Summary: Researchers have gained important insights into how early stages of brain development ( ASD ) may develop autism spectrum disorders. The crew used mouse models to demonstrate that earlier changes in hormone activity in the brain are related to environmental factors that cause autism-like symptoms.
In particular, they found that a momentary move from the agonistic neurotransmitter GABA to the excitatory neurotransmitter serotonin in neonatal animals might cause ASD-like actions, such as repetitive activities and less social interaction later in life. The researchers were able to stop these behaviors from occurring in age by intervening at this early period and by reversing the hormone change.
Major Information
- ASD may be triggered by first hormone changes in the frontal cortex of the brain.
- First mental development intervention prevented autistic-like actions in mice.
- Study opens up new avenues for beginning involvement in autism spectrum disorders.
Origin: UCSD
Autism spectrum disorders ( ASD ) involve mild to severe impairment of social, behavioral and communication abilities. These conditions have a significant influence on academic achievement in settings like work and life.
But, experts lack information about how these problems emerge at early stages of development.
Neurobiologists at the University of California San Diego have discovered evidence of altered nervous system growth in mouse versions of autism spectrum disorders.
They linked changes in neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that enable neurons to speak with one another, to ASD that has been induced by the environment.
They also discovered that controlling these neurotransmitters in the early stages of growth may stop autistic-like actions from manifesting.
The study is published August 23, 2024, in the , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
According to Nicholas Spitzer, a professor in the Department of Neurobiology and the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind,” we found an earlier shift in neurons that is a great candidate to be the main reason” in our search for the main causes of autism spectrum disorder behaviors in the head.
” In order to develop novel interventions to stop the apparition of these activities,” says one researcher,” Getting a handle on the first activities that cause ASD.”
ASD treatments have increased in recent years, but how these conditions manifest at crucial cellular and molecular rates has not been fully understood.
The medial prefrontal cortex, a mind area frequently impacted by ASD, was studied by lead artist, Assistant Project Scientist Swetha Godavarthi, and coworkers.
They tested the hypothesis that modifications to the type of hormone that prefrontal cortex cells express may be to blame for a chemistry imbalance that results in ASD-like activities.
Previous studies had shown that pregnant women who were pregnant had a heightened immune response or were exposed to certain drugs during the first trimester ( environmental forms of ASD ) had a higher incidence of ASD in their offspring.
The experts reproduced ASD in animals by administering mice , in utero , with these climate agencies. These agents caused the simple reduction of the “GABA” serotonin, which is antagonistic, and the acquire of the “glutamate” serotonin, which is excitable, in newborn mice.
Adult mice showed altered behaviors of repetitive grooming and decreased social interaction, despite this GABA-to-glutamate transmitter switch’s spontaneous reverse after a few weeks.
These autistic-like behaviors were prevented in adults by overriding this brief early transmitter switch in neonatal mice.
Spitzer claimed that “driving expression of GABA in the neurons that have replaced GABA with glutamate prevents the appearance of stereotyped repetitive behavior and decreased social interaction.”
These findings demonstrate that the nervous system’s assembly can be altered by varying electrical activity and inappropriately stimulating neurons in early development.
Alterations in neurotransmitter expression at a young age can lead to other behavioral issues later in life because the rest of the nervous system is built upon a platform of faulty wiring, similar to a house built on an unstable foundation.
Spitzer claimed that “neurotransmitter switching can have a significant impact on the assembly of the nervous system and have a significant impact downstream.”
The researchers claim that the new findings are in line with other evidence that suggests that altering signaling in the nervous system during the initial stages of development can have detrimental effects as the brain matures.
About this research on brain development and autism
Author: Mario Aguilera
Source: UCSD
Contact: Mario Aguilera – UCSD
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: The findings will appear in PNAS
