PTSD is a very serious issue today that controls the lives of many people. However, a scientist at the University of Bonn believes she may have found a new breakthrough in treatment. She has found that the hormone oxytocin, which already exists in our brain, called the “love hormone,” may be the key to relieving anxieties of PTSD stricken people.

Her experiment included 62 men who were subjected to a type of “Pavlovian fear conditioning” in which they would be presented certain images and then given a small electric shock. After an initial MRI, half of the participants were given oxytocin and half were given a placebo and were given the test again without the electric shocks.

What they found was that those who had been given the oxytocin had increased activity in the prefrontal cortex, where fear is controlled, than those who did not receive the hormone.

I think this is a good example of a well done experiment that could have a lot of potential. Double-blind placebo trials can be very successful, and although it was unspecified whether it truly was a double-blind trial if the administrators knew what they were giving to the subjects, this experiment was well conducted. Because they had a control group and measured the subjects before and after the hormone was injected, it’s unlikely third variables are at play and the findings are much more credible. One thing that is concerning however is the sample size. 62 males is not a very diverse or conclusive group, but because it was the first trial there could be more chances to expand the study. I certainly hope this continues to be researched because from this study it looks like a promising possible solution for a problem that so many people are struggling with.

Sources:

scientificamerican.com