Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) involve mild to severe impairment of social, behavioral and communication abilities. These disorders can significantly impact performance at school, in employment and in other areas of life. However, researchers lack knowledge about how these disorders emerge at early stages of development.
University of California San Diego neurobiologists have found evidence of altered development of the nervous system in mouse models of autism spectrum disorders . They linked environmentally induced forms of ASD to changes in neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that allow neurons to communicate with each other. They also discovered that manipulating these neurotransmitters at early stages of development can prevent the appearance of autistic-like behaviors.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . "In seeking the root causes of autism spectrum disorder behaviors in the brain, we found an early change in neurotransmitters that is a good candidate to be the primary cause," said School of Biological Sciences Professor Nicholas Spitzer of the Department of Neurobiology and Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind. "Getting a handle on the early events that trigger ASD may allow development of new forms of intervention to prevent the appearance of these behaviors.
" ASD diagnoses have been ramping up in recent years, but how these disorders manifest at the critical cellular and molecular levels has not been well understood. .