Abstract

Objective: Findings from various studies in animal models and humans have demonstrated a clear role of neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) on complex social behaviors. Oxytocin is known to mediate social interactions, and as a result, it has been investigated in a number of psychiatric disorders. This study aims to explore the link between aggression and empathy and OT levels in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Method: Thirty-two male ASD patients, ranging in age from 8 to 15 years, and 30 healthy age- and sex-matched controls were included in this study. All patients were assessed with the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime version-Turkish version (K-SADS-PL), the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). The patients’ and the healthy controls’ parents filled out the Abnormal/Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC), Children’s Aggression Scale-Parent Version (CAS-P) and Griffith Empathy Measure-Parent Evaluation Form (GEM-PEF). Serum OT levels of the groups were compared.
Results: Higher serum OT levels were observed in ASD cases compared to the healthy controls. There was no significant difference between the groups’ OT levels (p=0.155). When the RMET and the GEM-PEF scores were compared among the groups both; RMET scores and GEM-PEF scores of children in the ASD group were statistically significantly lower (p

Key words: Autism; Neuropeptides, Oxytocin; Empathy; Aggression.