Oxytocin induces long-lasting adaptations within amygdala circuitry in autism: a treatment-mechanism study with randomized placebo-controlled design.

ABSTRACT: Intranasal administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin (IN-OT) is increasingly explored as a potential treatment for targeting the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To date, however, the impact of multiple-dose IN-OT treatment on human neural circuitry is largely unknown, and also the possibility that long-term IN-OT use may induce long-lasting neural adaptations remains unexplored. Using a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, between-subject design (including 38 adult men with ASD), this treatment-mechanism study showed that 4 weeks of daily oxytocin administration (24 IU/day) significantly altered intrinsic (resting-state fMRI) functional connectivity of the amygdala to core regions of the "social brain" (particularly orbitofrontal cortex and superior temporal sul

SUBMITTER: Alaerts K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7234999 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature