A little over a month ago we told you that children born by induced labor could have a higher risk of autism, that is, children whose mothers were given oxytocin to accelerate labor were more likely to be autistic. It is curious that research now appears to suggest that the same hormone that can make them autistic can help them if given.
And it is currently investigating the hypothesis that oxytocin, which in addition to causing uterine contractions is considered the love hormone, could help autistic children have better social relationships.
The love hormone?
Oxytocin is known that way because plays a very important role in human relationships, segregating especially when we are comfortable with someone, when we enjoy their company, and especially when we are in love and enjoy relationships with all the people we love.
It is known that women secrete large amounts of oxytocin as mothers, as it is an important hormone when creating and maintaining the bond with their baby. In fact, not only is oxytocin secreted to give birth, with contractions, but it is also segregated when the baby is taken to the breast for the first time, and every time she breastfeeds, since oxytocin is also responsible for the ejection of milk (and that is why it insists that mother and baby should not be separated).
Oxytocin seems to be more important than previously thought
Well, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine are studying with mice the possible uses of oxytocin and, they say, have realized that the role of oxytocin is greater than they thought. Apparently, in their investigations, oxytocin alters the activity in a part of the brain that is essential for the feeling of reward to be generated. This reward system would be the one that makes us social animals, that is, that we want to share time and space with other people, that we fall in love, that we want to see someone we love, that we enjoy the presence of our children, etc.
Thus, the results obtained reinforce previous work in which it was trying to help autistic children with oxytocin, precisely because autism is a disorder in which the changes described in the brain do not seem to be experienced. Let's say that, as there is no reward for being with other people, autistic children do not feel the need to communicate and deal with other people.
Dr. Robert Malenka, one of the study authors said the following:
For them, social interactions can be absolutely painful. So we ask ourselves: What is in the brain that makes us enjoy when we go out with our friends?
They found that something is oxytocin, they saw how the brain of the mice changes, generating the pleasant feeling of reward and from there they thought it could be useful for children with autism. Researchers believe that it is very likely that by administering oxytocin to these children their brains begin to generate the same sensation and that in that way improve your relationships with other people. However, they still do not want to get ahead of events because not all research that works with animals then has the same result in humans. Hopefully they are right and that scientists, these or others, can begin to find possible treatments that help autistic children interact more and better with other people.
