Dichter Gabriel S, Sikich Linmarie, Mahorney Steve, Felder Jennifer N, Lam Kristen S L, Turner-Brown Lauren, Bodfish James
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3366, USA.
Neurocase. 2010 Aug;16(4):307-16. doi: 10.1080/13554790903559671. Epub 2010 Feb 22.
Autism is characterized by abnormal prefrontal brain activation during cognitive control, a potential biomarker of repetitive behaviors. In this proof-of-principle study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine brain activity during an oddball task in two high-functioning males with autism before and after 12 weeks of treatment with citalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. One participant showed marked reductions in repetitive behaviors whereas the other showed mild worsening. Brain activation in relevant prefrontal regions increased in only the participant whose repetitive behavior symptoms improved. These findings suggest that fMRI may elucidate potential mechanisms of action of targeted autism interventions.
自闭症的特征是在认知控制过程中前额叶脑激活异常，这是重复行为的一个潜在生物标志物。在这项原理验证研究中，功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）被用于检查两名高功能自闭症男性在接受选择性5-羟色胺再摄取抑制剂西酞普兰治疗12周前后的异常球任务期间的大脑活动。一名参与者的重复行为显著减少，而另一名参与者则略有恶化。仅在重复行为症状改善的参与者中，相关前额叶区域的大脑激活增加。这些发现表明，fMRI可能阐明针对自闭症干预措施的潜在作用机制。
