Oxytocin treatment for autism

Oxytocin may play a role in the amelioration of autism and may be an effective autism therapy for repetitive and affiliative behaviors; two related studies in adults found that oxytocin decreased repetitive behaviors and improved interpretation of emotions, but these preliminary results do not necessarily apply to children. An experimental drug STX107 has stopped overproduction of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 in rodents, and it has been hypothesized that this may help in about 5% of autism cases, but this hypothesis has not been tested in humans.

The Center of Cognitive Neuroscience in Lyon, France concluded that oxytocin may help reduce the negative symptoms of autism.

Gordon et al (2013) reported that intranasal administration of oxytocin appeared to significantly increased appropriate brain activity to social stimuli an a sample of 17 children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. Its administration may help to improve the effectiveness of social skills training in this group of people