Objective quantification of deficits in social behavior

• Project/Area Number: 26670535
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Psychiatric science
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: YAMASUE Hidenori 東京大学, 医学部附属病院, 准教授 (80436493)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2014)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,640,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥840,000); Fiscal Year 2014: ¥3,640,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥840,000)
• Keywords: 社会行動 / 行動の定量評価 / 自閉スペクトラム症 / 表情解析 / 音声解析 / オキシトシン

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We quantitatively analyzed eye gaze, facial expression, and voice prosody during Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule recorded in 54 videos. These videos were collected from our randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind and crossover within-subject-design clinical trial of six weeks continuous administration of intranasal oxytocin in 18 adult males with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders at baseline, after placebo treatment, and after oxytocin treatment. The results included a significant oxytocin-induced-decrease in ratio of neutral component of facial expression during real-life social interaction with others. The results are now under preparation for submission.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Oxytocin improves behavioural and neural deficits in inferring others’ social emotions in autism (2015)
  • Author(s): Aoki Y, Yamasue H
  • Journal Title: Brain Volume: 137 Issue: 7 Pages: 3073-3086
  • DOI: 10.1093/brain/awv061
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Oxytocin's neurochemical effects in the medial prefrontal cortex underlie recovery of task-specific brain activity in autism: a randomized controlled trial (2015)
  • Author(s): Aoki Y, Watanabe T, Abe O, Kuwabara H, Yahata N, Takano Y, Iwashiro N, Natsubori T, Takao H, Kawakubo Y, Kasai K, Yamasue H
  • Journal Title: Mol Psychiatry Volume: 20 Issue: 4 Pages: 447-53
  • DOI: 10.1038/mp.2014.74
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
• [Journal Article] Oxytocin improves behavioural and neural deficits in inferring others’ social emotions in autism (2014)
  • Author(s): Aoki Y, Yahata N, Watanabe T, Takano Y, Kawakubo Y, Kuwabara H, Iwashiro N, Natsubori T, Inoue H, Suga M, Takao H, Sasaki H, Gonoi W, Kunimatsu A, Kasai K, Yamasue H
  • Journal Title: Brain Volume: 137 Issue: 11 Pages: 3073-3086
  • DOI: 10.1093/brain/awu231
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
• [Presentation] 自閉症スペクトラム症におけるオキシトシン薬効発現の脳内メカニズムの探索 (2015)
  • Author(s): 山末英典
  • Organizer: 日本薬学会第135年会
  • Place of Presentation: 神戸
  • Year and Date: 2015-03-27
  • Invited
• [Presentation] 自閉症スペクトラム症の中核症状治療薬開発のためのオキシトシン臨床研究 (2015)
  • Author(s): 山末英典
  • Organizer: 第92回日本生理学会大会
  • Place of Presentation: 神戸
  • Year and Date: 2015-03-23
  • Invited
• [Presentation] Oxytocin - function on brain and its future possibilities for treatment of ASD (2015)
  • Author(s): Hidenori Yamasue
  • Organizer: The 1st Biannual International Seminar of Translational Research Center for Autism
  • Place of Presentation: Seoul, South Korea
  • Year and Date: 2015-01-23
  • Invited
• [Presentation] 中枢神経系疾患におけるunmet medical needs―自閉症の治療薬開発― (2014)
  • Author(s): 山末英典
  • Organizer: 第35回日本臨床薬理学会学術総会
  • Place of Presentation: 松山
  • Year and Date: 2014-12-05
  • Invited
• [Presentation] Neural and behavioral effects of oxytocin on autistic difficulty in social communication. (2014)
  • Author(s): Hidenori Yamasue
  • Organizer: Satellite meeting "Oxytocin - Mechanistic Insights and Therapeutic Perspectives"
  • Place of Presentation: Berlin, Germany
  • Year and Date: 2014-11-27
  • Invited