Pathogenetical and Neurophysiological Features of Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Phenomena and Diagnoses

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is accompanied by social deficits, repetitive and restricted interests, and altered brain development. The majority of ASD patients suffer not only from ASD itself but also from its neuropsychiatric comorbidities. Alterations in brain structure, synaptic development, and misregulation of neuroinflammation are considered risk factors for ASD and neuropsychiatric comorbidities. Electroencephalography has been developed to quantitatively explore effects of these neuronal changes of the brain in ASD. The pineal neurohormone melatonin is able to contribute to neural development. Also, this hormone has an inflammation-regulatory role and acts as a circadian key regulator to normalize sleep. These functions of melatonin may play crucial roles in the alleviation of ASD and its neuropsychiatric comorbidities. In this context, this article focuses on the presumable role of melatonin and suggests that this hormone could be a therapeutic agent for ASD and its related neuropsychiatric disorders.