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 Oxytocin levels are generally lower in autistic individuals. One of the hallmark symptoms of autism is social withdrawal and impaired responsiveness to other people. Autism is marked by diminished eye contact. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has demonstrated that social function improved in autism-spectrum patients treated with the hormone oxytocin. Following ingestion, adults with Asperger's syndrome or high-functioning autism were more inclined to play more appropriately and are more accurate in their responsiveness to partners. Increased oxytocin enabled them to focus attention on the eyes. Eye contact is and important marker of social function because the eye telegraphs much more emotional information than the area below the nose, specifically the mouth. With increased powers of observation the autistic were better able to determine correct emotions. “Under oxytocin, patients responded more appropriately suggesting oxytocin hormone acted on a core dimension," the researchers asserted.
Oxytocin is best known for its actions in prompting childbirth and lactation, but it is also produced throughout life. Current brain imaging photography has demonstrated oxytocin hormone is key to critical social behaviors like fear, anger and trust. Participants in one study (17 to 39 years old, with a mean age of 26) received a clinical diagnoses of Asperger's syndrome and three were considered to have high-functioning autism. Patients received either placebo or oxytocin, with the behavioral experiments conducted 50 minutes later. The experiments were repeated at least a week later with the other treatment condition. In the video ball game, participants played a game of toss-and-catch with three cartoon characters whose interaction with the player could vary. Initially, each character sent the ball to the player 33% of the time, passing it between themselves the rest of the time. After a while, the percentages changed such that one character would send the player the ball 70% of the time, the second sent 30% of balls to the player, and the third sent just 10% of balls to the player. The player was promised $2.75) for each ball he or she received. The player could return the ball to any character he or she chose. The outcome measure was the number of balls the player sent to each character, reported on an arbitrary 14-point index. The mean score for non-autistic control participants in sending the ball to the most cooperative character was 12, compared with about 5.5 for the neutral character and 6 for the least cooperative. Following treatment with oxytocin, the proportion of balls sent to the most cooperative character increased significantly with a mean score of 9 compared with 5.5 and 6.5 for the neutral and least cooperative characters. The difference in play level with the oxytocin subject (relative to the placebo subject) was significant. The autism-spectrum patients were asked afterwards of their level of trust. After placebo treatment, mean trust and preference scores for the three characters were nearly identical however the oxytocin patients expressed substantially more trust and preference toward the most cooperative character relative to the least cooperative.
Participants also looked at flashing photos of faces and were asked to quickly identify if the face was looking into the camera or away to one side. The length of the gaze was recorded. The oxytocin subjects spent 20% to 30% greater time studying facial-direction tasks. Moreover, their attention was 30% more focused on the subjects' eyes after oxytocin hormone treatment. Also, their frequency of saccades (rapid changes in gaze direction) was also reduced significantly with oxytocin treatment.
Intranasal oxytocin treatment.
At baseline, mean plasma oxytocin levels were 1.08 pg/mL in patients compared with 7.28 pg/mL in the healthy controls (P<0.0001). Ten minutes after intransal oxytocin in the patients, their plasma levels were still only 2.66 pg/mL, the researchers indicated. Yet despite the persistent shortfall in plasma oxytocin and substantial individual variability in performance, "we demonstrated that oxytocin can promote social approach and social comprehension in patients with autism," Sirigu and colleagues wrote. They suggested that the specific effect may be that the hormone reduces mistrust and fear associated with social interactions. Buy Oxytocin here.
Refrences; Angela Sirigu, PhD, of the CNRS lab in Bron, France, and colleagues.
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