But, the scientists were surprised to find that oxytocin did not help the children in social recognition tasks. It is also not known yet if oxytocin only has benefits for people with autism or has any bad side effects. Finally, oxytocin effects only last about 45 minutes, so it might be difficult to use it as a treatment. “This study has a lot of evidence from animal and human work to show that oxytocin helps, but we need more research,” said Simon Baron-Cohen.
What is one of the reasons scientists are uncertain about using oxytocin in real life?
It may have harmful side effects It might benefit people with autism but harm others Experts such as Baron-Cohen claim there is no evidence that oxytocin is effective They are afraid that insurance companies will not pay for it