DBS in the baso-lateral Amygdala improves symptoms of autism and related self-injurious behavior: A case report and hypothesis on the pathogenesis of the disorder

We treated a thirteen year old boy for life-threatening self-injurious behavior (sib) and severe kanner's autism with deep brain stimulation (dbs) in the amygdaloid complex as well as in the supra-amygdaloid projection system. two dbs-electrodes were placed in both structures of each hemisphere. the stimulation contacts targeted the paralaminar,the basolateral,the central amygdala as well as the supra-amygdaloid projection system. dbs was applied to each of these structures,but only stimulation of the baso-lateral part proved effective in improving sib and core symptoms of the autism spectrum in the emotional,social and even cognitive domains over a follow up of now 24 months. these results,which have been gained for the first time in a patient,support hypotheses,according to which the amygdala may be pivotal in the pathogeneses of autism and point to the special relevance of the baso-lateral part. © 2012 sturm,fricke,buehrle,lenartz,maarouf,treuer,mai and lehmkuhl.