Found the 'Cause' of Sensory Hypersensitivity Accompanying Autism

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] Domestic researchers have uncovered the cause of sensory hypersensitivity observed in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and cancer diseases. This is expected to impact the early diagnosis of sensory abnormalities and the improvement of chemotherapy side effects in the future.

On the 30th, DGIST announced that the research team led by Professor Jaeil Moon from the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences revealed the key mechanism of the gene 'Abl1,' which is involved in the early development of inhibitory interneurons necessary for normal sensory nerve formation.

The research team was the first to discover that Abl1 is explosively expressed or activated during the early development of inhibitory interneurons in the olfactory bulb of experimental mice. They also found that inhibiting the expression and activity of Abl1 causes structural defects where inhibitory interneurons fail to accurately reach their respective cell layers.

Sensory neural circuits form earlier than cognitive and language neural circuits during brain development. If inhibitory neural circuits are not properly formed due to genetic or environmental defects during development, it can lead to autism accompanied by cognitive impairment and sensory abnormalities.

Professor Moon stated, "We have found an important clue to understanding the mechanism of sensory hypersensitivity observed in neurodevelopmental disorders or cancer diseases, which has not yet been clearly elucidated," and added, "Based on this, we hope that follow-up research will be conducted to overcome other sensory abnormality disorders."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.