Autism and Oxcytocin during socialization?

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ok, so apparently, when people socialize, they release a natural drug called Oxcytocin in they're system, which relieves stress, but do autistic people lack the ability to create Oxcytocin during socialization?

when i socialize 'positively' i still become overwhelmed, and stressed, causing me to shut down, become irritable, tense and tired, even if i enjoyed the experience. in fact i feel less stressed out when i don't socialize and how i relieve stress is to stay alone in my room and draw.

but this just isn't in autism, Introverts tend to regain energy by taking some time alone instead of socializing unlike Extroverts.

is this a deficiency, or is this Genetic? do you think this could be a key factor in the neuroscience of autism?

http://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2 ... s-say.html

Hi ZombieBrideXD,
I have discovered quite recently that when I have mutual physical contact with people I like, that my brain produces Oxytocin. Oxytocin causes a kind of "zuzz" feeling, like a happy, content, love sort of feeling.

In fact I form attachements quickly, but also those attachements I feel are able to sever quickly.

In recent research I have read that maybe people on the Autistic Spectrum do not produce Oxytocin.
I disagree, and I do not think that that is the issue as to why people on the spectrum struggle to form friendships/relationships.
Oxytocin is one thing, but there is social interaction & that is difficult. It's difficult because we struggle with "small talk", which is what most NT conversations are.
I have tried to learn how to mimic "smalltalk" but I just can't even though I have tried really hard.

Oxytocin is produced in a persons brain when someone does something nice for them. It is a neurochemical which bonds people together, and also groups of simular people.

Oxytocin is associated with the way NTs "group up". It makes you want to bond with someone and trust them, while rejecting anyone outside your group.

So, oxytocin is involved with bonding and trust, and also with prejudice.

I think the oxytocin/autism picture is going to be more complex than it seems at first glance. For example, autistic people are known to trust too much--the opposite of what an oxytocin deficiency would imply. And we are securely bonded with our parents, the same as neurotypical children are--meaning that we don't have issues with bonding, either.

My personal hypothesis? The "oxytocin deficiency" in autistic brains is an effect, not a cause, of our social skills delays. Because we don't connect as easily, we simply don't have the opportunity to produce oxytocin as often as NTs do--but when we do connect, we seem to find it as rewarding as NTs do. Only when oxytocin is associated with real social connections is it actually useful.

What I think this means for everyday autistic life is that messing with oxytocin directly may not actually be too productive in the absence of social phobia. Autistics without social phobia seem to experience it as being rewarding but overwhelming, and for them, the oxytocin comes naturally with successful social interaction--meaning that the best approaches would involve helping them make social connections to begin with; the oxytocin response would facilitate bonding quite normally once those connections were established. With people who have social phobia, the oxytocin might help, because it skews the social outlook toward trust and away from fear--but this would be true for social phobics whether they were autistic or not.

My basic opinion is that oxytocin is interesting to study and relevant to understanding socialization, but has practical applications mostly for people with social phobia. For people with autism in general, a more fundamental approach involving making social contact easier and less stressful would be preferable.

When with someone familiar that I get along with yes, I feel a lot better. Can't tell if its Oxytocin, as I can't measure my own bodily chemicals, lol. When with someone I don't like, or a stranger without instant connection, then definitely no oxytocin.

People think of oxytocin as the bonding chemical, but I read that
it actually dissolves previous bonds so you can then form new ones.
So it may be an unbonding chemical.

I read something similar in a paper once.
But it seemed to me then (and now as I read the article mentioned in this thread) that a failure is made about explaining autism as = "lack of social skills" and nothing else.

My thoughts were / are: what if it is not all about oxytocine (or mirror neurons)? What place do sensory issues, executive dysfunction or lack of central coherence have in the picture painted, if any?

The article says:
"People with autism-spectrum disorders may not experience the normal reward the rest of us all get from being with our friends," said Robert Malenka, MD, PhD, the study's senior author. "For them, social interactions can be downright painful."

But what if a big part of it being "downright painful" is due to sensory issues or issues of processing a lot of information at the same time? Malenka (or the other scientists mentioned) doesn't seem to take those things into consideration.
Will oxytocine have an effect on those things? I doubt that, but then again, I am not a neurologist.

I could imagine that if you still keep your sensory issues etc. despite of the oxytocine, it might make things worse: you'll just get even more frustrated not being able to handle the social interaction because of said issues, because you'll get a greater desire to socialise...

As for me, I know that my issue isn't not wanting to be social, but that I can't cope with it in the same amounts as NTs can.