First Measurable Molecular Difference Found in Autistic Brains

Researchers Discover Molecular Difference in Autistic Brains

Brains of autistic individuals have fewer of a specific kind of glutamate receptor, supporting an idea that autism is driven by a signaling imbalance.

Investigating Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 (mGluR5) in Autism Spectrum Disorder with [18F]FPEB PET Imaging (S8.007)

Imaging Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 and Excitatory Neural Activity in Autism

This brain-wide investigation of mGlu5 availability with PET revealed pervasive lower mGlu5 availability across multiple brain areas in autism. Additionally, multimethod analyses revealed associations with a noninvasive electrophysiological index of excitatory neurotransmission. These results indica …

How do fewer receptors for glutamate impact people with autism?

“We have found this really important, never-before-understood difference in autism that is meaningful, has implications for intervention, and can help us…

Team discovers molecular difference in brains of people with autism

"Now, we've found something that is meaningful, measurable, and different in the autistic brain."

Autistic Brains Show Measurable Molecular Shift in Glutamate Signaling

For many autistic people, a crowded cafe isn’t just noisy. Every clinking spoon sounds like a bell. Every flickering light feels like a strobe. Clinicians have diagnosed autism through behavioral observation for decades, but the biological mechanisms behind these differences have remained elusive. Now, researchers at Yale School of Medicine report a concrete molecular signature ...