Dataset Information

Alcohol does not influence trust in others or oxytocin, but increases positive affect and risk-taking: a randomized, controlled, within-subject trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Alcohol consumption to facilitate social interaction is an important drinking motive. Here, we tested whether alcohol influences trust in others via modulation of oxytocin and/or androgens. We also aimed at confirming previously shown alcohol effects on positive affect and risk-taking, because of their role in facilitating social interaction.

Methods

This randomized, controlled, within-subject, parallel group, alcohol-challenge experiment investigated the effects of alcohol (versus water, both mixed with orange juice) on perceived trustworthiness via salivary oxytocin (primary and secondary endpoint) as well as testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, positive affect, and risk-taking (additional endpoints). We compared 56 male participants in the alcohol condition (1.07 ± 0.18 per mille blood alcohol concentration) with 20 in the control condition.

Results

The group (alcohol versus control condition) × time (before [versus during] versus after drinking) interactions were not significantly associated with perceived trustworthiness (η² < 0.001) or oxytocin (η² = 0.003). Bayes factors provided also substantial evidence for the absence of these effects (BF₀₁ = 3.65; BF₀₁ = 7.53). The group × time interactions were related to dihydrotestosterone (η² = 0.018 with an increase in the control condition) as well as positive affect and risk-taking (η² = 0.027 and 0.007 with increases in the alcohol condition), but not significantly to testosterone.

Discussion

The results do not verify alcohol effects on perceived trustworthiness or oxytocin in male individuals. However, they indicate that alcohol (versus control) might inhibit an increase in dihydrotestosterone and confirm that alcohol amplifies positive affect and risk-taking. This provides novel mechanistic insight into social facilitation as an alcohol-drinking motive.

SUBMITTER: Wenger LP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10914917 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Alcohol does not influence trust in others or oxytocin, but increases positive affect and risk-taking: a randomized, controlled, within-subject trial.

Wenger Leonard P LP Hamm Oliver O Mühle Christiane C Hoffmann Sabine S Reinhard Iris I Bach Patrick P Kornhuber Johannes J Alpers Georg W GW Kiefer Falk F Leménager Tagrid T Lenz Bernd B

European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience 20230914 2

<h4>Background</h4>Alcohol consumption to facilitate social interaction is an important drinking motive. Here, we tested whether alcohol influences trust in others via modulation of oxytocin and/or androgens. We also aimed at confirming previously shown alcohol effects on positive affect and risk-taking, because of their role in facilitating social interaction.<h4>Methods</h4>This randomized, controlled, within-subject, parallel group, alcohol-challenge experiment investigated the effects of alc ...[more]

PMID: 37707566

Similar Datasets

Project description:There have been numerous studies in which the biological role of oxytocin in trusting behavior has been investigated. However, a link between oxytocin and trust in humans was discovered only in one early study. We hypothesized that there is a large interindividual variation in oxytocin sensitivity, and that such variation is one reason for the doubt surrounding the role of oxytocin in trusting behavior. Here, in a double-blind, prospective, case-control study, we administered intranasal oxytocin to participants of trust and risk games. We measured salivary oxytocin concentration, relating it to the amount of money transferred among participants (a proxy for trust) and the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ). A one-sided Fisher's exact test was performed to detect differences between the oxytocin and placebo groups in the proportions of investors who transferred the maximum amount of money. We discovered a tendency for participants who received oxytocin to transfer higher amounts of money to co-participants than those who received a placebo (P = 0.04). We also revealed a high degree of interindividual variation in salivary oxytocin concentrations after oxytocin administration. After stratifying the samples with respect to oxytocin sensitivity, oxytocin-sensitive participants in the oxytocin group also transferred higher amounts of money than those in the placebo group (P = 0.03), while such a tendency was not observed for oxytocin-insensitive participants (P = 0.34). Participants with lower AQ scores (less severe autistic traits) exhibited a greater tendency toward trusting behavior after oxytocin administration than did those with higher AQ scores (P = 0.02). A two-sample t-test that was performed to detect significant differences in the mean transfers between the oxytocin and placebo groups indicated no significant between-group difference in the mean transfers (P = 0.08). There are two possible interpretations of these results: First, there is no effect of oxytocin on trust in humans; second, the effects of oxytocin on trust in humans is person-dependent. However, the results should be interpreted with caution as the effect size was not larger than the minimal detectable effect size and the results were not statistically significant (P > 0.05) after Bonferroni corrections.

Dataset Information

Alcohol does not influence trust in others or oxytocin, but increases positive affect and risk-taking: a randomized, controlled, within-subject trial.

Background

Methods

Results

Discussion

Publications

Alcohol does not influence trust in others or oxytocin, but increases positive affect and risk-taking: a randomized, controlled, within-subject trial.

Similar Datasets

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