[Source:  Disability Scoop]

While some children with autism may benefit from taking oxytocin, low levels of the so-called “love hormone” do not appear responsible for causing the developmental disorder, researchers say.

In the largest study yet to look at oxytocin levels in children with and without autism, researchers found that kids on the spectrum are no more likely to have low, medium or high amounts as compared to their siblings or those without autism in their families.

At the same time, however, the study published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that oxytocin levels were linked to the degree of social functioning across all children.

“Oxytocin appears to be a universal regulator of social functioning in humans,” said Karen Parker, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the lead author of the study. “That encompasses both typically developing children as well as those with the severe social deficits we see in children with autism.”

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