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.