Understanding Oxytocin's Neural and Behavioral Effects in Adolescents Diagnosed With Autism
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2019-10-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The investigators explored the neural and behavioral effect of oxytocin on youth with Autism
spectrum disorder using magnetoencephalography (MEG). The investigators hypothesize that
oxytocin will modulate neural activity to resemble patterns observed in the age-matched
control group.
Thirty-two adolescents with autism and 26 typically developing adolescents participated in
this randomized, double-blind MEG study. Individuals with autism arrived at the lab twice and
received an acute dose of intranasal oxytocin or placebo in each session. During the scans,
participants were asked to complete several tasks related to social perception - such as
identification of social and non-social stimuli.