SynthesisThe international journal of neuropsychopharmacology2021
Intranasal Oxytocin for Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Synthesis in The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pharmacological and Somatic Treatments for First-Episode Psychosis and Schizophrenia: Synopsis of the US Department of Veterans Affairs and US Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guidelines.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2025Guideline
- Can ketamine and other glutamate receptor modulators be considered entactogens?Psychiatry research · 2025Pooled it
- Temporal profile of intranasal oxytocin in the human autonomic nervous system at rest: An electrocardiography and pupillometry study.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2023Trial
- Translational pathways of oxytocin therapy in schizophrenia: bridging negative symptom domains and neural mechanisms.Translational psychiatry · 2026Review
- A tutorial for calculating field-specific effect size distributions.Behavior research methods · 2026Article
- Intranasal Drug Delivery in Neuropharmacology: Advances in Brain-Targeted Therapies and Bioethical Challenges.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Early life adversity impairs visually evoked innate defensive behaviors via oxytocin signaling.Communications biology · 2026Article
- How does oxytocin modulate human behavior?Molecular psychiatry · 2025Review
- Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia: An Update on Research Assessment and the Current and Upcoming Treatment Landscape.CNS drugs · 2025Review
- Oxytocin Reduces Noradrenergic-Induced Opioid-Like Withdrawal Symptoms in Individuals on Opioid Agonist Therapy.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2025Article
- Psychophysiology of facial emotion recognition in psychopathy dimensions and oxytocin's role: A scoping review.PloS one · 2025Article
- Intranasal Oxytocin Combined With Social Skills Training for Schizophrenia: An Add-on Randomized Controlled Trial.Schizophrenia bulletin open · 2024Article
- Article
- Exploring a Possible Interplay between Schizophrenia, Oxytocin, and Estrogens: A Narrative Review.Brain sciences · 2023Review
- Oxytocin as a treatment for high-risk psychosis or early stages of psychosis: a mini review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Review
- Effect of Intranasal Oxytocin on Resting-state Effective Connectivity in Schizophrenia.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2022Article
- Crosstalk between Schizophrenia and Metabolic Syndrome: The Role of Oxytocinergic Dysfunction.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Review
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 at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNegative symptoms are a core aspect of psychopathology in schizophrenia. Currently available pharmacological agents have proven minimally efficacious for remediating negative symptoms. A promising treatment avenue is the intranasal administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin. However, there have been inconsistencies in effects of oxytocin on negative symptoms throughout the literature, and factors leading to inconsistent effects are unclear.
methodsWe conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials to compare the effectiveness of oxytocin with placebo for the treatment of negative symptoms and determine moderators of treatment effect. Random effects meta-analyses and dose-response meta-analysis were performed on mean changes in negative symptoms.
resultsIn an initial analysis of all 9 identified randomized clinical trials, intranasal oxytocin showed no significant effect on negative symptoms. For higher doses (>40-80 IU), a beneficial effect on negative symptoms was found with a moderate effect size, but this effect disappeared after exclusion of 1 outlier study. The dose-response meta-analysis predicted that higher doses of oxytocin may be more efficacious for negative symptoms. For positive symptoms, no beneficial effect of oxytocin was found in the main meta-analysis, but the dose-response meta-analysis suggested a potential advantage of higher doses.
conclusionsThe present results show no consistent beneficial effect of intranasal oxytocin for the treatment of negative and positive symptoms. The dose-response meta-analysis does not allow drawing any firm conclusions but suggests that high doses of intranasal oxytocin may be more efficacious. If future studies are conducted, an effort to reach adequate CNS concentrations for a sufficient duration is required.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.