Abnormal modulation of corticospinal excitability in adults with Asperger's syndrome.
Most candidate genes and genetic abnormalities linked to autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are thought to play a role in developmental and experience-dependent plasticity. As a possible index of plasticity, we assessed the modulation of motor corticospinal excitability in individuals with Asperger's syndrome (AS) using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). We measured the modulatory effects of theta-burst stimulation (TBS) on motor evoked potentials (MEPs) induced by single-pulse TMS in individuals with AS as compared with age-, gender- and IQ-matched neurotypical controls. The effect of TBS lasted significantly longer in the AS group. The duration of the TBS-induced modulation alone enabled the reliable classification of a second study cohort of subjects as AS or neurotypical. The alteration in the modulation of corticospinal excitability in AS is thought to reflect aberrant mechanisms of plasticity, and might provide a valuable future diagnostic biomarker for the disease and ultimately offer a target for novel therapeutic interventions.
Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Lindsay
L
Oberman
Mark
M
Eldaief
Shirley
S
Fecteau
Fritz
F
Ifert-Miller
Jose Maria
JM
Tormos
Alvaro
A
Pascual-Leone
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D020817:Asperger Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013826:Theta Rhythm; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult