Imaging Oxytocin and Autism
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Oxytocin and Autism: The effects of intranasal oxytocin on anxiety, reward processing and social cognition in adults with autism spectrum conditions and typical controls
IRAS ID
151697
Contact name
Simon Baron-Cohen
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge
Research summary
Summary of Research
Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) are characterised by social impairments, narrow interests and repetitive behaviour. Converging evidence from studies of children and adults with ASC suggests that irregularities in the processing of the hormone oxytocin may account for many of the behavioural abnormalities associated with this condition.
The aims of the current study are: (1) To assess the acute effect of oxytocin on functional brain activation during rest as well activation and performance during tasks that measure anxiety, reward sensitivity, empathy and social cognition (2)To determine if these activation patterns differ between typically developing individuals and individuals diagnosed with autism; and (3) To determine if potential effects of oxytocin on task performance and activation are moderated by biological sex.
Participants will be invited to come to the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre in Cambridge for two visits, separated by one week. Each participant will receive either a placebo or the oxytocin nasal spray during each visit, and order will be counterbalanced across participants. Participants and researchers will be blind to the order in which the oxytocin and the placebo will be administered. Before the administration of the oxytocin nasal spray all participants are briefly interviewed to make sure they adhere to safety procedures for MRI scanning, they are subsequently prepared for scanning and a saliva sample is taken. After the participants receive a dose of the oxytocin (or the placebo) nasal spray, they will rest for approximately twenty to thirty minutes. Participants will then be taken to the MRI scanning room and instructed on how to complete each of the simple computer-based tasks.
It is hoped that this study will help to develop a fuller picture of the role that oxytocin plays in both the skills and the deficits associated with ASC.
Summary of Results
We published a number of papers showing that oxytocin impacts women with a diagnosis of autism differently from women without a diagnosis of autism. Specifically, we found that oxytocin subtly alters functional connectivity in the brain and that these subtle changes were related to the number of autistic traits. Simultaneously we showed that the same change did non occur uniformly in women with a diagnosis, but that the direction of these alterations was mediated by their relative severity.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/EE/0202
Date of REC Opinion
9 Jul 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion