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Magnetic resonance spectroscopy comparing adults with high functioning autism and above average IQ

Molecular Psychiatry volume 19, page 1251 (2014)Cite this article

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Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) comparing adults with high-functioning autism and above-average IQ to control subjects revealed decreased glutamate signals in the area of the bilateral pregenual anterior cingulate gyrus (precise voxel of interest and a typical example of a respective MRS signal is depicted in the lower portion of the image encircled by a yellow frame). The extent of glutamate signal increase correlated with measures of communication deficits. Although a similar finding has been reported in another study in adults with autism, several studies in autistic children and youth found decreased glutamate signals in this region. These findings support the hypothesis of excitatory/inhibitory imbalance in autism. This model holds that on the background of genetic susceptibility, unknown processes, stress, autoimmune processes, encephalitic processes along with epileptic or paraepileptic neuronal network instability result in cingulate overactivation. This is paralleled by autistic symptoms like agitation, rage, hyperreference, supersensitivity, overflow and so on. Cingulate overactivation in turn induces regulatory inhibitory neuronal processes resulting in autistic symptoms, such as dissociation, mutism, communication deficits, depression and lack of drive, as a result of cingulate over-inhibition. In the context of this model glutamate MRS might turn out to be a useful tool for the assessment of the neurochemical status of a neuronal network of interest. For more information on this topic, please refer to the article by Tebartz van Elst et al. on pages 1314–1325.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg, Germany

    L T van Elst, S Maier, T Fangmeier, D Endres, G T Mueller, K Nickel, D Ebert, M Biscaldi & E Perlov

  2. Universitäres Zentrum Autismus Spektrum, Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg, Germany

    L T van Elst, T Fangmeier, D Ebert, M Biscaldi & A Riedel

  3. Department for Radiology, Medical Physics, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

    T Lange & J Hennig

  4. Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS), Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg, Germany

    T Lange

  5. Department for Child & Adolescent Psychiatry & Psychotherapy, Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg, Germany

    M Biscaldi

Authors
  1. L T van Elst
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  2. S Maier
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  3. T Fangmeier
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  4. D Endres
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  5. G T Mueller
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  6. K Nickel
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  7. D Ebert
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  8. T Lange
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  9. J Hennig
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  10. M Biscaldi
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  11. A Riedel
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  12. E Perlov
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van Elst, L., Maier, S., Fangmeier, T. et al. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy comparing adults with high functioning autism and above average IQ. Mol Psychiatry 19, 1251 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2014.160

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