Biological psychiatry
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Biological psychiatry · Mar 1996
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialBrain potential changes after intranasal vs. intravenous administration of vasopressin: evidence for a direct nose-brain pathway for peptide effects in humans.
There is evidence that intranasal application of peptides is a way to circumvent the blood-brain barrier. This led us to compare the effects of arginine-vasopressin (AVP) on event-related potentials (ERPs) in healthy men (n = 15) after intranasal and after intravenous (i.v.) administration. In a double-blind, crossover study, subjects received on three different occasions 20 IU of AVP intranasally (IN), 1.5 IU of AVP i.v., and saline solution. ⋯ In supplementary experiments as well, i.v. administration of lower doses of AVP (0.1 and 0.025 IU) did not affect the ERP. Plasma vasopressin concentrations after the 0.025 IU dose in these experiments were comparable to those after intranasal administration of 20 IU AVP. The results provide functional evidence that in the human brain effects of peptides like AVP may be facilitated after IN as compared to i.v. administration.