2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Deficits in sensory processing and microglial activation in autism spectrum disorder
| Project/Area Number |
24659543
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
|
| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
|---|
| Research Field |
Psychiatric science
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Hamamatsu University School of Medicine |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
TOYODA Shiho 浜松医科大学, 医学部附属病院, 精神保健福祉士 (60588771)
|
|---|
| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
SUZUKI Katuaki 浜松医科大学, 医学部, 准教授 (00285040)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2012-04-01 – 2014-03-31
|
| Keywords | 児童精神医学 / ポジトロン断層法 |
|---|
| Research Abstract |
Sensory processing abnormalities, characterized by hyper- or hypo-reactivity to multimodal sensory stimuli, are common in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Although brain region(s) responsible to the sensory processing abnormalities is unclear, evidence suggests that the brain stem is a likely candidate region. In this study, we recruited adults (n = 20) with ASD and administered the Sensory Profile to assess their abnormal sensory responsivity. In addition, microglial activation in the brain was measured by means of positron emission tomography and a tracer 11C-PK11195 in all the participants. As a result, there was a significant positive correlation between the severity of sensory processing abnormalities and 11C-PK11195 binding potential in the anterior cingulate cortex, but not brainstem. Further study is warranted to clarify a role played by the region in sensory problems in ASD.
|
