Abstract：
The primary inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) has a prominent role in regulating neural development and function, with disruption to GABAergic signalling linked to behavioural phenotypes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly autism. Such neurochemical disruption, likely resulting from diverse genetic and molecular mechanisms, particularly during early development, can subsequently affect the cellular balance of excitation and inhibition in neuronal circuits, which may account for the social processing difficulties observed in autism and related conditions. This comprehensive narrative review integrates diverse streams of research from several disciplines, including molecular neurobiology, genetics, epigenetics, and systems neuroscience. In so doing it aims to elucidate the relevance of inhibitory dysfunction to autism, with specific focus on social processing difficulties that represent a core feature of this disorder. Many of the social processing difficulties experienced in autism have been linked to higher levels of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate and/or lower levels of inhibitory GABA. While current therapeutic options for social difficulties in autism are largely limited to behavioural interventions, this review highlights the psychopharmacological studies that explore the utility of GABA modulation in alleviating such difficulties.
摘要：
抑制性神经递质γ-氨基丁酸(GABA)在调节神经发育和功能方面具有突出的作用,与神经发育障碍相关的行为表型相关的GABA能信号中断，特别是自闭症。这种神经化学破坏，可能是由于不同的遗传和分子机制，特别是在早期发育过程中，随后会影响神经元回路中兴奋和抑制的细胞平衡，这可能是自闭症和相关疾病中观察到的社会处理困难的原因。这篇全面的叙事综述整合了来自多个学科的不同研究流，包括分子神经生物学，遗传学,表观遗传学,和系统神经科学。这样做的目的是阐明抑制功能障碍与自闭症的相关性，特别关注代表这种疾病核心特征的社会处理困难。自闭症中经历的许多社会处理困难与较高水平的兴奋性神经递质谷氨酸和/或较低水平的抑制性GABA有关。虽然目前自闭症社会困难的治疗方案主要限于行为干预，这篇综述重点介绍了探索GABA调节在缓解此类困难方面的效用的精神药理学研究。
