title: "Brain MR spectroscopy in autism spectrum disorder-the GABA excitatory/inhibitory imbalance theory revisited".
abstract: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) from voxels placed in the left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was measured from 14 boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and 24 gender and age-matched typically developing (TD) control group. Our main aims were to compare the concentration of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) between the two groups, and to investigate the relationship between brain metabolites and autism symptom severity in the ASD group. We did find a significant negative correlation in the ASD group between Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) and GABA+/Cr, which may imply that severity of symptoms in ASD is associated with differences in the level of GABA in the brain, supporting the excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) imbalance theory. However we did not find a significant difference between the two groups in GABA levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital Bergen, Norway ; Department of Clinical Medicine (K1), University of Bergen Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Maiken K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Brix
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Engineering, Haukeland University Hospital Bergen, Norway ; NORMENT - KG Jebsen Center for Mental Disorders Research, University of Bergen Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ersland
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital Bergen, Norway ; NORMENT - KG Jebsen Center for Mental Disorders Research, University of Bergen Bergen, Norway ; Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen Bergen, Norway ; Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hugdahl
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital Bergen, Norway ; NORMENT - KG Jebsen Center for Mental Disorders Research, University of Bergen Bergen, Norway ; Department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Renate
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grüner
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Maj-Britt
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Posserud
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Åsa
authors.initials: Å
authors.lastname: Hammar
authors.affiliation: NORMENT - KG Jebsen Center for Mental Disorders Research, University of Bergen Bergen, Norway ; Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Alexander R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Craven
authors.affiliation: MR Applications and Workflow Development, GE Healthcare Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Noeske
authors.affiliation: CUBRIC, School of Psychology/Ysgol Seicoleg, Cardiff University/Prifysgol Caerdydd Wales Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: C John
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Hanne B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institute Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Tore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Midtvedt
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital Oslo, Norway ; Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Life Sciences and Health, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Mona K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Beyer
keywords: ASD; ASSQ; GABA; MEGA-PRESS; MRS