AUTHOR=Gilbert James , Man Heng-Ye 

TITLE=Fundamental Elements in Autism: From Neurogenesis and Neurite Growth to Synaptic Plasticity

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2017

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fncel.2017.00359

DOI=10.3389/fncel.2017.00359

ISSN=1662-5102

ABSTRACT=Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a set of neurodevelopmental disorders with a high prevalence and impact on society. ASDs are characterized by deficits in both social behavior and cognitive function. There is a strong genetic basis underlying ASDs that is highly heterogeneous; however, multiple studies have highlighted the involvement of key processes, including neurogenesis, neurite growth, synaptogenesis and synaptic plasticity in the pathophysiology of neurodevelopmental disorders. In this review, we focus on the major genes and signaling pathways implicated in ASD and discuss the cellular, molecular and functional studies that have shed light on common dysregulated pathways using in vitro, in vivo and human evidence.