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Macchia A, Albantakis L, Zebhauser PT, Brandi ML, Schilbach L, Brem AK. Autistic Adults Avoid Unpredictability in Decision-Making. J Autism Dev Disord 2024:10.1007/s10803-024-06503-2. [PMID: 39158770 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-024-06503-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/24/2024] [Indexed: 08/20/2024]
Abstract
Decision-making under unpredictable conditions can cause discomfort in autistic persons due to their preference for predictability. Decision-making impairments might furthermore be associated with a dysregulation of sex and stress hormones. This prospective, cross-sectional study investigated decision-making in 32 autistic participants (AP, 14 female) and 31 non-autistic participants (NAP, 20 female) aged 18-64 years. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Cambridge Risk Task (CRT) were used to assess decision-making under ambiguity and under risk with known outcome probabilities, respectively. Cortisol, estradiol, and testosterone serum levels were related to decision-making performance. Groups did not differ in overall IGT and CRT performance, but compared with NAP, AP preferred less profitable card decks with predictable outcomes while avoiding those with unpredictable outcomes. AP required more time to reach decisions compared to NAP. Additionally, AP without comorbid depression performed significantly worse than NAP in the IGT. Estradiol and cortisol concentrations were significant predictors of CRT scores in NAP, but not in AP. The study results imply that AP are 'risk-averse' in decision-making under ambiguity as they avoided choice options with unpredictable losses in comparison to NAP. Our findings highlight the intolerance for uncertainty, particularly in ambiguous situations. Thus, we recommend being as transparent and precise as possible when interacting with autistic individuals. Future research should explore decision-making in social situations among individuals with ASD, factoring in person-dependent variables such as depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Macchia
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- Clinic for Psychiatry/Psychotherapy III, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Laura Albantakis
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
| | - Paul Theo Zebhauser
- School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Marie-Luise Brandi
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Leonhard Schilbach
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- Department of General Psychiatry 2, LVR-Klinikum Duesseldorf/Kliniken der Heinrich-Heine-Universitaet, Duesseldorf, Germany
- Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Germany
| | - Anna-Katharine Brem
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.
- University Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
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Haaf R, Brandi ML, Albantakis L, Lahnakoski JM, Henco L, Schilbach L. Peripheral oxytocin levels are linked to hypothalamic gray matter volume in autistic adults: a cross-sectional secondary data analysis. Sci Rep 2024; 14:1380. [PMID: 38228703 PMCID: PMC10791615 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50770-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/25/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Oxytocin (OXT) is known to modulate social behavior and cognition and has been discussed as pathophysiological and therapeutic factor for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). An accumulating body of evidence indicates the hypothalamus to be of particular importance with regard to the underlying neurobiology. Here we used a region of interest voxel-based morphometry (VBM) approach to investigate hypothalamic gray matter volume (GMV) in autistic (n = 29, age 36.03 ± 11.0) and non-autistic adults (n = 27, age 30.96 ± 11.2). Peripheral plasma OXT levels and the autism spectrum quotient (AQ) were used for correlation analyses. Results showed no differences in hypothalamic GMV in autistic compared to non-autistic adults but suggested a differential association between hypothalamic GMV and OXT levels, such that a positive association was found for the ASD group. In addition, hypothalamic GMV showed a positive association with autistic traits in the ASD group. Bearing in mind the limitations such as a relatively small sample size, a wide age range and a high rate of psychopharmacological treatment in the ASD sample, these results provide new preliminary evidence for a potentially important role of the HTH in ASD and its relationship to the OXT system, but also point towards the importance of interindividual differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raoul Haaf
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.
- Graduate School, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt- Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Marie-Luise Brandi
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Laura Albantakis
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- Outpatient and Day Clinic for Disorders of Social Interaction, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Juha M Lahnakoski
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- Institute of Neurosciences and Medicine, Brain and Behaviour (INM-7), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Lara Henco
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Munich, Germany
| | - Leonhard Schilbach
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- Outpatient and Day Clinic for Disorders of Social Interaction, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Munich, Germany
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
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A comparison of stress reactivity between BTBR and C57BL/6J mice: an impact of early-life stress. Exp Brain Res 2023; 241:687-698. [PMID: 36670311 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-022-06541-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Early-life stress (ELS) is associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation and can increase the risk of psychiatric disorders later in life. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of ELS on baseline HPA axis functioning and on the response to additional stress in adolescent male mice of strains C57BL/6J and BTBR. As a model of ELS, prolonged separation of pups from their mothers (for 3 h once a day: maternal separation [MS]) was implemented. To evaluate HPA axis activity, we assessed serum corticosterone levels and mRNA expression of corticotropin-releasing hormone (Crh) in the hypothalamus, of steroidogenesis genes in adrenal glands, and of an immediate early gene (c-Fos) in both tissues at baseline and immediately after 1 h of restraint stress. HPA axis activity at baseline did not depend on the history of ELS in mice of both strains. After the exposure to the acute restraint stress, C57BL/6J-MS mice showed less pronounced upregulation of Crh and of corticosterone concentration as compared to the control, indicating a decrease in stress reactivity. By contrast, BTBR-MS mice showed stronger upregulation of c-Fos in the hypothalamus and adrenal glands as compared to controls, thus pointing to greater activation of these organs in response to the acute restraint stress. In addition, we noted that BTBR mice are more stress reactive (than C57BL/6J mice) because they exhibited greater upregulation of corticosterone, c-Fos, and Cyp11a1 in response to the acute restraint stress. Taken together, these results indicate strain-specific and situation-dependent effects of ELS on HPA axis functioning and on c-Fos expression.
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Tabak BA, Leng G, Szeto A, Parker KJ, Verbalis JG, Ziegler TE, Lee MR, Neumann ID, Mendez AJ. Advances in human oxytocin measurement: challenges and proposed solutions. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:127-140. [PMID: 35999276 PMCID: PMC9812775 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01719-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Oxytocin, a neuropeptide known for its role in reproduction and socioemotional processes, may hold promise as a therapeutic agent in treating social impairments in patient populations. However, research has yet to uncover precisely how to manipulate this system for clinical benefit. Moreover, inconsistent use of standardized and validated oxytocin measurement methodologies-including the design and study of hormone secretion and biochemical assays-present unresolved challenges. Human studies measuring peripheral (i.e., in plasma, saliva, or urine) or central (i.e., in cerebrospinal fluid) oxytocin concentrations have involved very diverse methods, including the use of different assay techniques, further compounding this problem. In the present review, we describe the scientific value in measuring human endogenous oxytocin concentrations, common issues in biochemical analysis and study design that researchers face when doing so, and our recommendations for improving studies using valid and reliable methodologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin A Tabak
- Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA.
| | - Gareth Leng
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Angela Szeto
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Karen J Parker
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Joseph G Verbalis
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Toni E Ziegler
- Assay Services Unit and Institute for Clinical and Translational Research Core Laboratory, National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Mary R Lee
- Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Inga D Neumann
- Department of Behaviour and Molecular Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Armando J Mendez
- Diabetes Research Institute, Department of Medicine, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
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Social anxiety is associated with greater peripheral oxytocin reactivity to psychosocial stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2022; 140:105712. [PMID: 35306471 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
To date, it has been difficult to establish reliable biomarkers associated with specific forms of psychopathology. Social anxiety, for example, is associated with inconsistent biological responses to psychosocial stress on markers including cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase. Thus, it is critical that studies identify more reliable biomarkers that index patterns associated with social anxiety. Two potential candidates are the neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin, which have been implicated in stress responsivity across species. Studies have demonstrated a reliable increase in oxytocin, and a surrogate marker for vasopressin, following engagement in the most widely used lab-based psychosocial stress paradigm: the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). However, no study has examined whether social anxiety moderates peripheral oxytocin or vasopressin reactivity to psychosocial stress. In 101 young adult participants, dimensionally assessed social anxiety was associated with greater plasma oxytocin, but not vasopressin, reactivity to the TSST. Results were maintained following the inclusion of depression as a covariate. Findings suggest that studying changes in peripheral oxytocin concentrations may be a method of differentiating individuals with higher levels of social anxiety.
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