excitation/inhibition imbalance

This concept frames autism-related phenotypes in terms of altered balance between excitatory and inhibitory signaling in synapses and neural circuits. The review presents it as a recurring feature of ASD animal models.

Using this framework requires animal models and assays that can evaluate synaptic transmission or circuit-level excitation and inhibition. The abstract does not name specific measurement platforms.

It offers a broad mechanistic explanation for how diverse ASD-linked perturbations may converge on circuit dysfunction. The abstract also presents it as a therapeutic target class.

The abstract does not show that E/I imbalance alone explains all ASD phenotypes or identify which specific interventions are most effective. It also does not define a single standardized measurement method.

The supplied abstract does not explicitly name alternative mechanistic frameworks. The web research summary points to adjacent component-level explanations involving GABAergic dysfunction, glutamatergic signaling, and developmental differentiation changes.