Albantakis L, Brandi M-L, Brückl T, Gebert D, Auer M K, Kopczak A, Stalla G K, Neumann I D, Schilbach L
Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry - Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Kraepelinstr. 2-10, 80804, Munich, Germany.
International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Kraepelinstr. 2-10, 80804, Munich, Germany.
Compr Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2021 Jan 11;5:100027. doi: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100027. eCollection 2021 Feb.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, whose core symptoms consist of deficits in social interaction and communication as well as restricted and repetitive behavior. Brain oxytocin (OXT) has been associated with various prosocial behaviors, and might, therefore, be involved in the pathogenesis of disorders associated with socio-emotional dysfunctions such as ASD. However, significant associations between central and peripheral OXT levels may only be present in response to physiological or stressful stimuli but were not shown under baseline conditions. In this study, we, therefore, investigated salivary and plasma OXT in response to physical exercise in adults with ASD ( = 33, mean age: 36.8 ± 10.7 years) without intellectual impairment (IQ > 70) and neurotypical controls ( = 31, mean age: 31.0 ± 11.7 years). To stimulate the OXT system, we used rapid cycling and measured cortisol (CORT) concentrations to monitor the physiological stress response. When controlling for age, neither salivary OXT ( = .469), plasma OXT ( = .297) nor CORT ( concentrations significantly differed between groups at baseline. In addition, neither OXT nor CORT concentrations significantly differed between groups after physical exercise. Social anxiety traits were negatively correlated with plasma, but not saliva OXT concentrations in neurotypicals at baseline, while empathetic traits were positively correlated with saliva, but not plasma concentrations in autistic patients at baseline. No significant correlations between salivary and plasma OXT concentrations were found at any time point. Future studies including adult participants should investigate the effect of age on CORT and OXT concentrations in response to stress.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一种神经发育障碍，其核心症状包括社交互动和沟通缺陷以及受限的重复行为。脑内催产素（OXT）与多种亲社会行为有关，因此可能参与了与社会情感功能障碍相关的疾病（如ASD）的发病机制。然而，中枢和外周OXT水平之间的显著关联可能仅在对生理或应激刺激的反应中出现，而在基线条件下未显示。因此，在本研究中，我们调查了无智力障碍（智商>70）的成年ASD患者（n = 33，平均年龄：36.8 ± 10.7岁）和神经典型对照组（n = 31，平均年龄：31.0 ± 11.7岁）在体育锻炼后唾液和血浆中的OXT。为了刺激OXT系统，我们采用快速循环并测量皮质醇（CORT）浓度以监测生理应激反应。在控制年龄后，基线时两组之间唾液OXT（p = 0.469）、血浆OXT（p = 0.297）或CORT浓度均无显著差异。此外，体育锻炼后两组之间OXT和CORT浓度也无显著差异。在基线时，社交焦虑特质与神经典型对照组的血浆OXT浓度呈负相关，但与唾液OXT浓度无关，而共情特质与自闭症患者的唾液OXT浓度呈正相关，但与血浆浓度无关。在任何时间点，唾液和血浆OXT浓度之间均未发现显著相关性。未来纳入成年参与者的研究应调查年龄对应激反应中CORT和OXT浓度的影响。
