Specific neurons that secrete oxytocin in the brain are disrupted in a mouse model of autism, neuroscientists have found. Stimulating these neurons restored social behaviors in these mice. These findings could help to develop new ways to treat autism.

[u/mvea]

https://www.riken.jp/en/news_pubs/research_news/rr/20250207_1/index.html

[u/WickedClutz2]

This might explain why the most recent times I've felt emotionally "normal" were when I took psilocybin and the first couple of weeks after my daughter were born. Both times felt like something was chemically making me feel more and I started looking into it. Found out that psilo and hexadecanal (newborn baby pheromone) both induce oxytocin. Typically, I don't have strong emotional reactions even in intense situations. Those are literally the only two times I've ever happy cried in my entire life. I never understood that reaction before. My wedding day was great but I never felt the urge. I think for me, it's a chemical thing.

[u/VampireFrown → u/WickedClutz2]

It's a common misconception that autism somehow means you feel less.

It's certainly possible, and is present in some autistic people, but it's certainly not characteristic of it.

I'm autistic (diagnosed), and I feel very intense emotions of all flavour. If anything, sometimes too intense. And, from rather extensive research and an unusually large autistic social network in real life, that actually looks to be the norm.

[u/LittleEggThings → u/VampireFrown]

For my wife who has autism, she describes it as a delayed processing of her feelings. She knows she feels something, but has a really hard time describing what she’s feeling even if the feeling is intense.

For example, if someone says something that upsets her, it can feel really off for a while and it can be anywhere from an hour to days afterwards that it just hits and she realizes she was angry at the time because the person said xyz.

[u/Lettuphant → u/LittleEggThings]

A lot of autistic people have a really hard time "feeling their feelings". So many go to therapy, and the therapist spends the first X months trying to explain that they are intellectualising emotions, examining them instead of feeling them. That emotions are the things your body is doing, from the heightened heart rate to the flush of cheeks to the sting of eyes to sensation of muscles pulling your mouth unheeded into a smile.

[u/skippydi34 → u/Lettuphant]

But neurotypical people don't need to observe this. I know that I'm nervous the second I am. I don't think about it. I have a hard time to understand how it feels to not have this feeling.

[u/FloatingGhost → u/skippydi34]

it's... unusual

the best way I can probably convey it is such:

if someone asks you "What's on your mind?", (I imagine) you'd be pretty able to answer - that's the precise thing that autism seems to inhibit. I've confused a great many people by responding "I'm not quite sure"

it's like... idk I know something is going on in my head but I'm not yet sure what it is, I'm still waiting for it to finish processing

like you're sat there staring at a computer mouse doing the hourglass thing. it's thinking, it'll finish soon probably

sorta

it's hard to explain

sometimes it's so bad that I need to rule things out, look up descriptions of emotional "symptoms" and go "hmmm I'm not angry... not worried... anxious? maybe"

[u/zefy_zef → u/FloatingGhost]

If someone asked me what's on my mind I don't know what I'd say. I'm always thinking about things, but it's never one. Everything's connected, if you want information I need your context.