Abnormal modulation of corticospinal excitability in adults with Asperger's syndrome.

Abstract

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.

• Authors: Lindsay Oberman, Mark Eldaief, Shirley Fecteau, Fritz Ifert-Miller, Jose Maria Tormos, Alvaro Pascual-Leone
• Journal: The European journal of neuroscience (Eur J Neurosci) Vol. 36 Issue 6 Pg. 2782-8 (Sep 2012) ISSN: 1460-9568 [Electronic] France
• PMID: 22738084 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © 2012 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience © 2012 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Topics

• Adolescent
• Adult
• Asperger Syndrome (epidemiology, physiopathology)
• Case-Control Studies
• Evoked Potentials, Motor
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Motor Cortex (physiopathology)
• Neuronal Plasticity
• Spinal Cord (physiopathology)
• Theta Rhythm
• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
• Young Adult