Abstract
Rationale
Individuals with music performance anxiety (MPA) present physical, behavioral, and cognitive manifestations of anxiety, in addition to information processing deficits, especially in facial emotion recognition (FER).
Objectives
To assess the effects of a single dose of intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) on FER in a sample of musicians with high and low MPA (primary outcome), as well as indicators of mood/anxiety and self-assessed performance (secondary outcomes).
Methods
Crossover, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 43 male musicians with different levels of MPA. Participants completed a static facial emotion recognition task and self-rated mood and performance scales. Data were analyzed using ANOVA 2 × 0 for crossover trials and the Omnibus test (measure of separability between intervention and carryover effects).
Results
Only musicians with high MPA treated with oxytocin had a higher accuracy in the recognition of happiness (p < 0.03; d > 0.72). No effects of oxytocin were found on mood indicators or on self-perceived performance, regardless of MPA level.
Conclusions
The results indicate possible benefits of the acute treatment with oxytocin in MPA, which may improve the management of this common and disabling condition that affects professional musicians. The appropriate perception of positive feedback may increase confidence and feelings of social acceptance, reducing symptoms associated with the condition. The lack of effects on mood/anxiety and cognition may be explained by the context-dependent characteristic of the effects of oxytocin, since the experiment did not represent an actual situation of social threat.
Trial registration
Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry (Registro Brasileiro de Ensaios Clínicos): No. RBR-9cph2q
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Funding
This study was funded by grants from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, São Paulo, Brazil; Process no. 15/02848-2) and the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Brasília, Brazil; Process 155367/2016-1—PhD Scholarship; Process 301321/2016-7—Productivity Research Fellow).
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1. Conception and design or analysis and interpretation of data: ADVS, MHNC, FLO
2. Substantial contributions to drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content: ADVS, MHNC, FLO
3. Final approval of the version to be published: ADVS, MHNC, FLO
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This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial registered at the Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry (Registro Brasileiro de Ensaios Clínicos) under number RBR-9cph2q and approved by the Local Ethics Committee (process no. HCRP 17.646/2014). The supporters had no role in the design, analysis, interpretation, or publication of this study.
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Sabino, A.D.V., Chagas, M.H.N. & Osório, F.L. Acute effects of oxytocin in music performance anxiety: a crossover, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Psychopharmacology 237, 1757–1767 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-020-05493-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-020-05493-0