Oxytocin and cortisol concentrations in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder in response to physical exercise.
Compr Psychoneuroendocrinol
; 5: 100027, 2021 Feb.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35754449
ABSTRACT
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 (n â= â33, mean age 36.8 â± â10.7 years) without intellectual impairment (IQ â> â70) and neurotypical controls (n â= â31, mean age 31.0 â± â11.7 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 (p â= â.469), plasma OXT (p â= â.297) nor CORT (p â= â.667) 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.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Compr Psychoneuroendocrinol
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Alemania
Pais de publicación:
ENGLAND
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ESCOCIA
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GB
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GREAT BRITAIN
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INGLATERRA
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REINO UNIDO
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SCOTLAND
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UK
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UNITED KINGDOM