Interaction of neurodevelopmental pathways and synaptic plasticity in mental retardation, autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia: Implications for psychiatry

Traduction: G.M.

World J Biol Psychiatry. 2013 Sep 30.

Interaction des voies neurodéveloppementales et de la plasticité synaptique dans le retard mental , les troubles du spectre de l'autisme et  la schizophrénie : Implications pour la psychiatrie

Waltereit R, Banaschewski T, Meyer-Lindenberg A, Poustka L.

Source

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health and University of Heidelberg, Mannheim Medical Faculty , Mannheim , Germany.

Abstract

Objectives. 

Schizophrenia (SCZ), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and mental retardation (MR) are psychiatric disorders with high heritability. They differ in their clinical presentation and in their time course of major symptoms, which predominantly occurs for MR and ASD during childhood and for SCZ during young adult age. Recent findings with focus on the developmental neurobiology of these disorders emphasize shared mechanisms of common origin. These findings propose a continuum of genetic risk factors impacting on synaptic plasticity with MR causing impairments in global cognitive abilities, ASD in social cognition and SCZ in both global and social cognition. 

Methods. 

We assess here the historical developments that led to the current disease concepts of the three disorders. We then analyse, based on the functions of genes mutated in two or three of the disorders, selected mechanisms shared in neurodevelopmental pathways and synaptic plasticity. 

Results. 

L'analyse des concepts psychopathologiques soutient l'existence de trois entités cliniques distinctes mais élabore aussi des associations importantes.  
De même, il existe des mécanismes communs en particulier dans la cognition globale et sociale.

Conclusions. 

We discuss implications from this integrated view on MR, ASD and SCZ for child & adolescent and adult psychiatry in pathophysiology and research perspectives.

PMID: 24079538