HYPOTHESIS - IS INFANTILE-AUTISM A HYPOGLUTAMATERGIC DISORDER - RELEVANCE OF GLUTAMATE-SEROTONIN INTERACTIONS FOR PHARMACOTHERAPY

Based on 1) neuroanatomical and neuroimaging studies indicating aberra tions in brain regions that are rich in glutamate neurons and 2) simil arities between symptoms produced by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antag onists in healthy subjects and those seen in autism, it is proposed in the present paper that infantile autism is a hypoglutamatergic disord er. Possible future pharmacological interventions in autism are discus sed in the light of the intimate interplay between central glutamate a nd serotonin, notably the serotonin (5-HT) 2A receptor. The possible b enefit of treatment with glutamate agonists [e.g. agents acting on the modulatory glycine site of the NMDA receptor, or so-called ampakines acting on the alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic aci d (AMPA) receptor] is discussed, as well as the potential usefulness o f a selective 5-HT2A receptor antagonist.