Hormone oxytocin may help Asperger's patients

A study links the hormone, which promotes mother-infant bonding and cooperation, to smoother social learning skills in people with the autism spectrum disorder.
By Melissa Healy
February 15, 201

People with Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism, dramatically improve their social learning skills and spend more time gazing at pictures of faces after inhaling the social-bonding hormone oxytocin, researchers have found.

The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, is the first to demonstrate the effects of oxytocin -- a hormone that promotes mother-infant bonding, socialization, trust and cooperation -- in people diagnosed with Asperger's. the rest