'Love hormone' could help people with autism cope better in social situations



Oxytocin helped adults better understand emotions and facial expressions

Helped those with autism identify 'good' and 'bad' characters

Hormone administered as nasal spray worked within 20 minutes



Oxytocin could help people with autism deal better with social situations (posed by model)

A blast of the so-called love hormone could help people with autism interact better in social situations.

Scientists have discovered that oxytocin helped adults better understand emotions and facial expressions.

A key characteristic of autism is the inability to deal well with social situations and an apparent lack of interest or care for others.

Oxytocin, often referred to as the 'cuddle or trust hormone', is produced by women during pregnancy, birth and in the production of milk for breastfeeding.

It has previously been linked with treatments of people with social and mood disorders.

In the new study, Japanese researchers found even one dose of the hormone boosted activity in an area of the brain that processes emotion and empathy, Health Day reports.

Until now, the treatment has been shown to help those with 'high functioning autism' - that is they have better communication skills than some others with the condition.

But the University of Tokyo researchers say their study indicates oxytocin may also benefit those with low-functioning autism.

This is because these people rely more heavily on nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, reports HealthDay reporter Alan Mozes.



The team drew their conclusions after studying 40 men with high-functioning autism, given oxytocin via a nasal spray.



Scans 90 minutes later revealed the level of activity in the brain responsible for emotional processing had increased.

The patients were then given a task - to decide whether a film character was good or evil - from speech but also non-verbal signs.

And oxytocin did help the men interpret someone's character more accurately, the researchers say.

'Therefore, autistic people with deficits in nonverbal communication and interaction [might] benefit from oxytocin administration,' said study co-author Hidenori Yamasue.



The impact of the hormone could also be seen in about 20 minutes, he added. But how long the effect lasts needs further investigation.

Oxytocin helped adults better understand emotions and facial expressions. Image shows a molecular model of oxytocin bound to its carrier protein neurophysin

The research was published online in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.



Previous French research has found those with autism given the spray became more sociable and trusting.

Thirteen people with high-functioning autism rapidly became better at reading other people's emotions and making eye contact after inhaling the hormone.



The study was carried out by French scientists who said that while the effects were short-lived, the spray had

Meanwhile U.S. researchers have found oxytocin can improve the social skills of monkeys.