Retinal GABAergic Alterations in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
J Neurosci
; 44(14)2024 Apr 03.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38467434
ABSTRACT
Alterations in γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) have been implicated in sensory differences in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Visual signals are initially processed in the retina, and in this study, we explored the hypotheses that the GABA-dependent retinal response to light is altered in individuals with ASD. Light-adapted electroretinograms were recorded from 61 adults (38 males and 23 females; n = 22 ASD) in response to three stimulus protocols (1) the standard white flash, (2) the standard 30â
Hz flickering protocol, and (3) the photopic negative response protocol. Participants were administered an oral dose of placebo, 15 or 30â
mg of arbaclofen (STX209, GABAB agonist) in a randomized, double-blind, crossover order before the test. At baseline (placebo), the a-wave amplitudes in response to single white flashes were more prominent in ASD, relative to typically developed (TD) participants. Arbaclofen was associated with a decrease in the a-wave amplitude in ASD, but an increase in TD, eliminating the group difference observed at baseline. The extent of this arbaclofen-elicited shift significantly correlated with the arbaclofen-elicited shift in cortical responses to auditory stimuli as measured by using an electroencephalogram in our prior study and with broader autistic traits measured with the autism quotient across the whole cohort. Hence, GABA-dependent differences in retinal light processing in ASD appear to be an accessible component of a wider autistic difference in the central processing of sensory information, which may be upstream of more complex autistic phenotypes.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
En
Journal:
J Neurosci
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United kingdom