Intranasal Oxytocin Combined With Social Skills Training for Schizophrenia: An Add-on Randomized Controlled Trial

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Neuroscience
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Oxytocin has shown potential in improving negative symptoms of schizophrenia in some studies.
• High-dose oxytocin and social skills training (SST) effects on schizophrenia symptoms require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of high-dose intranasal oxytocin, SST, and their combination as add-on treatments for negative symptoms and social dysfunction in schizophrenia.

Main Methods:

• A 3-week, randomized controlled trial with 51 schizophrenia patients.
• Participants received intranasal oxytocin (24 IU TID) or placebo, combined with SST or supportive psychotherapy in a 2x2 factorial design.
• Primary outcome: change in social interaction scores (Coding Interactive Behavior Manual); secondary outcome: Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS).

Main Results:

• No significant differences were observed between oxytocin and placebo groups, or between SST and supportive psychotherapy groups, in overall social interaction or PANSS scores.
• Social skills training showed a trend towards reducing blunted affect and gaze.
• Post-hoc analyses suggested potential benefits of oxytocin in specific social interaction contexts, but these did not remain significant after controlling for multiple comparisons.

Conclusions:

• High-dose oxytocin did not demonstrate efficacy in improving social behavior or overall symptoms of schizophrenia in this trial.
• Social skills training showed limited positive effects on specific negative symptoms.
• Further research is needed to clarify the role of oxytocin and SST in schizophrenia treatment.