Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic, debilitating anxiety disorder that may
develop after direct or indirect exposure to traumatic events. Prolonged Exposure (PE) is a
cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy modality with a wealth of empirical support demonstrating
its efficacy to treat PTSD in a variety of populations. The neuropeptide oxytocin is a
promising new pharmacotherapeutic agent with prominent anxiolytic effects . Despite a strong
biological and theoretical rationale for investigating the potential effectiveness of
augmenting PE with intranasal oxytocin, no studies to date have done so. The current study
aims to address this important gap in the literature by examining changes in PTSD symptoms
following PE treatment combined with a) 40 IU of intranasal oxytocin or b) placebo.