The study, involving 13 adults with either a high-functioning form of autism or Asperger syndrome, a mild form of the disorder, found that when the subjects inhaled the hormone oxytocin, they scored significantly better on a test that involved recognizing faces and performed much better in a game that involved tossing a ball with others. Oxytocin, a hormone often referred to as the "cuddle chemical" for its role in helping to foster intimate relationships—particularly between mothers and their newborns—may help people with autism to read and react to social cues, according to the preliminary results of a small study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Administering the hormone soon after a child's autism is diagnosed might help him or her develop more normally, she said. As Angela Sirigu, lead author of the study, told the Washington Post, "It's possible it can become a cure, if it's given early when the problems are detected in the little kids... We can change the way these patients interact with people from childhood." Because previous research has indicated that some people with autism might have abnormally low levels of oxytocin, conducting tests to identify those people and administering them the hormone might help as well, said Karen Parker, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine. "All the data seem to suggest that manipulating the oxytocin system has a powerful effect on the core symptoms of autism," said Eric Hollander, director of the compulsive, impulsive and autism spectrum disorders program at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York.
– The hormone oxytocin may improve the social skills of people with high-functioning autism. In a new study, patients who received doses of it in a nasal spray were better able to recognize faces and interact with others in a game. In short, the so-called "love chemical" seems to help those with autism and Asperger's syndrome better able to pick up on social cues, reports Time. The researchers hope oxytocin therapy could become a powerful treatment therapy and perhaps even correct social deficits before they form. "It's possible it can become a cure, if it's given early when the problems are detected in the little kids," the lead scientist tells the Washington Post. "We can change the way these patients interact with people from childhood."