scholarly journals Oxytocin promotes coordinated out-group attack during intergroup conflict in humans

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hejing Zhang ◽  
Joerg Gross ◽  
Carsten De Dreu ◽  
Yina Ma
Keyword(s):  
Intergroup Conflict ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Critical Component ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Double Blind Placebo ◽  
Group Coordination ◽  
Group Efficiency ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Over Time

Intergroup conflict contributes to human discrimination and violence, but persists because individuals make costly contributions to their group's fighting capacity. Yet how group members effectively coordinate their contributions during intergroup conflict remains poorly understood. Here we examine the role of oxytocin for (the coordination of) contributions to group attack or defense in multi-round, real-time feedback intergroup contests. In a double-blind placebo-controlled study with N=480 males in Intergroup Attacker-Defender Contests, we found that oxytocin reduced contributions to attack and over time increased attacker's within-group coordination of contributions. However, rather than becoming peaceful, attackers given oxytocin better tracked their rival's historical defense and coordinated their contributions into well-timed and hence more profitable attacks. Our results reveal coordination of contributions as a critical component of successful attacks and subscribe to the possibility that oxytocin enables individuals to contribute to in-group efficiency and prosperity even when doing so implies outsiders are excluded or harmed.

scholarly journals Oxytocin promotes coordinated out-group attack during intergroup conflict in humans

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hejing Zhang ◽  
Jörg Gross ◽  
Carsten De Dreu ◽  
Yina Ma
Keyword(s):  
Intergroup Conflict ◽  
Editorial Note ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Editorial Process ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Double Blind Placebo ◽  
Group Efficiency ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Over Time

Intergroup conflict contributes to human discrimination and violence, but persists because individuals make costly contributions to their group’s fighting capacity. Yet how group members effectively coordinate their contributions during intergroup conflict remains poorly understood. Here we examine the role of oxytocin for (the coordination of) contributions to group attack or defense in a multi-round, real-time feedback economic contest. In a double-blind placebo-controlled study with N=480 males in an Intergroup Attacker-Defender contest game, we found that oxytocin reduced contributions to attack and over time increased attacker’s within-group coordination of contributions. However, rather than becoming peaceful, attackers given oxytocin better tracked their rival’s historical defense and coordinated their contributions into well-timed and hence more profitable attacks. Our results reveal coordination of contributions as a critical component of successful attacks and subscribe to the possibility that oxytocin enables individuals to contribute to in-group efficiency and prosperity even when doing so implies outsiders are excluded or harmed.Editorial note: This article has been through an editorial process in which the authors decide how to respond to the issues raised during peer review. The Reviewing Editor's assessment is that all the issues have been addressed (<xref ref-type="decision-letter" rid="SA1">see decision letter</xref>).

scholarly journals 902. A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of a Single Immunization of Ad26.RSV.preF against RSV Infection in a Viral Challenge Model in Healthy Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. S27-S28 ◽  
Author(s):  
John DeVincenzo ◽  
Efi Gymnopoulou ◽  
Els De Paepe ◽  
Bryan Murray ◽  
Arangassery Rosemary Bastian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Severity ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Clinical Strain ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Double Blind Placebo ◽  
Qrt Pcr ◽  
Rsv Infection ◽  
First Time ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background Despite the high disease burden of RSV in older adults and children, there is currently no approved vaccine. Ad26.RSV.preF, an experimental RSV vaccine, has demonstrated immunogenicity and tolerability in first-in-human clinical studies. The aim of this study was to assess the potential of the Ad26.RSV.preF vaccine to protect against RSV infection and disease in an established RSV human challenge model, used for the first time to evaluate a vaccine. Methods We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, human challenge study (NCT03334695). Healthy adults received 1 × 1011 vp Ad26.RSV.preF vaccine (active) or placebo (pbo) intramuscularly. After 28 days, volunteers were challenged intranasally with a low-passage clinical strain of RSV-A (0.8 mL of Memphis 37b) and then quarantined for 12 days. Nasal washes were collected twice daily throughout quarantine, starting 2 days post-challenge (viral load [VL] by qRT-PCR and quantitative cultures). Disease severity was recorded thrice daily using symptom diary cards. Results Fifty-three volunteers (active, n = 27; pbo, n = 26) were challenged with RSV-A. Quantitative viral assessments were consistently lower in active than pbo. The primary endpoint of the study was met: the area under the curve (AUC) for RSV VL over time (via qRT-PCR) was significantly lower in active pbo (P = 0.012). Median peak VL was lower for active (0 log10 copies/mL) than pbo (5.4 log10 copies/mL). Median AUC for RSV VL over time (quantitative culture) was lower for active than pbo (0 vs. 109, P = 0.002). Disease severity was lower for active than pbo, with a median AUC total symptom score of 35 (active) vs. 167 (pbo) (P = 0.002). Overall, RSV infection (defined by qRT-PCR alone or combined with symptoms) and disease severity over time were lower in active vs. pbo. Conclusion RSV infections, VL, and RSV disease severity were consistently lower in healthy adults receiving Ad26.RSV.preF vs. placebo, demonstrating promising protection from RSV infection and disease. This was the first time that antiviral prevention was observed against RSV after active immunization. Ad26.RSV.preF warrants further evaluation in field trials for efficacy against natural RSV infections in populations considered at risk of severe RSV disease. Disclosures All Authors: No reported Disclosures.

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