Pooya Moghimzadeh-Mohebbi, Mohammad Mahdi Sohrabi, Roham Mazloom
{"title":"Amelioration of social impairments in autism: Possible role of vagal afferent stimulation in modification of the prefrontal-amygdala connectivity","authors":"Pooya Moghimzadeh-Mohebbi, Mohammad Mahdi Sohrabi, Roham Mazloom","doi":"10.1016/j.mehy.2024.111486","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Impairment in social interactions is a prominent feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present hypothesis explains the possible role of vagal afferent stimulation in the modification of prefrontal-amygdala connectivity in the amelioration of social impairments in ASD. Currently, there is no definitive treatment for ASD. However, there is documented evidence showing that interventions that increase vagal tone lead to the improvement of autism-related social symptoms. However, the exact mechanism that explains the correlation between the elevation of vagal tone and the amelioration of autism-related symptoms has not been elucidated. In the present hypothesis, it is proposed that the increase in vagal tone affects the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) in the brainstem. The NTS has strong connections with other brainstem nuclei, such as the locus coeruleus and dorsal raphe nucleus. The aforementioned nuclei are the main sources of norepinephrine and serotonin, with extensive projections to various brain areas, especially the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and amygdala. PFC-amygdala functional connectivity plays an important role in social behavior and emotion regulation. Therefore, visceral stimulation, which subsequently increases the vagal tone, possibly leads to the improvement of autistic social deficits through the enhancement of PFC-amygdala functional connectivity. Further investigations are needed to evaluate the function of the mentioned neural pathways during visceral stimulation in individuals with ASD.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":18425,"journal":{"name":"Medical hypotheses","volume":"192 ","pages":"Article 111486"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Medical hypotheses","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987724002299","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"MEDICINE, RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Impairment in social interactions is a prominent feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present hypothesis explains the possible role of vagal afferent stimulation in the modification of prefrontal-amygdala connectivity in the amelioration of social impairments in ASD. Currently, there is no definitive treatment for ASD. However, there is documented evidence showing that interventions that increase vagal tone lead to the improvement of autism-related social symptoms. However, the exact mechanism that explains the correlation between the elevation of vagal tone and the amelioration of autism-related symptoms has not been elucidated. In the present hypothesis, it is proposed that the increase in vagal tone affects the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) in the brainstem. The NTS has strong connections with other brainstem nuclei, such as the locus coeruleus and dorsal raphe nucleus. The aforementioned nuclei are the main sources of norepinephrine and serotonin, with extensive projections to various brain areas, especially the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and amygdala. PFC-amygdala functional connectivity plays an important role in social behavior and emotion regulation. Therefore, visceral stimulation, which subsequently increases the vagal tone, possibly leads to the improvement of autistic social deficits through the enhancement of PFC-amygdala functional connectivity. Further investigations are needed to evaluate the function of the mentioned neural pathways during visceral stimulation in individuals with ASD.
期刊介绍：
Medical Hypotheses is a forum for ideas in medicine and related biomedical sciences. It will publish interesting and important theoretical papers that foster the diversity and debate upon which the scientific process thrives. The Aims and Scope of Medical Hypotheses are no different now from what was proposed by the founder of the journal, the late Dr David Horrobin. In his introduction to the first issue of the Journal, he asks ''what sorts of papers will be published in Medical Hypotheses? and goes on to answer ''Medical Hypotheses will publish papers which describe theories, ideas which have a great deal of observational support and some hypotheses where experimental support is yet fragmentary''. (Horrobin DF, 1975 Ideas in Biomedical Science: Reasons for the foundation of Medical Hypotheses. Medical Hypotheses Volume 1, Issue 1, January-February 1975, Pages 1-2.). Medical Hypotheses was therefore launched, and still exists today, to give novel, radical new ideas and speculations in medicine open-minded consideration, opening the field to radical hypotheses which would be rejected by most conventional journals. Papers in Medical Hypotheses take a standard scientific form in terms of style, structure and referencing. The journal therefore constitutes a bridge between cutting-edge theory and the mainstream of medical and scientific communication, which ideas must eventually enter if they are to be critiqued and tested against observations.
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