title: Effect of propranolol on functional connectivity in autism spectrum disorder--a pilot study.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Integrated Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Ananth
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Narayanan
authors.forename: Catherine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Sanjida
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saklayen
authors.forename: Mary J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Scaduto
authors.forename: Allen L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abduljalil
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schmalbrock
authors.forename: David Q
authors.initials: DQ
authors.lastname: Beversdorf
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D009248:Nadolol; D011433:Propranolol