In this episode, my guest is Dr. Karen Parker, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and director of the Social Neurosciences Research Program at Stanford University School of Medicine. We discuss the biology of social connections and bonding in babies, children and adults. Dr. Parker explains our current understanding of autism and autism spectrum disorders: what they are, why the incidence of autism has increased so dramatically in recent years and both the current and emerging treatments for autism. We also discuss the condition formerly called “Asperger’s.” This episode ought to be highly relevant for anyone interested in child and human development, how social bonds form, and to those curious about autism and other spectrum conditions.
Journal Articles
- Prenatal exposure to ultrasound waves impacts neuronal migration in mice (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
- Lancet retracts 12-year-old article linking autism to MMR vaccines (Canadian Medical Association Journal)
- Mother love: what turns it on? (Am Sci)
- Intranasal oxytocin treatment for social deficits and biomarkers of response in children with autism (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
- Intranasal Oxytocin in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (The New England Journal of Medicine)
- The effect of oxytocin nasal spray on social interaction in young children with autism: a randomized clinical trial (Molecular Psychiatry)
- Autism-associated biomarkers: test–retest reliability and relationship to quantitative social trait variation in rhesus monkeys (Molecular Autism)
- Early Predictors of Impaired Social Functioning in Male Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta) (PLOS ONE)
- Cerebrospinal fluid vasopressin and symptom severity in children with autism (Annals of Neurology)
- A randomized placebo-controlled pilot trial shows that intranasal vasopressin improves social deficits in children with autism (Science Translational Medicine)
- Probiotic Therapy with Lactobacillus reuteri Rescues Social and Emotional Recognition Behavior in an Environmental Mouse Model of Autism (Physiology)
- Oxytocin and the microbiome (Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology)
- Balovaptan vs Placebo for Social Communication in Childhood Autism Spectrum Disorder (JAMA Psychiatry)
Articles & Other Resources
- MAPS: “Can Ecstasy [MDMA] Treat Autism?”
- Dr. Robert Malenka: How Your Brain’s Reward Circuits Drive Your Choices (Huberman Lab episode)
- Autism Speaks
- Chimp Empire (Netflix)
