Supplementary material for: Neural effects of oxytocin and mimicry in frontotemporal dementia: A randomized cross-over study

OBJECTIVE: Reduced empathy is one of the hallmark and untreatable symptoms of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The objective of this study was to determine whether intranasal oxytocin, alone or in combination with instructed mimicry of facial expressions, would augment neural activity in patients with FTD in brain regions associated with empathy, emotion processing and the simulation network, as indexed by blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signal during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

METHODS: In a placebo-controlled, randomized cross-over design, 28 patients with FTD received 72 IU of intranasal oxytocin or placebo and then completed a fMRI facial expression mimicry task.

RESULTS: Oxytocin alone, and in combination with instructed mimicry, increased activity in regions of the simulation network and in limbic regions associated with emotional expression processing.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate latent capacity to augment neural activity in affected limbi...