Beschreibung
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogenous disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and social interaction as well as restricted and repetitive behaviors, interests and activities. Despite substantial efforts, the etiological mechanisms of this disorder remain poorly understood and clinical interventions to improve social deficits are sparse. Social impairments in ASD have been approached in terms of social motivation, which in turn can be understood as differences in the processing of rewarding social stimuli, mediated by neural substrates such as the opioid system. A long line of research has attempted to explore the relationship between opioids (OP) and social motivation, albeit studies using OP antagonists such as naltrexone (NAL) in ASD have found only weak effects on social symptoms and results have generally been inconsistent. An intriguing explanation for the weak effects of OP antagonists lies in the less explored interaction with oxytocin (OXT). In particular, OP inhibits both the synthesis of OXT in the hypothalamus as well as OXT release in the pituitary. Exploring the effect of a combined application of NAL and OXT on social attention and social motivation is therefore the main goal of this research project. Using eye-tracking methodology, reinforcement learning paradigms and computational modelling approaches, this combination of drugs is expected to have larger effects on social attention, motivation and learning than any of the two drugs administered in isolation.| Zeitraum | 4 Feb. 2022 |
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| Ereignistitel | VDS CoBeNe PhD Academy |
| Veranstaltungstyp | Konferenz |
| Konferenznummer | 1 |
| Ort | Wien, ÖsterreichAuf Karte anzeigen |
| Bekanntheitsgrad | National |