ArticleTranslational psychiatry2018
Glutamate and GABA in autism spectrum disorder-a translational magnetic resonance spectroscopy study in man and rodent models.
Article in Translational psychiatry, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 158 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
158 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 305 citations in OpenAlex.
- Distinct neurobiological alterations during hedonic experience of rewards in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder: Multimodal evidence from neuroimaging meta-analyses.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Social Communication in Ras Pathway Disorders: A Comprehensive Review From Genetics to Behavior in Neurofibromatosis Type 1 and Noonan Syndrome.Biological psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Valproate Exposure as anCNS & neurological disorders drug targets · 2025Pooled it
- Autism, youth suicide, and psychedelics: A review of the 21st century evidence.Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA · 2024Pooled it
- Neurometabolite differences in Autism as assessed with Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Meta-analysis and open-source database for in vivo brain Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy in health and disease.Analytical biochemistry · 2023Pooled 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
- Functional MRS studies of GABA and glutamate/Glx - A systematic review and meta-analysis.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2023Pooled it
- GABA, Glutamate and Neural Activity: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis of MultimodalFrontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Treatment Effect of Bumetanide in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Composition of Gut Microbiota in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2020Pooled it
- Altered striatal long-term potentiation in the eIF4E-TG mouse model of autism spectrum disorder.iScience · 2026Article
- Mitochondrial-Epigenetic Crosstalk in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Linking Cellular Stress to Synaptic Dysfunction and Treatment Resistance.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- The impact of pregestational stress on neurodevelopment: Implications for autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.The Journal of physiology · 2026Review
- Phosphoproteomic profiling reveals reversal of dysregulated kinase signaling by nitric oxide inhibition in the Shank3 mouse model of autism.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- A Developmental Neuroimmune Cascade Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Role of GABAMolecular biology reports · 2026Article
- Diverse excess GABA modes drive autism and epilepsy-autism comorbidity.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2026Article
- Ligustrazine attenuates high-fat diet-induced neurobehavioral deficits and hepatic dysfunction via modulation of the HO-1/Nrf-2/SIRT-1/PPAR-α axis.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Article
- Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Chronic Gastrointestinal Symptoms Have Alterations in Intestinal Neurotransmitter Pathways.Digestive diseases and sciences · 2026Article
98 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a pervasive neurodevelopmental syndrome with a high human and economic burden. The pathophysiology of ASD is largely unclear, thus hampering development of pharmacological treatments for the core symptoms of the disorder. Abnormalities in glutamate and GABA signaling have been hypothesized to underlie ASD symptoms, and may form a therapeutic target, but it is not known whether these abnormalities are recapitulated in humans with ASD, as well as in rodent models of the disorder. We used translational proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ([1H]MRS) to compare glutamate and GABA levels in adult humans with ASD and in a panel of six diverse rodent ASD models, encompassing genetic and environmental etiologies. [1H]MRS was performed in the striatum and the medial prefrontal cortex, of the humans, mice, and rats in order to allow for direct cross-species comparisons in specific cortical and subcortical brain regions implicated in ASD. In humans with ASD, glutamate concentration was reduced in the striatum and this was correlated with the severity of social symptoms. GABA levels were not altered in either brain region. The reduction in striatal glutamate was recapitulated in mice prenatally exposed to valproate, and in mice and rats carrying Nlgn3 mutations, but not in rodent ASD models with other etiologies. Our findings suggest that glutamate/GABA abnormalities in the corticostriatal circuitry may be a key pathological mechanism in ASD; and may be linked to alterations in the neuroligin-neurexin signaling complex.
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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.