Josh Woolley, MD, PhD

Dr. Woolley has been studying the underpinnings of social deficits in schizophrenia and has examined how oxytocin might be a useful treatment for these social deficits. People with schizophrenia often have functionally significant social cognitive deficits, and there are currently no available pharmacological treatments that target these deficits. In healthy individuals, the natural hormone oxytocin has been shown to increase social abilities such as understanding emotions and trusting people. People with schizophrenia can have difficulties with social relationships, which can impact interactions with others and community participation. Dr. Woolley believes that oxytocin may help with many of these difficulties, so a major focus of his research laboratory has been to examine whether supplementary oxytocin can increase social cognition in people with schizophrenia.