Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30356897›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in cellular neuroscience2018

Neonatal Oxytocin Treatment Ameliorates Autistic-Like Behaviors and Oxytocin Deficiency in Valproic Acid-Induced Rat Model of Autism.

Yu-Chuan Dai, Hong-Feng Zhang, Michael Schön, Tobias M Böckers, Song-Ping Han, Ji-Sheng Han, Rong Zhang

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in cellular neuroscience, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 51 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
51citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
8.0field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

51 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 85 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Lasting effects of early-life oxytocin treatment on LTP and episodic memory in a mouse model of Fragile X syndrome.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
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  8. Astrocytes mediate a positive feedback loop for oxytocin.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
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  12. Sociability: Comparing the Effect of Chlorpyrifos with Valproic Acid.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Pre- and Postnatal Valproate Exposure Affects Brain Development.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2025
    Review
  18. Acute, chronic and conditioned effects of intranasal oxytocin in the mu-opioid receptor knockout mouse model of autism: Social context matters.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Yu-Chuan DaiNeuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Hong-Feng ZhangFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disease and Aging Research, Institute of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
Michael SchönInstitute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
Tobias M BöckersInstitute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
Song-Ping HanNeuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Ji-Sheng HanNeuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Rong ZhangNeuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing, China.
National Health and Family Planning Commission · CNPeking University · CNUniversität Ulm · DEXiamen University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impaired social communication and repetitive/stereotyped behaviors. The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) plays a critical role in regulating social behaviors in the central nervous system, as indicated in both human and animal studies. We hypothesized that central OXT deficit is one of causes of etiology of ASD, which may be responsible for the social impairments. To test our hypothesis, central OXT system was examined in valproic acid (VPA)-induced rat model of autism (VPA rat). Our results showed that adolescent VPA rats exhibited a lower level of OXT mRNA and fewer OXT-ir cells in the hypothalamus than control rats. Additionally, OXT concentration in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was reduced. The number of OXT-ir cells in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) of neonatal VPA rats was also lower. Autistic-like behaviors were observed in these animals as well. We found that an acute intranasal administration of exogenous OXT restored the social preference of adolescent VPA rats. Additionally, early postnatal OXT treatment had long-term effects ameliorating the social impairments and repetitive behaviors of VPA rats until adolescence. This was accompanied by an increase in OXT-ir cells. Taken together, we demonstrated there was central OXT deficiency in the VPA-induced rat model of autism, and showed evidence that early postnatal OXT treatment had a long-term therapeutic effect on the autistic-like behaviors in VPA rats.

Indexed as

autism spectrum disorderexogenous supplementoxytocin therapyrepetitive behaviorsocial behavior defect

Identifiers

PMID30356897
PMCPMC6190900
OpenAlexW2896670237

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.