title: Oxytocin increases eye contact during a real-time, naturalistic social interaction in males with and without autism.
abstract: Autism spectrum conditions (autism) affect ~1% of the population and are characterized by deficits in social communication. Oxytocin has been widely reported to affect social-communicative function and its neural underpinnings. Here we report the first evidence that intranasal oxytocin administration improves a core problem that individuals with autism have in using eye contact appropriately in real-world social settings. A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects design is used to examine how intranasal administration of 24 IU of oxytocin affects gaze behavior for 32 adult males with autism and 34 controls in a real-time interaction with a researcher. This interactive paradigm bypasses many of the limitations encountered with conventional static or computer-based stimuli. Eye movements are recorded using eye tracking, providing an objective measurement of looking patterns. The measure is shown to be sensitive to the reduced eye contact commonly reported in autism, with the autism group spending less time looking to the eye region of the face than controls. Oxytocin administration selectively enhanced gaze to the eyes in both the autism and control groups (transformed mean eye-fixation difference per second=0.082; 95% CI:0.025-0.14, P=0.006). Within the autism group, oxytocin has the most effect on fixation duration in individuals with impaired levels of eye contact at baseline (Cohen's d=0.86). These findings demonstrate that the potential benefits of oxytocin in autism extend to a real-time interaction, providing evidence of a therapeutic effect in a key aspect of social communication.
authors: 1] Department of Psychology, The School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK [2] Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Auyeung
authors: 1] Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK [2] Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus [3] Center for Applied Neuroscience, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus.
authors: M V
authors: MV
authors: Lombardo
authors: 1] Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany [2] Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Heinrichs
authors: 1] Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK [2] School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, UK.
authors: B
authors: 0000000266497895
authors: B
authors: Chakrabarti
authors: South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Bedford, UK.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Sule
authors: 1] Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK [2] Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT), Cambridge, UK.
authors: J B
authors: JB
authors: Deakin
authors: Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors: R A I
authors: RA
authors: Bethlehem
authors: Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Dickens
authors: Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Mooney
authors: Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors: J A N
authors: JA
authors: Sipple
authors: Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Thiemann
authors: 1] Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK [2] Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT), Cambridge, UK.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Baron-Cohen
mesh_terms: D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D020817:Asperger Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D053483:Eye Movement Measurements; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010120:Oxytocics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012919:Social Behavior; D066107:Social Skills; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010120:Oxytocics; D010121:Oxytocin