(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Eric Hollander, a psychiatrist and former director of the Seaver and New York Autism Center of Excellence at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, will discuss his research into the use of oxytocin and various pharmaceuticals to treat symptoms of autism in two public lectures to be held as part of the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Distinguished Lecturer Series on Nov. 12.

In 2006, Hollander led a small trial to test the effects of a naturally occurring peptide called oxytocin on adults with autism spectrum disorders. He found that, compared with those who had received a placebo, patients who received the peptide showed a reduction in repetitive behaviors typical of autism and an enhanced ability to recognize emotions such as anger or happiness in the tone of a speaker's voice. Oxytocin is a hormone that is best known for controlling the contractions of labor.

But a growing body of research since the 1990s has found that it also exerts positive effects on social behaviors such as pair bonding and trust building in animals as well as humans. Because impairment of these and other social behaviors is one of the defining characteristics of autism, Hollander and others have been exploring not only the potential uses of oxytocin in treating symptoms of autism, but also how this peptide may exert its effects in the brain in autism spectrum disorders.

Hollander will present the lectures at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, 2825 50th St., Sacramento. While both talks are free and open to the public, Hollander will orient his 6 p.m. presentation, "New developments in autism disorders," to a general audience. His 4 p.m. presentation, "Neuropsychopharmacology of social deficit and repetitive behavior domains in autism spectrum disorders," will be a technical talk geared toward an academic audience. In his 6 p.m. lecture, Hollander will discuss this research and his follow-up work administering oxytocin intravenously and as a nasal spray to adults with autism, including data from functional imaging studies of the brain during nasal administration of the peptide.

"I'm also going to talk about some data with low-dose liquid serotonin reuptake inhibitors on repetitive behaviors and data from studies of valproate [a drug normally used to control seizures] to treat disruptive behaviors in patients with autism," Hollander said.

In the 4 p.m. lecture, Hollander will provide a closer examination of data from animal studies of oxytocin and social cognition. He will also detail the impact of oxytocin on specific brain circuits and on social deficit domain and repetitive behavior domain in autism.

"One of the things I try to do with my work is to translate promising new models of autism into new treatments and help bring those treatments into wider availability," Hollander said.

Since completing his residency in psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1986, Hollander has spent five years on the faculty of Columbia University and 15 years as professor of psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he also served as the Esther and Joseph Klingenstein Professor and Chairman of Psychiatry.

He is the author of more than 450 scientific reports in the field of psychiatry; the editor of 19 books, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (2003), and The Clinical Manual of Impulse Control Disorders (2006); and a reviewer for eight medical journals.

The Nov. 12 lectures are the second offering in the M.I.N.D. Institute's 2008-2009 Distinguished Lecturer series. Now in its seventh season, the series features noted researchers in neurodevelopmental disorders from around the world. Held on the second Wednesday of each month from October through March, 2009, all lectures are free and open to the public.

For more information, visit the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Web site at http://www.mindinstitute.org, or call (916) 703-0280. Many previous presentations are available for viewing under the "M.I.N.D. videos" section of the Web site.

The UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, in Sacramento, Calif., was founded in 1998 as a unique interdisciplinary research center where parents, community leaders, researchers, clinicians and volunteers collaborate to study and treat autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. More information about the institute is available on the Web at http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/mindinstitute/.