Intranasal Inhalation of Oxytocin Improves Face Processing in Developmental Prosopagnosia

R Bennetts1, S Bate1, S Cook2, B Duchaine3, J Tree4, E Burns4, T Hodgson5

1School of Design, Engineering and Computing, Bournemouth University, United Kingdom
2Dorset Healthcare University Foundation Trust, United Kingdom
3Department of Psychological and Brain Science, Dartmouth College, NH, United States
4Department of Psychology, Swansea University, United Kingdom
5School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, United Kingdom
Contact: rbennetts@bournemouth.ac.uk

Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is characterised by a severe, lifelong impairment in face recognition. Little work has attempted to improve face processing in these individuals, but intriguingly, recent evidence suggests oxytocin can improve face processing in both healthy participants and individuals with autism. This study examined whether oxytocin could also improve face processing in individuals with DP. Ten adults with the condition and 10 matched controls were tested using a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind within-subject experimental design (AB-BA). Each participant took part in two testing sessions where they inhaled 24IU of oxytocin or placebo spray and completed two face processing tests: one assessing face memory and the other face perception. Results showed main effects of both participant group and treatment condition in both face processing tests, but the two did not interact. Specifically, the performance of DP participants was significantly lower than control performance under both oxytocin and placebo conditions, but oxytocin improved processing to a similar extent in both groups.

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