Oxytocin - A key to aetiology and treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Abstract

The finding that the hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) plays a key role in social cognition and behavior is one of the most significant discoveries in neuroscience. Since 1987, when work by Keith Kendrick in Cambridge firstly demonstrated that OXT played a central role in both maternal behavior and mother-infant bonds in sheep,1 it has subsequently been reported to be deeply involved in enhancing socially relevant recognition, cognition, memory, reward, empathy, co-operation and attachment behaviors.