Oxytocin Deficiency?

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I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the possible autism-oxytocin link.
After reading in National Geographic, I did a search here, but didn't turn up much.
I was reading the book "mind wide open" back in the summer and it made me think oxytocin may have something to do with autism. I also had my first experience with narcotic pain killers, due to an ear infection. I was just reading this article in NG and as I was turning the page I thought, "I wonder if I could get my hands on some oxytocin pills somehow?"
Then

So I thought I would come online and see if anyone else was discussing this.

The book "mind wide open", was a very interesting look at brain chemistry and what not.
I was particularly struck by the way he characterized narcotic addiction.
As in the case where an addict will completely forsake family and other relationships in pursuit of his beloved drug. This is the heartbreaking peril of such addiction, as I recall from many an afterschool special.
The author points out however, that families and relationships are more or less the conventional way of attaining this same "fix"
So thats when I started thinking about how everyone else seems to really enjoy socializing, and I don't get much out of it. It occured to me that they are all on a drug that is not so readily available to me. Oxytocin ?


Here is the corresponding thread.
http://www.wrongplanet.net/asperger.htm ... t=oxytocin[/quote]

I don't think so. Oxytocin is responsible for milk let-down as well as uterine contractions. My uterus contracts and expels babie efficiently, and my milk letdown works just fine!

Well if there's one thing I don't need I think it is milk let down.
I shudder to think what might happen if my brain told my uterus to contract.
Anyway, I am still looking into this, I'm not totally clear on what all oxytocin does.
It seems that the aspects I was referring to are associated with its release in the brain, whereas what you are pointing out are the roles it plays in other parts of the body maybe.

Here's a link with some other links that look interesting.
http://www.oxytocin.org/oxy/autism.html

Common mistake when we have so many drugs.

You're confusing two completely different medications:

1. Oxytocin aka Pitocin which the mother's body secretes for nursing and which hospitals use to induce labor

2. Oxycontin which is a highly addictive and high-abuse potential opiate-derivatve painkiller.

Sorry, I should have made it clear that I am not referring to oxycontin.
I do understand the difference.

While oxytocin is used to induce labor, it also has been shown to play a role in the forming of relationships, between mother and child obviously, but also in pairbonding.

It has a calming effect similar to opiates, and thus I was considering if this might provide some sort of reward for appropriate social behaviour.

In the National Geographic article they attribute passion and infatuation to dopamine, but long term attachment to oxytocin.

It was an interesting article. It is difficult for me to understand the effects of all those different chemicals on the brain, but it is interesting to read about them.

What I mean is why does dopamine cause the feeling of romantic love or why does oxytocin cause the feeling of attachment? I understand why it makes sense for oxytocin to cause the feeling of attachment because it is the chemical released that stimulates the let down of milk when breastfeeding an infant. It makes sense for it to have this effect on the brain so mothers feel calm and bonded with their infants when they are breastfeeding them and this feeling of attachment compels them to care for the infants so the infants thrive. What I do not understand is what specifically any of these chemicals do inside the brain.

I was looking at an online supplier last week, do let us know how it goes

Dopamine is involved in the Reward System of the brain, meaning if dopamine rushes through and tells the brain "this is good" it provides a feeling of reward and that person will become slightly addicted to the substance or situation which triggers the dopamine release. A person can become addicted to anything, which is why things like gambling-- which isn't an addictive substance in itself-- still can cause an addiction if the Reward System is triggered.

In the case of romantic love, the dopamine reward system is overactive when feelings of reward are brought on by the noveltly of the other person. After awhile though, like in all relationships, this first rush wears off because the brain becomes tolerant to the chemical reaction in the brain induced by the other person. Meaning through tolerance, the rush is no longer large enough to sufficiently produce the same amount of reward. Which is why many longtime couples will try news things and creative strategies to keep that novelty and rush alive, because Tolerance is frequently situation-specific. Meaning, if the circumstances or environment change, the same rush can be achieved once again because the triggering of the reward system and the level of that rush frequently take cues from the environment.

As for oxytocin, I'm not as familiar with that.

Yeah Spacemonkey, I've heard that one before myself. It sounds like they're almost relating it to endochrine-oriented brain chemicals like PEA in how it works on emotions. Yeah, they use it for women during labor and my mom was actually pumped with a rediculous amount of it during that time, enough to where my dad mentioned to me that he felt it was a possibility that it may have had a partial role in how I was as a kid (over-emotional, kind of borderline-ish in my personality).

I think when people wanna jump on the main catechomalines like dopamine or serotonin for all the answers they're forgetting how multipurpose so many chemicals are in our body. Take Vassopressin for instance, not only does it regulate blood pressure but it's also used by the brain in memory formation, directly. It would be interesting to see though if this stuff has any effect for people with AS/autism who's brain chemistry is like that (high proclivity to painkiller addiction, etc.) because it may help out a lot if they treat that end of it as a comorbid condition rather than just part of AS. As for my own understanding of my body and mind, it seems like alcohol and LSD are the things that really free me and bring me more on center - I wonder if they'll figure out my chemical pathways any time soon...

Yeah, I understand that. But what I'm saying is that I don't think (in my case at least) that autism is caused by an oxytocin deficiency, or even that such a deficiency exists for us. If it did, none of the mothers here should have live babies. I've got six kids, all of the breastfed for long periods of time, and all of whom I bonded with. A deficency would have impaired all that seriously.

What it might be, though, is that our brain lacks something that triggers oxytocin when wew encounter other people to interact with.

Thanks for the input everyone. Where else could I find so many intelligent and insightful people in one place?

Chamoisee, you have a good point, it could be more of a receptor issue, or like you said, an issue with release associations.
But due to the maternal activities of this chemical, it would make sense that a higher percentage of autistics are male.

Techstep, Vassopressin is another chemical that seems to be related to oxytocin. I think I was reading about some experiments with prarie voles. ......
It's interesting what you were saying about your mother having high levels of oxytocin.
Was that given to her by the hospital to help with labor ?



Here's something I found on the prarie voles.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 074745.htm
This is a pretty good overview of some research with these two chemicals.

Dysfunction or damage in the prefrontal lobes, especially parts of the inferior frontal lobes, for one can cause similar social deficits which in part are seen in autism.

Yeah, she was in for 44 hours with me before she ended up getting a C-section, not surprising that I'm an only son.

iirc, isn't oxytocin produced by nipple stimulation?

i can just imagine the next 'cure' craze for autism, Nipple Stimulation Therapy (TM) cure your child's autism by subjecting them to thrice daily Nipple Stimulation (TM)!

but you can't just use any method of nipple stimulation, oh no, you must use CAN-approved CurebieCo Hi-Intensity (R) Electric Nipple Stimulators (TM), which you can hire for $2000 a month complete cure is possible in just 6 months! (or 4 months if your child has a third nipple)


meh... i've been stimulating my nipples thrice daily for years and i'm just as autistic as ever

Lol, well, there you go - if you wanna see whether you have a oxytocin deficiency just rub on your twins (then again if you do that on a regular basis it may be nothing new, who knows )

ROFLMFAO!! ! Should this be moved to mature???