Hormone Might Help with Autistic Behavior

There is hope that the hormone oxytocin might be able to help with the social interaction issues that autistic children and adults face. In a story on MSNBC, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported that patients who inhaled oxytocin paid more attention to expressions when looking at pictures of faces and were more likely to understand social cues in a game simulation.

People with Asperger's syndrome and other autism spectrum disorders often have problems with social interaction. One issue in general is that people with autism often avoid looking at others. However oxytocin could help in this area.

The reason the researchers looked into oxytocin is because earlier research has shown that some children with autism have low levels of the hormone. This hormone helps breast-feeding mothers bond with their infants.

The lead researcher, Angela Sirigu of the Center of Cognitive Neuroscience in LyoShe, said the hormone also improves the ability of people with autism to understand how other people respond to them, and they can learn the appropriate response to others' behavior.

What a breakthrough!