Definition
Clonazepam is a benzodiazepine and a positive allosteric modulator of the GABAA receptor. Instead of opening the GABAA receptor chloride channel in the absence of GABA binding, benzodiazepines, like clonazepam, accentuates GABA signaling upon GABA binding to the GABAA receptor. GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric acid, is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mature mammalian CNS, with glutamate being the primary excitatory neurotransmitter. The excitatory/inhibitory neuron imbalance hypothesis of the underlying neurobiology of autism is a highly prominent and well-evidenced one. ASD patients frequently show increased levels of glutamate and excitatory signaling. So, correspondingly increasing levels of GABA, the inhibitory neurotransmitter, should have the potential to reverse some ASD symptoms. However, while the premise of using benzodiazepines is theoretically well-founded, there is little to no evidence of their actual...
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Ardhanareeswaran, K. (2015). Clonazepam: Definition. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102062-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102062-1
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