Oxytocin-induced modulation of explicit and implicit visual perspective taking

TL;DR

This study explores how oxytocin affects the ability to understand others' perspectives in different social situations.

Contribution

The study reveals oxytocin's differential effects on explicit and implicit visual perspective taking in social contexts.

Findings

Oxytocin reduced accuracy in explicit tasks with perspective conflict.

Oxytocin improved speed and accuracy in implicit tasks with human agents.

Abstract

Visual perspective taking (VPT) is a fundamental component of social cognition, allowing individuals to understand environments from diverse viewpoints. Explicit VPT involves deliberately adopting another person’s perspective, whereas implicit VPT reflects the incidental influence of others’ viewpoints when responding from one’s own. Oxytocin (OT), a neuropeptide known for its role in social bonding, has been proposed to influence self–other processing, though its effects on VPT remain unclear. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, seventy-nine healthy male participants (Oxytocin = 39, Placebo = 40) completed explicit and implicit VPT tasks. Participants judged object locations from an avatar’s perspective (explicit) or from their own perspective (implicit), in the presence of a human agent or an object. OT administration was associated with reduced accuracy in the explicit task under perspective conflict, reflecting increased egocentric interference. In contrast, in the implicit task, OT was associated with faster and more accurate responses in congruent trials involving a human agent. Together, these findings indicate that oxytocin-related effects on visual perspective taking vary across task demands and social context. Rather than reflecting a general enhancement or impairment of perspective-taking ability, the results provide behavioral evidence consistent with differential modulation of self-other processing.

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