Excerpt

Letter to the Editor

Dear Sir,

There has been a massive growth of public awareness and research funding around autism spectrum disorders (ASD) over the past 10 years. This disorder is one of the groups of neurodevelopmental disorders known as pervasive developmental disorders characterized by three core deficits: impaired communication, impaired reciprocal social interaction and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviors or interests. At present, there is no psychopharmacologic treatment for the core symptoms of autism.

In addition to their classic physiologic functions in diuresis, parturition and lactation, oxytocin and vasopressin act as important modulators of social cognition and behaviors in a diverse range of species including humans [1]. Some clinical studies have provided a body of evidence that raises optimism for the feasibility of oxytocin-based therapeutics in ASD. For example, administration of oxytocin to patients with ASD has been shown to facilitate processing of social…