Effect of propranolol on functional connectivity in autism spectrum disorder--a pilot study.
A decrease in interaction between brain regions is observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is believed to be related to restricted neural network access in ASD. Propranolol, a beta-adrenergic antagonist, has revealed benefit during performance of tasks involving flexibility of access to networks, a benefit also seen in ASD. Our goal was to determine the effect of propranolol on functional connectivity in ASD during a verbal decision making task as compared to nadolol, thereby accounting for the potential spurious fMRI effects due to peripheral hemodynamic effects of propranolol. Ten ASD subjects underwent fMRI scans after administration of placebo, propranolol or nadolol, while performing a phonological decision making task. Comparison of functional connectivity between pre-defined ROI-pairs revealed a significant increase with propranolol compared to nadolol, suggesting a potential imaging marker for the cognitive effects of propranolol in ASD.
Narayanan
Ananth
A
Integrated Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
White
Catherine A
CA
Saklayen
Sanjida
S
Scaduto
Mary J
MJ
Carpenter
Allen L
AL
Abduljalil
Amir
A
Schmalbrock
Petra
P
Beversdorf
David Q
DQ
D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007807:Language Tests; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009248:Nadolol / Q000494:pharmacology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010700:Phonetics; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011433:Propranolol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D055815:Young Adult
D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D009248:Nadolol; D011433:Propranolol