytocin in stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders.Cell & bioscience · 2023Review
- MDMA-Based Psychotherapy in Treatment-Resistant Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Brief Narrative Overview of Current Evidence.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Oxytocin in the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders.Medeniyet medical journal · 2023Article
- Hypothalamus and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Review.Brain sciences · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic, debilitating condition for which Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy is highly efficacious. However, for some individuals, premature dropout and residual PTSD symptoms remain obstacles. The neuropeptide oxytocin is a promising candidate to enhance PE due to its ability to enhance 1) prosocial cognition and behavior, which are theorized to promote positive working alliance, and 2) extinction learning, which is the central mechanism of action underlying successful PE treatment. Despite a robust theoretical rationale, no studies to date have combined evidence-based psychotherapy for PTSD with oxytocin. This randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind pilot trial examined the feasibility, safety, and preliminary efficacy of augmenting PE with oxytocin. Participants were 17 individuals with diverse index traumas. Participants self-administered intranasal oxytocin (40 IU) or matching placebo 45 min prior to each weekly PE therapy session. One adverse event occurred in the placebo group and three individuals dropped out (17.6%; 2 oxytocin group and 1 placebo group). The oxytocin group demonstrated lower PTSD and depression symptoms during PE, and had higher working alliance scores, although these differences did not reach statistical significance. Although preliminary, the findings support the feasibility of oxytocin combined with PE. Adequately powered studies are necessary to determine whether oxytocin enhances PE treatment outcomes and to examine potential mechanisms, such as accelerating extinction learning, enhancing early response, and preventing premature dropout. NCT03238924.
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Registered trials
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.