Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Nov 28;13(23):1968.
doi: 10.3390/cells13231968.

Neurodevelopment of Autism: Critical Periods, Stress and Nutrition

George Ayoub  1
Affiliations
Review

Neurodevelopment of Autism: Critical Periods, Stress and Nutrition

George Ayoub. Cells. .

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability that presents significant challenges in communication and behavior. ASD prevalence exceeds 2% among eight-year-old children and is at similar levels globally. We propose that critical periods during fetal development and early postnatal years establish the conditions for either neurotypical development or the emergence of autism through mechanisms that influence immune function or delay neuronal development. One critical period is characterized by the requirement for folate, a crucial methyl donor needed for DNA regulation. Insufficient folate availability has been linked to the risk of developing ASD. Another critical period may be affected by oxidative stress or inflammation of the fetal brain, potentially due to inadequate microglial immunity, which can lead to CNS inflammatory changes that disrupt typical neurodevelopment. We suggest that early supplementation with reduced folate and taurine during both the fetal and postnatal stages may be effective in mitigating the severity of ASD symptoms by promoting neurotypical development through these critical neurodevelopmental periods.

Keywords: ASD; autism; critical period; cysteine; folate; prenatal development; taurine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart representation of key elements in neurodevelopment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ramaekers V.T., Rothenberg S.P., Sequeira J.M., Opladen T., Blau N., Quadros E.V., Selhub J. Autoantibodies to folate receptors in the cerebral folate deficiency syndrome. N. Engl. J. Med. 2005;352:1985–1991. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa043160. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Frye R.E., Sequeira J.M., Quadros E.V., James S.J., Rossignol D.A. Cerebral folate receptor autoantibodies in autism spectrum disorder. Mol. Psychiatry. 2013;18:369–381. doi: 10.1038/mp.2011.175. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ramaekers V.T., Sequeira J.M., Blau N., Quadros E.V. A milk-free diet downregulates folate receptor autoimmunity in cerebral folate deficiency syndrome. Dev. Med. Child. Neurol. 2008;50:346–352. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2008.02053.x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bruce M.R., Couch A.C.M., Grant S., McLellan J., Ku K., Chang C., Bachman A., Matson M., Berman R.F., Maddock R.J., et al. Altered behavior, brain structure, and neurometabolites in a rat model of autism-specific maternal autoantibody exposure. Mol. Psychiatry. 2023;28:2136–2147. doi: 10.1038/s41380-023-02020-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ramirez-Celis A., Croen L.A., Yoshida C.K., Alexeeff S.E., Schauer J., Yolken R.H., Ashwood P., Van de Water J. Maternal autoantibody profiles as biomarkers for ASD and ASD with co-occurring intellectual disability. Mol. Psychiatry. 2022;27:3760–3767. doi: 10.1038/s41380-022-01633-4. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources