News - September 2015

A new study suggests that altered behavior in neurodevelop-mental disorders may be related to a disruption in the development of neurotransmitters systems that originate in the back of the brain. Research by the laboratory teams of Emanuel DiCicco-Bloom, MD, and James Millonig, PhD, showed that mice which lacked autism-associated gene Engrailed-2, had a major reduction in the level of norepinephrine (NE) in the forebrain, because the neuronal fibers that carry NE from the back to the front of the brain failed to develop. The reduced NE levels resulted in impaired forebrain growth, as well as behavioral attributes of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The team found that replacing the NE with pharmaceuticals partially repaired the growth deficiency, suggesting that measuring the levels of NE and transmitter fibers in individuals with ASD could be used to develop personalized therapy. 

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