Abstract

Background: Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) are a group of neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by difficulties in social interaction and communication, alongside unusually repetitive behaviors and narrow interests. The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of behavioral deficits among patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Objectives: To test the hypothesis that decreased oxytocin levels are associated with high mTOR levels in individuals with autism.

Methods: We used ELISAs to measure plasma oxytocin and cellular phosphorylated mTOR in individuals with autism and age/gender similar controls, including mothers of autistic children, and non autistic siblings.

Results: We found that mean oxytocin levels of individuals with autism were significantly lower than oxytocin levels of mothers of autistic children and neurotypical, age and gender similar, controls. We also found that phosphorylated mTOR was significantly higher, and low oxytocin correlated significantly with high those high levels in the same autistic group.

Conclusions: This data supports the possibility that reduced oxtocin levels in individuals with autism results in high mTOR. High mTOR, in turn, may result in high protein translation in these patients, which is associated with changes in behavior.