Fetal and Infant Brain Development in Individuals with and Without a Familial Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Download or read book Fetal and Infant Brain Development in Individuals with and Without a Familial Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder written by Inês Pote and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The sample size at the 4-6 month timepoint also permitted an explicit comparison of low and high-risk infants, and because previous studies of older cohorts have linked glutamate abnormalities to ASD, Glx levels were compared between groups. The results showed, for the first time, that high-risk infants have significantly elevated levels of Glx at 4-6 months of age, when compared to low-risk controls. In conclusion, both the volume and biochemistry of the human brain undergoes rapid change in the late prenatal and early postnatal periods. Moreover, individuals with a familial risk of ASD already show differences in brain maturation from fetal life, including neurochemical pathways modulating the balance of neuronal excitation and inhibition. This is well before the onset of autistic symptoms, and therefore, has important implications for ASD in terms of risk (and resilience) pathways.