RQS Scoring Log

Oxytocin

Hormones & Neuromodulators· Human RCT· Scored June 2026· View compound profile →

64 /100

Moderate Evidence

7 dimensions · 100 points total · Methodology by PeptideClear

Scoring scope: intranasal administration for neuromodulatory effects

This RQS evaluates oxytocin specifically as used in the peptide/biohacking community — intranasal delivery for social cognition, anxiety, bonding, and neuromodulatory effects. The obstetric/labor induction evidence base (IV/IM administration) is extremely strong and would score in the Strong Evidence band independently. Combining the two evidence bases would overstate the evidence for the use case relevant to this catalog's audience.

Dimension Breakdown

Dimension	Scoring Notes	Score
Study Design	Multiple human RCTs evaluating intranasal oxytocin (IN-OT) for social cognition, anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, PTSD, and postpartum depression. Study design quality is genuinely RCT-level — randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trials are the norm in this literature. However, results across trials are inconsistent and several large RCTs (including ASD trials) have failed to show significant effects on primary endpoints. Scored as single RCT tier given the replication inconsistency dampening the multiple-RCT score.	20 / 25
Sample Size	Individual IN-OT trials typically enroll 20–80 participants. The 2017 meta-analysis (Keech et al.) synthesized 17 RCTs with 466 total NDD participants — moderate cumulative sample. The ASD trial literature is the most developed; some trials enroll 100+ but most remain in the 30–60 range. Meaningful but not large by therapeutic standard.	8 / 20
Replication	Multiple independent research groups globally (Netherlands, Germany, US, Australia) have conducted IN-OT trials. Replication exists but critically, findings have not consistently replicated across groups — different studies on the same endpoints (emotion recognition, social cognition, anxiety) produce conflicting results. This is a documented methodological challenge in the IN-OT literature, partly attributed to delivery variability and dosing inconsistency. Scored to reflect quantity of replication attempts, with deduction for inconsistency of results.	10 / 20
Journal Impact Factor	Published in Psychoneuroendocrinology (IF ~4), Neuropsychopharmacology (IF ~7), Biological Psychiatry (IF ~11), and Nature (for foundational mechanistic work). Reasonably strong journal placement. The in vitro and animal mechanistic literature appears in higher-tier journals; human intervention trials are in solid specialty journals.	8 / 15
Funding Independence	Primarily academic and government funded (NIH, European Research Council, Dutch NWO, German DFG). No dominant commercial funder distorting the research agenda. This is a genuine strength of the IN-OT literature relative to many compounds in the catalog.	10 / 10
Population Diversity	Studies conducted across healthy adults, ASD populations, PTSD patients, mothers with postpartum depression, and social anxiety disorder patients across multiple continents. One of the more demographically diverse evidence bases in the neuromodulator literature. Moderate deduction for sex imbalances in some sub-literatures (early trust/bonding research skewed male).	3 / 5
Researcher h-Index	Kerstin Uvnäs-Moberg (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences / Karolinska) is the field-defining researcher with h-Index 60+. René Hurlemann (University of Bonn), C. Sue Carter (University of Illinois), and Daniel Quintana (Oslo) are other prominent contributors with strong academic profiles. Top-tier researcher pedigree.	5 / 5

Sources: PubMed — Keech et al. 2018 Psychoneuroendocrinology (PMID 29032324), Bartz et al. 2011 Neurosci Biobehav Rev, Koch et al. 2016 Neuropsychopharmacology. Key journals: Psychoneuroendocrinology, Neuropsychopharmacology, Biological Psychiatry. Lead researcher: Kerstin Uvnäs-Moberg (Google Scholar h-Index confirmed). Funding: government/academic — disclosed across trials.

Note: Oxytocin's RQS score requires careful framing. The compound is one of the most studied neuropeptides in human history, with an impeccable clinical track record in obstetrics and lactation (IV/IM formulations, FDA approved). The IN-OT literature targeting social and cognitive effects is genuinely active and uses rigorous RCT methodology — but the results are mixed. A 2017 meta-analysis found positive but small effect sizes across neurodevelopmental disorders; a large 2021 ASD trial found no benefit on primary endpoints. The gap between the mechanistic plausibility (compelling) and the reproducible clinical signal (inconsistent) is the defining tension in this literature, and the score reflects that honestly.

Scored by the PeptideClear editorial team using publicly available literature. Sources: PubMed (study design, sample size, replication) · ScimagoJR (journal impact factor) · Google Scholar (researcher h-Index) · Primary papers (funding disclosure). Scores are reviewed as new research is published.