Evoked Neurotransmitter and Neurochemical Amygdala Responses and Autonomic Arousal to Social Threat and Safety Signals in Typically Developing and Autistic Children and Adolescents
Brendon M. Nacewicz, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will characterize neurotransmitter release in the amygdala, a brain region associated with emotional response to social interactions and implicated in psychiatric disorders that include autism and anxiety. Using a novel functional imaging technique, Dr. Nacewicz and colleagues will track these neurochemical responses to stress in relation to heart rate and pupil dilation. Their goal is to use amygdala activation to identify possible targets in the brain signaling high stress for pharmacological treatment.