Oxytocin increases eye contact during a real-time, naturalistic social interaction in males with and without autism.

Auyeung B, Lombardo MV, Heinrichs M, Chakrabarti B, Sule A, Deakin JB, Bethlehem RA, Dickens L, Mooney N, Sipple JA, Thiemann P, Baron-Cohen S

Translational psychiatry10 Feb 2015Cited by 174 (Europe PMC)

PMID25668435PMCIDPMC4445747DOI10.1038/tp.2014.146PepBankPUB-25668435

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Summary

Autism spectrum conditions (autism) affect ~1% of the population and are characterized by deficits in social communication. Oxytocin has been widely reported to affect social-communicative function and its neural underpinnings. Here we report the first evidence that intranasal oxytocin administration improves a core problem that individuals with autism have in using eye contact appropriately in real-world social settings. A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects design is used to examine how intranasal administration of 24 IU of oxytocin affects gaze behavior for 32 adult males with autism and 34 controls in a real-time interaction with a researcher. This interactive paradigm bypasses many of the limitations encountered with conventional static or computer-based stimuli. Eye movements are recorded using eye tracking, providing an objective measurement of looking patterns. The measure is shown to be sensitive to the reduced eye contact commonly reported in autism, with the autism group spending less time looking to the eye region of the face than controls. Oxytocin administration selectively enhanced gaze to the eyes in both the autism and control groups (transformed mean eye-fixation difference per second=0.082; 95% CI:0.025-0.14, P=0.006). Within the autism group, oxytocin has the most effect on fixation duration in individuals with impaired levels of eye contact at baseline (Cohen's d=0.86). These findings demonstrate that the potential benefits of oxytocin in autism extend to a real-time interaction, providing evidence of a therapeutic effect in a key aspect of social communication.

CC BYText from Europe PMC. Highlighted sentences are the source of results.

Results from this study2

2 results from studies that gave the peptide. 2 results from people.

01HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome
In adult males with autism and in controls, intranasal oxytocin selectively increased gaze to the eyes versus placebo.
In plain wordsIn adult men with and without autism, oxytocin through the nose increased looking at the eyes during a live interaction, compared with placebo.
Peptide
Oxytocin
Outcome
IncreaseGaze to the eyes in a real-time interaction
Study
n = 66
Comparator
Placebo
Outcome group
Social behavior and cognition · Nervous system and cognition
Studied dose
24 IU · intranasalAs given in this study (human).
Measurements
Transformed mean eye-fixation difference per second
0.082
oxytocin vs placebo, both groups
Source sentences
Summary
Oxytocin administration selectively enhanced gaze to the eyes in both the autism and control groups (transformed mean eye-fixation difference per second=0.082; 95% CI:0.025-0.14, P=0.006).
1 context sentence(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects design is used to examine how intranasal administration of 24 IU of oxytocin affects gaze behavior for 32 adult males with autism and 34 controls in a real-time interaction with a researcher.
Show in the study text Report a problemFND-2566843501
02HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome
In adult males with autism, the effect of oxytocin on eye fixation duration was largest in those with impaired eye contact at baseline.
In plain wordsIn men with autism, oxytocin had the most effect on eye looking in those who looked at eyes least at baseline.
Peptide
Oxytocin
Outcome
IncreaseEye fixation duration in men with autism by baseline eye contact
Study
n = 32
Comparator
Placebo
Outcome group
Social behavior and cognition · Nervous system and cognition
Studied dose
24 IU · intranasalAs given in this study (human).
Measurements
Cohen's d
0.86
autism group, impaired baseline eye contact
Source sentences
Summary
Within the autism group, oxytocin has the most effect on fixation duration in individuals with impaired levels of eye contact at baseline (Cohen's d=0.86).
1 context sentence(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects design is used to examine how intranasal administration of 24 IU of oxytocin affects gaze behavior for 32 adult males with autism and 34 controls in a real-time interaction with a researcher.
Show in the study text Report a problemFND-2566843502

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Version history

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Version 2Current
11 Oct 2026, 01:30 UTC
Study results updated
Version 1
9 Oct 2026, 02:49 UTC
First added · source update from Europe PMC

Subjects

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