TY - JOUR
T1 - The contribution of [1H] magnetic resonance spectroscopy to the study of excitation-inhibition in autism
AU - Ajram, Laura
AU - Carvalho Pereira, Andreia
AU - Durieux, Alice
AU - Velthuis, Hester
AU - Petrinovic, Marija-Magdalena
AU - McAlonan, Grainne Mary
PY - 2019/3/8
Y1 - 2019/3/8
N2 - Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects over 1:100 of the population and costs the UK more than £32bn and the USA more than $175bn (£104bn) annually. Its core symptoms are social and communication difficulties, repetitive behaviours and sensory hyper- or hypo-sensitivities. A highly diverse phenotypic presentation likely reflects its etiological heterogeneity and makes finding treatment targets for ASD challenging. In addition, there are no means to identify biologically responsive individuals who may benefit from specific interventions. There is hope however, and in this review we consolidate how findings from magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) add to the evidence that differences in the brain's excitatory glutamate and inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) balance may be both a key biomarker and a tractable treatment target in ASD.
AB - Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects over 1:100 of the population and costs the UK more than £32bn and the USA more than $175bn (£104bn) annually. Its core symptoms are social and communication difficulties, repetitive behaviours and sensory hyper- or hypo-sensitivities. A highly diverse phenotypic presentation likely reflects its etiological heterogeneity and makes finding treatment targets for ASD challenging. In addition, there are no means to identify biologically responsive individuals who may benefit from specific interventions. There is hope however, and in this review we consolidate how findings from magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) add to the evidence that differences in the brain's excitatory glutamate and inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) balance may be both a key biomarker and a tractable treatment target in ASD.
KW - Autism
KW - Excitation-inhibition
KW - GABA
KW - Glutamate
KW - Magnetic resonance spectroscopy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85054008153&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2018.09.010
DO - 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2018.09.010
M3 - Review article
SN - 0278-5846
VL - 89
SP - 236
EP - 244
JO - Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry
JF - Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry
ER -