¹Department of Psychiatry, Seaver Autism Research Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA

Correspondence: Dr E Hollander, Department of Psychiatry, Box 1230, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L Levy Place, New York, NY 10029, USA. Tel: +212 241 3623; Fax: +212 987 4031; E-mail: eric.hollander@mssm.edu

Received 19 February 2002; Revised 19 June 2002; Accepted 24 June 2002.

Abstract

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by dysfunction in three core behavioral domains: repetitive behaviors, social deficits, and language abnormalities. There is evidence that abnormalities exist in peptide systems, particularly the oxytocin system, in autism spectrum patients. Furthermore, oxytocin and the closely related peptide vasopressin are known to play a role in social and repetitive behaviors. This study examined the impact of oxytocin on repetitive behaviors in 15 adults with autism or Asperger's disorder via randomized double-blind oxytocin and placebo challenges. The primary outcome measure was an instrument rating six repetitive behaviors: need to know, repeating, ordering, need to tell/ask, self-injury, and touching. Patients with autism spectrum disorders showed a significant reduction in repetitive behaviors following oxytocin infusion in comparison to placebo infusion. Repetitive behavior in autism spectrum disorders may be related to abnormalities in the oxytocin system, and may be partially ameliorated by synthetic oxytocin infusion.