ArticleAutism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research2017
Reduced GABA and altered somatosensory function in children with autism spectrum disorder.
Article in Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 145 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
145 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 268 citations in OpenAlex.
- Social Communication in Ras Pathway Disorders: A Comprehensive Review From Genetics to Behavior in Neurofibromatosis Type 1 and Noonan Syndrome.Biological psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
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- Neurometabolite differences in Autism as assessed with Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Neurometabolite levels in the brains of patients with autism spectrum disorders: A meta-analysis of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies (N = 1501).Molecular psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Differential GABA dynamics across brain functional networks in autism.Communications biology · 2026Trial
- High-dose Vitamin-B6 reduces sensory over-responsivity.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2024Trial
- Retinal GABAergic Alterations in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2024Trial
- Exploratory evidence for differences in GABAergic regulation of auditory processing in autism spectrum disorder.Translational psychiatry · 2023Trial
- High-dose Vitamin B6 supplementation reduces anxiety and strengthens visual surround suppression.Human psychopharmacology · 2022Trial
- Improving Fetal Single-Voxel Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy With Spectral Registration.Magnetic resonance in medicine · 2026Article
- Sex-specific neurological dysregulation may underpin distinctly different male and female behavioural phenotypes in a zebrafish model of autism spectrum disorder.Behavioral and brain functions : BBF · 2026Article
- The impact of pregestational stress on neurodevelopment: Implications for autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.The Journal of physiology · 2026Review
- Diverse excess GABA modes drive autism and epilepsy-autism comorbidity.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2026Article
- Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Chronic Gastrointestinal Symptoms Have Alterations in Intestinal Neurotransmitter Pathways.Digestive diseases and sciences · 2026Article
- Distinct sensory atypicalities bridge the gap between brain chemistry and motor dysfunction in autism.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- The prenatal sex steroid theory of autism after 25 years.Nature human behaviour · 2026Review
- Diminished Signal-to-Noise Ratio Disrupts Somatosensory Population Encoding and Drives Tactile Hyposensitivity in the Fmr1Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Enhanced Sensitivity and Altered EEG Patterns During General Anesthesia in BTBR Mice, a Model of Autism.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Decreased BOLD Signal Variability in Middle-Aged and Older Adults on the Autism Spectrum.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026Article
85 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAbnormal responses to tactile stimuli are a common feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Several lines of evidence suggest that GABAergic function, which has a crucial role in tactile processing, is altered in ASD. In this study, we determine whether in vivo GABA levels are altered in children with ASD, and whether alterations in GABA levels are associated with abnormal tactile function in these children.
methodsGABA-edited magnetic resonance spectroscopy was acquired in 37 children with Autism and 35 typically developing children (TDC) from voxels over primary sensorimotor and occipital cortices. Children performed tactile tasks previously shown to be altered in ASD, linked to inhibitory mechanisms. Detection threshold was measured with- and without the presence of a slowly increasing sub-threshold stimulus. Amplitude discrimination was measured with- and without the presence of an adapting stimulus, and frequency discrimination was measured.
resultsSensorimotor GABA levels were significantly reduced in children with autism compared to healthy controls. Occipital GABA levels were normal. Sensorimotor GABA levels correlated with dynamic detection threshold as well as with the effect of sub-threshold stimulation. Sensorimotor GABA levels also correlated with amplitude discrimination after adaptation (an effect absent in autism) and frequency discrimination in controls, but not in children with autism.
conclusionsGABA levels correlate with behavioral measures of inhibition. Children with autism have reduced GABA, associated with abnormalities in tactile performance. We show here that altered in vivo GABA levels might predict abnormal tactile information processing in ASD and that the GABA system may be a future target for therapies. Autism Res 2016. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.