Intranasal Oxytocin Intervention for Caregivers to Persons With Dementia

Inclusion Criteria: * Females 50 years of age or older * Currently an unpaid family caregiver to an older adult (50 years and older) with dementia for at least five hours a week for at least six months * Normal or corrected to normal vision and hearing * Mobility to travel to University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) for study procedures including brain imaging * Right-handed * Capacity to read and write English Exclusion Criteria: * Major medical illness that contraindicates oxytocin (OXT) administration (e.g., severe liver disease, seizure disorder, metabolic disorder) * History of allergic reaction to oxytocin (OXT) and its nasal spray product * History of central nervous system (CNS) disease, including history of seizure, epilepsy, CNS tumor, CNS hemorrhage, or serious CNS infection including meningitis or encephalitis * Currently pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the course of the study * Metal in the body (i.e., hearing aid, cardiac pacemaker, bone plates, braces, non-removable piercing/implants, etc.), claustrophobia, or any other condition that would preclude magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning * Mini-mental status exam score of 25 or lower which suggests possible cognitive issues * History of or current neurological disease (e.g., stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain tumor, dementia) * History of or current severe psychiatric disease (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, severe post-traumatic stress disorder) * History of, or current drug or alcohol abuse * Currently breastfeeding * Current coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) illness * Left-handed due to brain structural difference between right and left-handed individuals * Currently taking antipsychotic medications, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or corticosteroid creams/pills