New articles on Oxytocin and Autism and effects on emtions

[Guest guest]

The first 2 articles are on Autism and a study using Oxytocin. The

third is about how oxytocin not only increases pro social behavior but

also ant social behavior.

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2009/12/28/Love-hormone-may-reduce-autism-symptom\

s/UPI-14861262033398/

NEW YORK, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- The " love hormone, " released at childbirth

and during sex, is being used in a U.S. trial of young adults with

autism spectrum disorders, researchers say.

Dr. Hollander, the advisory board chairman for the International

Center for Autism Research and Education and chairman of psychiatry at

the Mount Sinai School of Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of

Medicine, says giving oxytocin may improve social functioning and

repetitive behaviors -- irrespective of the age of the patient.

" For the first time, certain core systems of autism may respond to

treatment, " Hollander says in a statement.

In the trial, autistic patients age 18 and older, who were given

oxytocin nasally for 12 weeks significantly reduced their repetitive

behavior, and were better able to recognize anger or happiness in the

tone of a speaker's voice.

Upbeat results were also provided in a similar age group who took the

peptide intravenously, the study said.

Autism spectrum disorders refers to a group of symptoms

, like a profound inability to communicate and other developmental disorders.

SECOND ARTICLE

http://www.examiner.com/x-34208-NY-Autism-Examiner~y2009m12d28-Love-Hormone-Link\

ed-to-Autism

Scientists call it the " love hormone " because it's released in the

body naturally at childbirth -- and during sex. It's oxytocin, a

peptide found in the brain that also affects behavior like trust,

empathy and generosity - as well as jealousy and gloating.

Now, oxytocin is being used in trials with young adults (18 and older)

who have Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD), and the results of the

trials to date have been truly amazing.

ASD refers to a group of symptoms, like a profound inability to

communicate and other developmental disorders. Autistic patients who

were given oxytocin nasally for 12 weeks significantly reduced their

repetitive behavior, and were better able to recognize anger or

happiness in the tone of a speaker's voice. Upbeat results were also

provided in a similar age group who took the peptide intravenously.

But the biggest potential benefactors of these studies will be

children, particularly boys up to 8-years old. One in 70 boys will

develop the disorder. Trials will begin as soon as oxytocin is deemed

safe for children.

The International Center for Autism Research and Education

(Icare4autism) is spearheading the trials. Specifically, research is

being conducted by Icare4autism's Advisory Board Chairman, Dr.

Hollander. Dr Hollander is also the Chair of Psychiatry at the Mt.

Sinai School of Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Dr. Hollander believes giving oxytocin can improve social functioning

and repetitive behaviors - irrespective of the age of the patient.

" For the first time, certain core systems of autism may respond to

treatment, " said the highly acclaimed Dr. Hollander.

The International Center for Autism Research and Education

(Icare4autism), a global non-profit organization dedicated to finding

a cure, is working with Dr. Hollander to build a consensus surrounding

the issues and best practices in autism research and education.

Icare4autism also partners with similar institutions worldwide to

search for the biologic and environmental causes of ASD. Founder of

Icare4autism is Weinstein, who also heads private,

non-denominational multi-cultural schools in Brooklyn and the Bronx

that provide services to ASD children and their families.

Click here to find out more!

THIRD ARTICLE ABout Oxytocin uping anti social behaviors

http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=27540

n Israeli researcher has found that the 'love hormone' also controls

antisocial emotions.

A researcher at Israel's University of Haifa has discovered that the

'love hormone' oxytocin has an effect over both pro-social and

antisocial emotions.

Oxytocin is a hormone known to control positive feelings of love,

trust and empathy, and is released naturally during childbirth and

sex.

In a new study published in the Journal of Biological Psychiatry,

Israeli researcher Dr Simone Shamay-Tsoory at the University of

Haifa's Department of Psychology has found that oxytocin has an impact

on negative emotions such as envy and gloating.

" Oxytocin is a hormone that also acts as a neurotransmitter in the

brain, " Dr Shamay-Tsoory explained. " It's related to love, trust and

empathy. "

" We wanted to see if it affects our tendency to feel envy and

gloating, " she said. " So we administered oxytocin intranasally to 60

male and female subjects to examine how it affected their feelings of

envy or gloating towards other participants. "

Dr Shamay-Tsoory administered a synthetic form of oxytocin to half the

participants and a placebo to the other half. She then switched the

roles and administered the hormone to the second half and the placebo

to the first, all the while putting the participants through an

experimental game.

" Each subject had to choose one door out of three doors, " Dr

Shamay-Tsoory said, explaining the experiment. " They would each get a

financial prize after opening the door and see what prizes the other

participants received. "

The study found that participants who had been administered the

synthetic oxytocin felt higher levels of envy when others won money

than those who had not been given the hormone.

" There was a computerized questionnaire in which participants rated

their level of envy on a scale of 1 to 7 and we found that the level

of envy among those who received less money was higher if their level

of oxytocin was higher, " she said. " Those who received more money felt

more like gloating if their rate of oxytocin was higher. So basically

while there were individual differences we found that overall oxytocin

not only increases pro-social behavior but also envy and gloating. "

The study raises questions as to the viability of synthetic oxytocin

as a medication.

" We used to think that oxytocin was only related to pro-social

emotions, " Dr Shamay-Tsoory said. " But then there were studies on rats

showing that oxytocin can enhance aggressive behavior. "

" Now this is the first study on humans, and our findings suggest that

oxytocin has a more general effect on social emotions, not just

positive and pro-social emotions, " she said. " This means that if we

are going to try use oxytocin we need to take into account that it has

negative effects. "