JHU - maternal Plasma serotonin

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Pediatric Neurology

Volume 35, Issue 3 , September 2006, Pages 182-186

doi:10.1016/

j.pediatrneurol.2006.02.010

Copyright © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Original article

Plasma Serotonin in Autism

L. Connors MD?, Karla J. Matteson PhD?, A. Sega PhD?, Carmen

B. Lozzio MD?, C. Carroll PhD? and W. Zimmerman MD?, §, ?, ,

§Department of Neurology, s Hopkins University School of Medicine,

Baltimore, land

?Developmental and Genetic Center, University of Tennessee Medical

Center, Knoxville, Tennessee

?Department of Anesthesiology, University of Tennessee Medical Center,

Knoxville, Tennessee

?Department of Neurology and Developmental Medicine, Kennedy Krieger

Institute, Baltimore, land

Received 4 December 2005; revised 14 February 2006. Available online 29

August 2006.

Serotonin is necessary for normal fetal brain development.

Administration of serotonin inhibitors to pregnant rats results in

offspring with abnormal behaviors, brain morphology, and serotonin

receptor numbers. Low maternal plasma serotonin may contribute to

abnormal brain development in autism. In this study, plasma serotonin

levels in autism mothers and control mothers of typically developing

children were compared, and plasma serotonin levels in children with

autism (n = 17) and their family members were measured. Plasma serotonin

levels in autism mothers were significantly lower than in mothers of

normal children (P = 0.002). Plasma serotonin levels correlated between

autism mothers and their children, but differed between autistic

children and their fathers (P = 0.028) and siblings (P = 0.063). Low

maternal plasma serotonin may be a risk factor for autism through

effects on fetal brain development.