Kelly Hubble1, Katie Daughters1, Antony S R Manstead1, Aled Rees2, Anita Thapar3, Stephanie H M van Goozen1. 1. 1School of Psychology,Cardiff University,Cardiff,United Kingdom. 2. 2Institute of Molecular and Experimental Medicine,School of Medicine,Cardiff University,Cardiff,United Kingdom. 3. 3Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences,School of Medicine,Cardiff University,Cardiff,United Kingdom.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have found that oxytocin (OXT) can improve the recognition of emotional facial expressions; it has been proposed that this effect is mediated by an increase in attention to the eye-region of faces. Nevertheless, evidence in support of this claim is inconsistent, and few studies have directly tested the effect of oxytocin on emotion recognition via altered eye-gaze Methods: In a double-blind, within-subjects, randomized control experiment, 40 healthy male participants received 24 IU intranasal OXT and placebo in two identical experimental sessions separated by a 2-week interval. Visual attention to the eye-region was assessed on both occasions while participants completed a static facial emotion recognition task using medium intensity facial expressions. RESULTS: Although OXT had no effect on emotion recognition accuracy, recognition performance was improved because face processing was faster across emotions under the influence of OXT. This effect was marginally significant (p<.06). Consistent with a previous study using dynamic stimuli, OXT had no effect on eye-gaze patterns when viewing static emotional faces and this was not related to recognition accuracy or face processing time. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that OXT-induced enhanced facial emotion recognition is not necessarily mediated by an increase in attention to the eye-region of faces, as previously assumed. We discuss several methodological issues which may explain discrepant findings and suggest the effect of OXT on visual attention may differ depending on task requirements. (JINS, 2017, 23, 23-33).
OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have found that oxytocin (OXT) can improve the recognition of emotional facial expressions; it has been proposed that this effect is mediated by an increase in attention to the eye-region of faces. Nevertheless, evidence in support of this claim is inconsistent, and few studies have directly tested the effect of oxytocin on emotion recognition via altered eye-gaze Methods: In a double-blind, within-subjects, randomized control experiment, 40 healthy male participants received 24 IU intranasal OXT and placebo in two identical experimental sessions separated by a 2-week interval. Visual attention to the eye-region was assessed on both occasions while participants completed a static facial emotion recognition task using medium intensity facial expressions. RESULTS: Although OXT had no effect on emotion recognition accuracy, recognition performance was improved because face processing was faster across emotions under the influence of OXT. This effect was marginally significant (p<.06). Consistent with a previous study using dynamic stimuli, OXT had no effect on eye-gaze patterns when viewing static emotional faces and this was not related to recognition accuracy or face processing time. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that OXT-induced enhanced facial emotion recognition is not necessarily mediated by an increase in attention to the eye-region of faces, as previously assumed. We discuss several methodological issues which may explain discrepant findings and suggest the effect of OXT on visual attention may differ depending on task requirements. (JINS, 2017, 23, 23-33).
Authors: Michael J Spilka; William R Keller; Robert W Buchanan; James M Gold; James I Koenig; Gregory P Strauss Journal: Acta Psychiatr Scand Date: 2022-03-16 Impact factor: 6.392
Authors: Katie Daughters; D Aled Rees; Laura Hunnikin; Amy Wells; Jeremy Hall; Stephanie van Goozen Journal: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci Date: 2022-07-11 Impact factor: 6.671
Authors: Olga L Lopatina; Yulia K Komleva; Yana V Gorina; Haruhiro Higashida; Alla B Salmina Journal: Front Behav Neurosci Date: 2018-08-28 Impact factor: 3.558