The effects of intranasal oxytocin on reward circuitry responses in children with autism spectrum disorder.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Intranasal oxytocin (OT) has been shown to improve social communication functioning of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and, thus, has received considerable interest as a potential ASD therapeutic agent. Although preclinical research indicates that OT modulates the functional output of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system that processes rewards, no clinical brain imaging study to date has examined the effects of OT on this system using a reward processing paradigm. To address this, we used an incentive delay task to examine the effects of a single dose of intranasal OT, versus placebo (PLC), on neural responses to social and nonsocial rewards in children with ASD.

Methods

In this placebo-controlled double-blind study, 28 children and adolescents wi

SUBMITTER: Greene RK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5870086 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature