Long-Term Administration of Intranasal Oxytocin Is a Safe and Promising Therapy for Early Adolescent Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Tachibana, Masaya; Kagitani‐Shimono, Kuriko; Mohri, Ikuko; Yamamoto, Tomoka; Sanefuji, Wakako; Nakamura, Ayumi; Oishi, Masako; Kimura, Tadashi; Onaka, Tatsushi; Ozono, Keiichi; Taniike, Masako

doi:10.1089/cap.2012.0048

Cited by 141 publications

(109 citation statements)

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“…In this context, oxytocin has significant appeal as an innovative adjunctive therapy for autism spectrum disorder (11)(12)(13) and has shown promise as an early intervention (e.g., refs. [15][16][17]. Although much remains unknown about the influence of exogenous oxytocin on infants, the present study presents promising results, suggesting potential social benefits.…”

Section: Close Proximitymentioning

confidence: 55%

Inhaled oxytocin increases positive social behaviors in newborn macaques

Simpson

Sclafani

Paukner

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Early caregiver-infant interactions are critical for infants' socioemotional and cognitive development. Several hormones and neuromodulators, including oxytocin, affect these interactions. Exogenous oxytocin promotes social behaviors in several species, including human and nonhuman primates. Although exogenous oxytocin increases social function in adults-including expression recognition and affiliation-it is unknown whether oxytocin can increase social interactions in infants. We hypothesized that nebulized oxytocin would increase affiliative social behaviors and such effects would be modulated by infants' social skills, measured earlier in development. We also hypothesized that oxytocin's effects on social behaviors may be due to its anxiolytic effects. We tested these hypotheses in a blind study by nebulizing 7-to 14-d-old macaques (n = 28) with oxytocin or saline. Following oxytocin administration, infants' facial gesturing at a human caregiver increased, and infants' salivary oxytocin was positively correlated with the time spent in close proximity to a caregiver. Infants' imitative skill (measured earlier in development: 1-7 d of age) predicted oxytocin-associated increases in affiliative behaviors-lip smacking, visual attention to a caregiver, and time in close proximity to a caregiver-suggesting that infants with higher propensities for positive social interactions are more sensitive to exogenous oxytocin. Oxytocin also decreased salivary cortisol, but not stressrelated behaviors (e.g., scratching), suggesting the possibility of some anxiolytic effects. To our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence that oxytocin increases positive social behaviors in newborns. This information is of critical importance for potential interventions aimed at ameliorating inadequate social behaviors in infants with higher likelihood of developing neurodevelopmental disorder.imitation recognition | neonatal imitation | individual differences

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Section: Close Proximitymentioning

confidence: 55%

Inhaled oxytocin increases positive social behaviors in newborn macaques

Simpson

Sclafani

Paukner

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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show abstract

“…ASD has been linked to TPJ functioning (e.g. Lombardo et al, 2011), and recent research suggests that OT has positive effects on social processing in ASD (Green and Hollander, 2010;Yamasue et al, 2012;Miller, 2013;Tachibana et al, 2013). Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that individuals with ASD show larger interference effects in the imitation-inhibition task and deficits in the imitation-inhibition task have been linked to TPJ functioning in ASD (Spengler et al, 2010a).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of Oxytocin on automatic motor simulation

Coster

Mueller

T’Sjoen

et al. 2014

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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“…Open label case studies and uncontrolled cohort studies suggest potential benefits of nasal oxytocin to treat observed autism symptoms using repeated dosing (81,82). Two published randomized placebo-controlled trials providing nasal oxytocin over an extended period to 9 evaluate this.…”

Section: The Effect Of Oxytocin As An Extended Treatment For Autism Smentioning

confidence: 99%