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The role of oxytocin in autism. Neurobiological markers and interventions for socio-communicative impairments in autism

Boek - Dissertatie

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have difficulties with social communication and interaction. To date, no objective quantitative (bio)marker exists for ASD, thus formal diagnosis is solely based on clinical expertise. In addition, there are no pharmacological interventions available for ASD. Here, we will validate an innovative EEG-based neural tool to quantify socio-communicative sensitivity. Next, we will combine this new tool with various other behavioral, biological and neuroimaging measurements to study the underlying mechanisms of oxytocin (OT) pharmacotherapy. We will use this multimodal approach to monitor and predict the outcome of a long-term oxytocin pharmacotherapy in children with social difficulties with and without ASD. We will perform a multiple-dose randomized double-blind OT trial. Neural assessment via multimodal neuroimaging will include FPVS EEG-paradigms (Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation and electro-encephalography) to assess neural saliency of social cues, resting-state fMRI to assess functional connectivity, task-based fMRI to relate FPVS responses to fMRI measures, and diffusion MRI to measure structural connectivity. Behavioral testing will include various face-processing tasks combined with eye tracking, and questionnaires assessing autism-traits, social functioning, anxiety and attachment style. Physiological measures of social anxiety and stress (heartrate, heartrate variability, skin conductance) will be included. Epigenetic measures via saliva samples include levels of peripheral OT, cortisol and testosterone, and OXTR methylation patterns.
Jaar van publicatie:2022
Toegankelijkheid:Embargoed