A new mouse study reports that autism-like traits linked to maternal inflammation can be rapidly reduced in adulthood. Researchers found that changing activity in the mTOR signaling pathway was associated with improvements in behavior and brain function in adult mice, suggesting the underlying biology may remain changeable later in life.
According to the report, the team focused on an overactive mTOR pathway, a cellular signaling system involved in growth and neural activity. When that pathway was targeted, overly excitable neurons became calmer, and disrupted patterns of brain connectivity moved closer to normal.
The study also found behavioral changes alongside those brain effects. In the mouse model, repetitive behaviors eased after treatment, an important finding because the intervention was applied in adult animals rather than during early development. That points to the possibility that some traits tied to maternal immune-related inflammation are not permanently fixed.
Even so, the research was conducted in mice, not people, so the findings do not show a treatment for autism in humans. The results instead highlight mTOR as a promising area for further neuroscience research into how maternal inflammation may alter brain networks and behavior, and whether some of those changes can be reversed under the right conditions.
