AUTHOR=Guglielmi Luca , Servettini Ilenio , Caramia Martino , Catacuzzeno Luigi , Franciolini Fabio , D’Adamo Maria Cristina , Pessia Mauro TITLE=Update on the implication of potassium channels in autism: K+ channelautism spectrum disorder JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience VOLUME=9 YEAR=2015 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fncel.2015.00034 DOI=10.3389/fncel.2015.00034 ISSN=1662-5102 ABSTRACT=
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are characterized by impaired ability to properly implement environmental stimuli that are essential to achieve a state of social and cultural exchange. Indeed, the main features of ASD are impairments of interpersonal relationships, verbal and non-verbal communication and restricted and repetitive behaviors. These aspects are often accompanied by several comorbidities such as motor delay, praxis impairment, gait abnormalities, insomnia, and above all epilepsy. Genetic analyses of autistic individuals uncovered deleterious mutations in several K+ channel types strengthening the notion that their intrinsic dysfunction may play a central etiologic role in ASD. However, indirect implication of K+ channels in ASD has been also reported. For instance, loss of