Missing Brain Receptor May Hold the Key to Autism
Neuroscience News••health
Key Points:
- Yale researchers found that autistic adults exhibit significantly reduced availability of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) across widespread brain regions, supporting the theory that an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory signaling contributes to autism-related traits.
- The study combined PET imaging and EEG data, revealing that lower mGlu5 receptor availability correlates with distinctive electrical brain activity detectable via EEG, suggesting EEG could serve as a more accessible tool for studying excitatory function in autism.
- These findings provide novel molecular insights into autism, potentially enabling improved diagnostics beyond behavioral observation and opening avenues for targeted therapeutics aimed at the mGlu5 receptor.
- The study focused on autistic adults with average or above-average cognitive abilities, and future research aims to
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