Experimental drug may help with 'noisy brain' in some with autism

Researchers have identified a mechanism in the brains of some people with autism spectrum disorder that may explain 'noisy brain,' in which those with ASD are unable to sift out important information in social settings or visual information becomes overwhelming.

The study, published in the journal Science Translational, looked at the GABA receptors in the brain, which control nerve cells. Some believe there is an imbalance in the brain’s ability to regulate signals in those with ASD, and that perhaps a medication could help even those signals out.

Prof. Grainne McAlonan, a neuroscientist at King's College London, U.K., and her team measured levels of GABA in the brains of 44 adults -- 19 with autism and 25 without it.

Researchers gave some test subjects a 30 mg single dose of the experimental drug arbaclofen -- a drug that modifies levels of GABA in the brain. Others received a placebo.

The test subjects were then shown a computer-generated image involving vertical lines, four large dots and a small one that would flicker almost imperceptibly, while scientists measured brain levels of GABA with EEG and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.