Intranasal oxytocin enhances intrinsic corticostriatal functional connectivity in women.

Intranasal oxytocin administration in women significantly enhanced resting-state functional connectivity between corticostriatal networks involved in reward, emotion, social communication, language, and pain processing, with an effect size of 1.39 standard deviations above placebo. This connectivity increase correlated with higher autistic traits.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design was used with 26 typically developing women. Resting-state fMRI data were collected 40 minutes after intranasal oxytocin or placebo administration. Independent components analysis assessed connectivity changes, and gene expression analysis of oxytocin receptors was performed on brain tissue data.

Understanding how oxytocin affects brain connectivity in women can guide future research on social and emotional disorders, including autism, and help tailor treatments based on individual traits.

The sample size was relatively small and limited to typically developing women, which may reduce generalizability. The study did not include men or clinical populations, and the evidence strength is not clearly established.