Neural Control of Instinctive Social Drive in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Neural circuitry underlying social homeostasis.

In autism spectrum disorders, the natural urge for social interaction is often greatly diminished. Despite this, how the brain regulates the drive to seek social contact, and what signals in the body trigger or satisfy this need, have remained mostly mysterious. Recently, the Dr. Dulab and her team discovered a distinct group of neurons in the hypothalamus that become active when an individual is isolated and are suppressed when social contact is restored. Collaborative studies further suggest that deficits in central processing of social drive, particularly involving altered hypothalamic neural responses, may underlie the social difficulties characteristic of ASD.

The Fever Effect.

The “fever effect,” is an observed phenomenon where some children with ASD experience temporary improvement in social behaviors during febrile episodes. Anecdotal reports suggest that children with autism exhibit an increase in social interaction during febrile episodes, as well as decreased hyperactivity and stereotypy, and improved speech.

The Dulac lab has identified a neuroimmune center in the brain that regulates social behavior during illness and revealed that oxytocin-expressing neurons can promote or inhibit social interactions depending on the situation. Interestingly, oxytocin-producing neurons have been found to function abnormally in several mouse models of ASD. This suggests that fever may help partially restore oxytocin activity in ASD, offering a possible explanation for the Fever Effect.

A better understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying social interactions may provide significant insights into underlying symptoms of ASD, in turn suggesting new approaches to alleviate them, thus benefiting the autism community.