Can a sugar pill make you happier? scientists study expectation effects on emotions
NCT ID NCT07615530
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at how positive expectations—like thinking you received a helpful treatment—can change how your brain processes emotions. Healthy adults will receive a saline nasal spray labeled as either oxytocin or saline on different days. Researchers will measure mood, brain activity (EEG), and eye movements while participants view emotional faces. The goal is to understand the basic mechanisms behind placebo effects in emotions, which could inform future treatments for depression and anxiety.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help develop new psychological therapies for mood disorders by understanding how expectations shape emotions.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study in healthy volunteers, not patients. It tests basic mechanisms, not a treatment, so real-world applications are uncertain.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 51 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Jun 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 35 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Aged 18-35 years * Normal or corrected to normal vision * Signed declaration of consent * German speaking Exclusion Criteria: * No informed consent * Current intake of central nervous system active drugs * Under influence of alcohol * BDI score above 12 * Significant acute somatic or neurological diseases * History of psychiatric or neurological disorders * Acute nasal diseases or injuries * EEG data with strong artefacts or excessive movement will be excluded from analysis * If a participant does not believe in the treatment on the screening day, they will not be included for the main study days
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Institute of Systems Neuroscience
Hamburg, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, 20251, Germany