The Effects of Oxytocin on Complex Social Cognition in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Inclusion Criteria:

- In good physical health

- Meet criteria for ASD according to psychiatric interview using the Diagnostic and
Statistic Manual, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV)

- Must be a history of developmental delay

- Must meet full criteria for ASD on the Autism Diagnostic Interview- Revised (ADI-R)
on either the social or communication domains and within two points on other domain
(only if parent available for interview)

- Must meet full criteria for ASD on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-
Generic (ADOS-G) on the social domain. Meeting for ASD on the communication domain
and total domain is not necessary

- Must have a verbal IQ greater than 75, as measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence
Scale- Fourth Edition (WAIS- III). Intelligence testing performed at other sites or
through another protocol at this site within the past year will also be accepted

- Capability of performing experimental tasks (i.e. can read and understand task
instructions, cooperate with procedures)

- Informed consent and capacity

- Female participants must remain on birth control for the duration of the study

Exclusion Criteria:

- Participants with any primary psychiatric diagnosis at screening

- Participants with a medical history of neurological disease, including, but not
limited to, epilepsy/seizure disorder (except simple febrile seizures), movement
disorder, tuberous sclerosis, fragile X, and any other known genetic syndromes, or
known abnormal MRI/structural lesion of the brain

- Participants who are pregnant, who gave birth in the last six months, or who are
currently breastfeeding

- Participants with a medical condition that might interfere with the conduct of the
study, confound interpretation of the study results, or endanger their own well-being

- Participants with evidence or history of malignancy or any significant hematological
endocrine, cardiovascular (including rhythm disorder), respiratory, renal, hepatic,
gastrointestinal disease, or other major medical conditions

- Participants taking psychoactive medication(s) (e.g., stimulants, antidepressants,
antipsychotics, antiepileptics, anxiolytics, clondine)

- Participants who, in the Investigator's opinion, might not be suitable for the study

- Participants who are involved in another study whose procedures could influence
performance in the current study

- Female participants who do not stay on birth control for the duration of the study

- Participants who have a known contraindication to the MRI scan: including sever
claustrophobia or any kind of metal implant in the body