Summary: A recent study used PET imaging to examine synaptic connections in autistic and non-autistic adults, marking the first time this technology has been applied to autism research. Research shows that adults with autism have fewer synapses, or connections between brain cells, and this is closely related to social and communication differences in autism.
This study shows that reduced synaptic density may underlie the challenges in social interaction and communication experienced by people with autism. Researchers believe these insights could guide future supports and interventions for autism. This study reveals a potential physiological basis for social differences in autism.
important facts
PET imaging shows that autistic adults have fewer synapses in their brains compared to non-autistic adults. Synaptic loss is strongly correlated with social and communication challenges in autism. This insight could shape better targeted support strategies for people with autism.
Source: Yale University
A new study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry uses positron emission tomography (PET), a type of brain imaging, to examine the social dynamics observed in autistic and non-autistic adults. Investigating the difference between interaction and communication.
This study used PET to directly measure connections between brain cells (synapses).
“This is the first time this study has been performed on autism, and we found that adults with autism have fewer synapses throughout the brain. “We also found that it was very strongly associated with differences in
McPartland said the imaging study also found that the fewer synapses a person has, the more likely they are to have difficulty with social interaction and communication.
These findings, he says, give insight into what’s actually happening in the brain that causes the difficulties many people with autism experience.
“This gives us important ideas about how we can better support people with autism,” says McPartland.
About this autism research news
Author: James McPartland
Source: Yale University
Contact: James McPartland – Yale University
Image: Image credited to Neuroscience News
Original research: Closed access.
“11C-UCB-J PET imaging is consistent with reduced synaptic density in adults with autism” by James McPartland et al. Molecular Psychiatry
abstract
11C-UCB-J PET imaging is consistent with reduced synaptic density in autistic adults
Although the neural basis of autism is poorly understood at the molecular level, evidence from animal models, genetics, post-mortem studies, and single-gene disorders implicate synaptopathology.
Here, we use positron emission tomography (PET) to assess the density of synapses containing synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) in autistic adults using 11C-UCB-J.
Twelve autistic individuals (mean (SD) age 25 (4) years, 6 males) and 20 demographically matched non-autistic individuals (26 (3) years old, 11 males) underwent 11C. – Participated in UCB-J PET scan. Binding capacity, BPND, was the primary endpoint and was calculated using the centrum semiovale as the reference region.
Partial volume correction with iterative Yang was applied to control for possible volume differences. Mixed model statistics were calculated for differences between groups.
Associations with clinical features were assessed based on clinician ratings of autistic features. Synapse density across the cerebral cortex was 17% lower in the autism group (p = 0.01). All brain regions of autistic patients had lower 11C-UCB-J BPND compared to non-autistic participants.
This effect was evident in all brain regions associated with autism. Significant differences were observed across multiple individual regions, including prefrontal cortex (-15%, p = 0.02), with the most significant difference in gray matter (p < 0.0001). Synaptic density was significantly associated with clinical measurements across the entire cortex (r = 0.67, p = 0.02) and across multiple regions (rs = −0.58 to −0.82, ps = 0.05 to <0.01).
In vivo studies of synaptic density in autism patients using PET revealed widespread and large-scale reductions in synaptic density across the cortex and multiple brain regions. Synaptic density was also correlated with clinical characteristics, with a greater number of autistic traits associated with lower synaptic density.
These results indicate that synaptic density throughout the brain may represent an as-yet-undiscovered molecular basis for the clinical phenotype of autism and the widespread changes across diverse neural processes associated with it. I am.
