Brief report: pitocin induction in autistic and nonautistic
individuals.
Gale S, Ozonoff S, Lainhart J.
Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Oxytocin plays an important role in social-affiliative behaviors. It has been
proposed that exposure to high levels of exogenous oxytocin at birth, via
pitocin induction of delivery, might increase susceptibility to autism by
causing a downregulation of oxytocin receptors in the developing brain. This
study examined the rates of labor induction using pitocin in children with
autism and matched controls with either typical development or mental
retardation. Birth histories of 41 boys meeting the criteria for autistic
disorder were compared to 25 age- and IQ-matched boys without autism (15
typically developing and 10 with mental retardation). There were no differences
in pitocin induction rates as a function of either diagnostic group (autism vs.
control) or IQ level (average vs. subaverage range), failing to support an
association between exogenous exposure to oxytocin and neurodevelopmental
abnormalities.
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