Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Neuroscience. 2020 Oct 1;445:120-129. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.01.039. Epub 2020 Feb 6.
Alterations in somatosensory (touch and pain) behaviors are highly prevalent among people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). However, the neural mechanisms underlying abnormal touch and pain-related behaviors in ASDs and how altered somatosensory reactivity might contribute to ASD pathogenesis has not been well studied. Here, we provide a brief review of somatosensory alterations observed in people with ASDs and recent evidence from animal models that implicates peripheral neurons as a locus of dysfunction for somatosensory abnormalities in ASDs. Lastly, we describe current efforts to understand how altered peripheral sensory neuron dysfunction may impact brain development and complex behaviors in ASD models, and whether targeting peripheral somatosensory neurons to improve their function might also improve related ASD phenotypes.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）患者中普遍存在躯体感觉（触觉和疼痛）行为改变。然而，ASD 患者中异常触觉和疼痛相关行为的神经机制以及感觉反应改变如何导致 ASD 发病机制尚不清楚。在这里，我们简要回顾了 ASD 患者的躯体感觉改变，以及最近动物模型的证据表明，外周神经元是 ASD 躯体感觉异常的功能障碍部位。最后，我们描述了目前为了解外周感觉神经元功能改变如何影响 ASD 模型中的大脑发育和复杂行为，以及是否针对外周躯体感觉神经元以改善其功能也可能改善相关 ASD 表型而做出的努力。
