Identifying the Role of Oxytocin and Vasopressin in the Functioning of Neurocognitive Systems Involved in Mood Disorders

Objective: The goal of this protocol, broadly stated, is to use targeted manipulations with intranasally administered oxytocin (OT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) in conjunction with neurocognitive and neuroimaging paradigms to evaluate claims that OT and AVP inhibit and facilitate, respectively, the effective processing of aversive signals. Study Population: A total of 216 healthy male and female adults between 20-40 years of age. Design: This protocol will involve a series of independent studies. Each study will require one visit in addition to a screening visit, involves a physical and psychiatric assessment. The study visit itself will involve pharmacological challenge followed by neurocognitive or neuroimaging testing. Outcome Measures: Moreover, we wish to examine whether increased vasopressin levels will increase, and increased oxytocin levels decrease, the neural response in the amygdala and other limbic structures to aversive stimuli. In addition, we wish to assess whether OT and AVP administration will lead to the facilitation of conspecific recognition as appears to be the case for other mammalian species.