psychotrauma, PTSD, oxytocin, stress, neuroimaging, clinical research
Focus of research
Mainly involved in conducting a clinical and neuroimaging study on the effects of intranasal oxytocin administration in recently traumatized individuals at increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The clinical study is a multicenter randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial in patients who were recently exposed to a traumatic event and were treated at the Emergency Department of one of our participating hospitals. We assess the efficacy of intranasal oxytocin administration to prevent PTSD development in those individuals at increased risk of developing PTSD. The neuroimaging study is a cross-sectional study aimed to study the acute effects of intranasal oxytocin administration (vs. placebo) on traumatic stress reactivity in the brain in this population. In addition, both studies investigate the effects of intranasal oxytocin administration on a variety of neuroendocrine, physiological, and behavioral measures.
