Plasma Oxytocin in Children with Autism and Its Correlations with Behavioral Parameters in Children and Parents.

Objective: Oxytocin (OT) has been implicated to play an important role in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) etiology. We aimed to find out the differences in plasma OT levels between children with autism and healthy children, the associations of OT levels with particular autism symptoms and the associations of particular parental autistic traits with their ASD children OT levels.

Methods: We included 19 boys with autism and 44 healthy age-matched boys.

Gastrointestinal microbiota in children with autism in Slovakia.

Development of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), including autism, is based on a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors. Recent data propose the etiopathogenetic role of intestinal microflora in autism. The aim of this study was to elucidate changes in fecal microbiota in children with autism and determine its role in the development of often present gastrointestinal (GI) disorders and possibly other manifestations of autism in Slovakia.

Prefrontal grey and white matter neurometabolite changes after atomoxetine and methylphenidate in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a (1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common neurobehavioral childhood disorder. Dysfunction of prefrontal neural circuits which are responsible for executive and attentional functions has been previously shown in ADHD. We investigated the neurometablite changes in areas included in dorsolateral prefrontal neural circuits after 2 months of long-acting methylphenidate or atomoxetine medication in children with ADHD who were responders to treatment.

Hippocampal neurometabolite changes in depression treatment: a (1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.

Previous studies using magnetic resonance spectroscopy have related abnormalities in hippocampal metabolism to depression. Current evidence is consistent with the conclusion that the hippocampal formation plays an important role in the presentation of depressive symptoms. Eighteen adult patients with major depressive disorder, aged 20 to 60 years, underwent magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the hippocampus during a period of depressive symptomatology and after 7-11 weeks of antidepressant medication with at least 50% reduction in the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale ()MADRS score.

Potential pathomechanisms of ADHD based on neurometabolite changes.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a most common psychiatric disorder in the childhood. The exact pathomechanisms related to ADHD core symptoms--hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention--are still unclear. The developmental dysfunction of cortical-striatal-thalamic-cortical network combined with the dysregulation of catecholamine neurotransmitters could be responsible for symptoms of the disorder.