Reduced GABAA receptors and benzodiazepine binding sites in the posterior cingulate cortex and fusiform gyrus in autism.

ABSTRACT: Individuals with autism display deficits in the social domain including the proper recognition of faces and interpretations of facial expressions. There is an extensive network of brain regions involved in face processing including the fusiform gyrus (FFG) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Functional imaging studies have found that controls have increased activity in the PCC and FFG during face recognition tasks, and the FFG has differential responsiveness in autism when viewing faces. Multiple lines of evidence have suggested that the GABAergic system is disrupted in the brains of individuals with autism and it is likely that altered inhibition within the network influences the ability to perceive emotional expressions. On-the-slide ligand binding autoradiography was used to determine

SUBMITTER: Oblak AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3020259 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature