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Oxytocin may play a role in autism and may be an effective treatment for autism's repetitive and affiliative behaviors.[20] Oxytocin treatments also resulted in an increased retention of affective speech in adults with autism.[21] Two related studies in adults, in 2003 and 2007, found that oxytocin decreased repetitive behaviors and improved interpretation of emotions. More recently, intranasal administration of oxytocin was found to increase emotion recognition in children as young as 12 who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders [22] Oxytocin has also been implicated in the etiology of autism with one report suggesting that autism is correlated with genomic deletion of the gene containing the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR). Studies involving Caucasian and Finnish samples and Chinese Han families provide support for the relationship of OXTR with autism.[21][23] Autism may also be associated by an aberrant methylation of OXTR, as reported by Gregory and colleagues.[21] After treatment with inhaled oxytocin, autistic patients exhibit more appropriate social behavior.[24] While this research suggests some promise, further clinical trials of oxytocin are required to demonstrate potential benefit and side effects in the treatment of autism. As such, researchers do not recommend use of oxytocin as a treatment for autism outside of clinical trials