Neuronal Connectivity as a Convergent Target of Gene-Environment Interactions that Confer Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders

Published March 8, 2015 in Neurotoxicology and Teratology

This review briefly summarizes the evidence implicating dysfunctional signaling via Ca2 +-dependent mechanisms, extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK)/phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases (PI3K) and neuroliginneurexinSHANK as convergent molecular mechanisms in ASD, and then discusses examples of environmental chemicals for which there is emerging evidence of their potential to interfere with normal neuronal connectivity via perturbation of these signaling pathways.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0892036212001778