Decreased GABA(B) receptors in the cingulate cortex and fusiform gyrus in autism - PubMed (original) (raw)

Comparative Study

Decreased GABA(B) receptors in the cingulate cortex and fusiform gyrus in autism

Adrian L Oblak et al. J Neurochem. 2010.

Abstract

Autism is a behaviorally defined neurodevelopmental disorder and among its symptoms are disturbances in face and emotional processing. Emerging evidence demonstrates abnormalities in the GABAergic (gamma-aminobutyric acid) system in autism, which likely contributes to these deficits. GABA(B) receptors play an important role in modulating synapses and maintaining the balance of excitation-inhibition in the brain. The density of GABA(B) receptors in subjects with autism and matched controls was quantified in the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex, important for socio-emotional and cognitive processing, and the fusiform gyrus, important for identification of faces and facial expressions. Significant reductions in GABA(B) receptor density were demonstrated in all three regions examined suggesting that alterations in this key inhibitory receptor subtype may contribute to the functional deficits in individuals with autism. Interestingly, the presence of seizure in a subset of autism cases did not have a significant effect on the density of GABA(B) receptors in any of the three regions.

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Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Pseudocolored image of a control case (1a.) and an autism case (1b.) from the ACC off [3H]-sensitive hyperfilm. The images demonstrate the superficial (I–III) and deep (V–VI) layers that were sampled (1a.) In 1c, a graph demonstrating [3H] labeled GABAB receptor binding density in the anterior cingulate cortex. Each symbol represents the GABAB receptor density from an individual case (see key). There was a significant (**) reductions (p=0.018) in the density of receptors in the autism cases in the superficial layers. Note these are sample sections from individual cases, and although it appears that there is a difference in the deep layers in these cases, statistically there was no significant difference in binding density between autism and control cases.

Figure 2

Figure 2

Pseudocolored images from a control (2a.) and autistic (2b.) case from the PCC. Graphs of the [3H]-CGP54626 labeled GABAB receptor binding density in the posterior cingulate cortex. Significant (**) decreases were found in the superficial (p=0.0076) and deep (p=0.050) layers of the autistic cases when compared to controls.

Figure 3

Figure 3

Graph demonstrating [3H]-CGP54626 labeled GABAB receptor binding density in the fusiform gyrus from a control (3a.) and an autistic case (3b.). Figure 3c is a scatter plot of all cases included in the study. Significant reductions (**) in the superficial (p=0.019) and deep (p=0.00095) layers were found in the autism cases.

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