Nasal Inhalation of Oxytocin Improves
Face Blindness
Sep. 5, 2013 — Prosopagnosia (face blindness) may be
temporarily improved following inhalation of the hormone oxytocin.
This is the finding of research led by Dr Sarah Bate and Dr
Rachel Bennetts of the Centre for Face Processing Disorders at Bournemouth
University that will be presented
today, Friday 6 September, at the British Psychological
Society's Joint Cognitive and Developmental annual conference at the University
of Reading.
Dr Bate explained: "Prosopagnosia is characterised by a
severe impairment in face recognition, whereby a person cannot identify the
faces of their family or friends, or even their own face"
The researchers tested twenty adults (10 with prosopagnosia
and 10 control participants). Each participant visited the laboratory on two
occasions, approximately two weeks apart. On one visit they inhaled the
oxytocin nasal spray, and on the other visit they inhaled the placebo spray.
The two sprays were prepared by an external pharmaceutical company in identical
bottles, and neither the participants nor the researchers knew the identity of
the sprays until the data had been analysed.
Regardless of which spray the person inhaled, the testing
sessions had an identical format. Participants inhaled the spray, then sat
quietly for 45 minutes to allow the spray to take effect. They then
participated in two face processing tests: one testing their ability to
remember faces and the other testing their ability to match faces of the same identity.
The researchers found that the participants with
prosopagnosia achieved higher scores on both face processing tests in the
oxytocin condition. Interestingly, no improvement was observed in the control
participants, suggesting the hormone may be more effective in those with
impaired face recognition systems.
The initial ten participants with prosopagnosia had a
developmental form of the condition. Individuals with developmental
prosopagnosia have never experienced brain
damage, and this form of face blindness is thought to be
very common, affecting one in 50 people. Much more rarely, people can acquire
prosopagnosia following a brain injury. At a later date, the researchers had
the opportunity to test one person with acquired prosopagnosia, and also
observed a large
improvement following oxytocin inhalation in this individual.
Dr Bate said: "This study provides the first evidence
that oxytocin may be used to temporarily
improve face recognition in people with either developmental or acquired prosopagnosia.
The effects of the hormone are thought to last 2-3 hours, and it may be that
the nasal spray can be used to improve face recognition on a special occasion.
However, much more research needs to be carried out, as we
don't currently know whether there are benefits or risks associated with
longer-term inhalation of the hormone."
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