ArticleMolecular autism2020
Serotonergic innervation of the amygdala is increased in autism spectrum disorder and decreased in Williams syndrome.
Article in Molecular autism, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- A nuclei-specific fronto-amygdala pathway and its neurotransmitter receptor distribution: Implications for Antidepressant Selection.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Serotonergic Projection from the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus to the Basolateral Amygdala Bidirectionally Modulates Sociability in Mice.Neuroscience bulletin · 2026Article
- Modulating autism spectrum disorder pathophysiology using a trace amine-focused approach: targeting the gut.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Review
- Metabolomic profiles in serum uncover novel biomarkers in children with Williams-Beuren syndrome.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Inhibitory Systems in Brain Evolution: Pathways of Vulnerability in Neurodevelopmental Disorders.Brain, behavior and evolution · 2025Review
- Autism Spectrum Disorder: Neurodevelopmental Risk Factors, Biological Mechanism, and Precision Therapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Targeting 5-HT as a Potential Treatment for Social Deficits in Autism.Neuroscience bulletin · 2022Article
- Increasing Central Serotonin with 5-hydroxytryptophan Disrupts the Inhibition of Social Gaze in Nonhuman Primates.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2022Article
- Oxytocin receptor activation does not mediate associative fear deficits in a Williams Syndrome model.Genes, brain, and behavior · 2022Article
- Decreased density of cholinergic interneurons in striatal territories in Williams syndrome.Brain structure & function · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWilliams syndrome (WS) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders that demonstrate overlapping genetic associations, dichotomous sociobehavioral phenotypes, and dichotomous pathological differences in neuronal distribution in key social brain areas, including the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. The serotonergic system is critical to many processes underlying neurodevelopment and is additionally an important neuromodulator associated with behavioral variation. The amygdala is heavily innervated by serotonergic projections, suggesting that the serotonergic system is a significant mediator of neuronal activity. Disruptions to the serotonergic system, and atypical structure and function of the amygdala, are implicated in both WS and ASD.
methodsWe quantified the serotonergic axon density in the four major subdivisions of the amygdala in the postmortem brains of individuals diagnosed with ASD and WS and neurotypical (NT) brains.
resultsWe found opposing directions of change in serotonergic innervation in the two disorders, with ASD displaying an increase in serotonergic axons compared to NT and WS displaying a decrease. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed between WS and ASD data sets across multiple amygdala nuclei. LIMITATIONS: This study is limited by the availability of human postmortem tissue. Small sample size is an unavoidable limitation of most postmortem human brain research and particularly postmortem research in rare disorders.
conclusionsDifferential alterations to serotonergic innervation of the amygdala may contribute to differences in sociobehavioral phenotype in WS and ASD. These findings will inform future work identifying targets for future therapeutics in these and other disorders characterized by atypical social behavior.
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