"Love Hormone" Oxytocin May Help Children with Autism  The
hormone has the ability to boost activity in the brain area
linked to social behavior and could thus lead to more effective
treatment          Oxytocin is a hormone produced in the brain,
and is thought to be involved in various aspects of social
interaction, such as emotional bonding, trust and love.
Previous studies had found lower blood levels of the hormone in
children with autism than in typically developing children, and
it had been suggested that oxytocin treatments could help
children with autism overcome their difficulties with social
interactions.  However, studies that examined the behavioral
effects of administrating oxytocin yielded negative or weak
results. In those studies, researchers gave the hormone to
adults and children with autism for days and weeks, and found
only modest improvements, or no change at all, in participants'
social behavior.  Similarly, in the new study, when children
received oxytocin, they didn't perform any bett