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In Vivo ¹H-Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study of Amygdala-Hippocampal and Parietal Regions in Autism

OBJECTIVE: The neural basis for autistic spectrum disorders is unclear, but abnormalities in the development of limbic areas and of glutamate have been suggested. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-MRS) can be used to measure the concentration of brain metabolites. However, the concentration of glutamate/glutamine in brain regions implicated in autistic spectrum disorders has not yet been examined in vivo. METHOD: The authors used ¹H-MRS to investigate the neuronal integrity of the amygdala-hippocampal complex and a parietal control region in adults with autistic spectrum disorders and healthy subjects. RESULTS: People with autistic spectrum disorders had a significantly higher concentration of glutamate/glutamine and creatine/phosphocreatine in the amygdala-hippocampal region but not in the parietal region. CONCLUSIONS: Abnormalities in glutamate/glutamine may partially underpin the pathophysiology of autistic spectrum disorders, and the authors confirm earlier reports that limbic areas are metabolically aberrant in these disorders.

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