Oxytocin promotes facial emotion recognition and amygdala reactivity in adults with asperger syndrome.

Abstract	The neuropeptide oxytocin has recently been shown to enhance eye gaze and emotion recognition in healthy men. Here, we report a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that examined the neural and behavioral effects of a single dose of intranasal oxytocin on emotion recognition in individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS), a clinical condition characterized by impaired eye gaze and facial emotion recognition. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined whether oxytocin would enhance emotion recognition from facial sections of the eye vs the mouth region and modulate regional activity in brain areas associated with face perception in both adults with AS, and a neurotypical control group. Intranasal administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin improved performance in a facial emotion recognition task in individuals with AS. This was linked to increased left amygdala reactivity in response to facial stimuli and increased activity in the neural network involved in social cognition. Our data suggest that the amygdala, together with functionally associated cortical areas mediate the positive effect of oxytocin on social cognitive functioning in AS.
Authors	Gregor Domes, Ekkehardt Kumbier, Markus Heinrichs, Sabine C Herpertz
Journal	Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (Neuropsychopharmacology) Vol. 39 Issue 3 Pg. 698-706 (Feb 2014) ISSN: 1740-634X [Electronic] England
PMID	24067301 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
Chemical References	Oxytocin Oxygen
Topics	Administration, Intranasal Amygdala (blood supply, drug effects) Analysis of Variance Asperger Syndrome (pathology, psychology) Bias Case-Control Studies Cross-Over Studies Double-Blind Method Drug Administration Schedule Emotions (drug effects) Humans Image Processing, Computer-Assisted Magnetic Resonance Imaging Male Oxygen (blood) Oxytocin (administration & dosage) Pattern Recognition, Visual (drug effects) Photic Stimulation Recognition, Psychology (drug effects)

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.

Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!