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6 - Biochemistry of autism: changes in serotonin, reelin and oxytocin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2011

Ilona Roth
Affiliation:
The Open University, Milton Keynes
Payam Rezaie
Affiliation:
The Open University, Milton Keynes
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Summary

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by impaired social skills, communication deficits and repetitive behaviours. Alterations in a number of neurotransmitter signalling systems and neuroregulatory proteins have been reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The most compelling evidence seems to suggest an imbalance in excitatory and inhibitory impulses in the premature autistic brain, combined with defects in secondary neurotransmitter systems, resulting in autistic traits. Serotonin, known to be disrupted in ASD, facilitates the release of both reelin and oxytocin, with excessive levels of serotonin resulting in a decrease in reelin and oxytocin. Deficits in developmental growth factors, such as reelin, may regulate or be regulated by oxytocin, thus contributing to both neurodevelopmental arrest and altered social behaviour, characteristic for the autistic spectrum. In this review we therefore concentrate on the role of the serotonin neurotransmitter and the two neuroregulatory proteins (reelin and oxytocin), and evaluate the pharmacological interventions available at the moment, associated with the latter neurochemical changes in autism.

Introduction

Autism is regarded as a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder, characterised by a spectrum of impaired social skills, communication deficits, repetitive behaviour and frequently associated with co-morbid disorders (e.g. obsessive compulsive disorder, epilepsy, Tourette syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, tuberous sclerosis and Fragile X syndrome, among others; Gillberg and Billstedt, 2000). A significant number of individuals with autism also show hyperactivity, anxiety and self-injurious behaviours.

Type
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Researching the Autism Spectrum
Contemporary Perspectives
, pp. 190 - 216
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

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Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

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