Publication date: Apr 13, 2025

-We know that children with autism have brain differences-certain parts of their brain are either less active or more active compared to typically developing children,” Aziz-Zadeh said. For the study, researchers collected behavioral data, brain imaging data, and stool samples from 43 children with autism and 41 neurotypical children aged 8-17. -We demonstrated that gut metabolites impact the brain, and the brain, in turn, affects behavior. The researchers correlated metabolites with brain differences observed in children with ASD and their behavioral characteristics, homing in on the tryptophan pathway. This work is published in Nature Communications in the paper, -Relationships between brain activity, tryptophan-related gut metabolites, and autism symptomatology. ” -Previous studies highlighted differences in gut microbiomes and brain structures in autism, but our research connects the dots. ” However, the changes in the gut microbial metabolites that are associated with ASD-specific brain alterations have remained unknown.

Semantics