\u201cMy main passion is what I would call nutritional neuroscience. We\u2019re interested in what you eat and how it impacts your brain,\u201d Freeman said.<\/p>\n
![\"Assistant](\"https:\/\/news.furman.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/LinneaFreeman-Biology.jpg\")
Furman Assistant Professor of Biology and Neuroscience Linnea Freeman.<\/p><\/div>\n
In this case, that meant exploring previous research suggesting that people with autism may metabolize the amino acid tryptophan differently. \u201cIf you have disruption to the tryptophan metabolism, then your cells might be making less energy,\u201d Freeman said. They tested the hypothesis by exposing mice pups to nicotinamide riboside, a naturally occurring chemical essential to cellular respiration, shortly after birth.<\/p>\n
Half of the pups’ mothers had received an injection of valproic acid, used to treat seizure disorders but also known to mimic behavioral outcomes of autism in mice. The other half were given injections of saline.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as they\u2019re born, in their drinking water they get exposed to this supplement, this metabolic intervention, to see if their behavior has improved,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing is nicotinamide riboside may lead to some improvements to anxiety aspects (of autism), but we\u2019re not seeing a major improvement to the sociability aspect of our model of autism \u2026 Our preliminary data is revealing that nicotinamide riboside may have the greatest impact on the anxiety seen in our female mice. We really need to continue to increase the number of animals and get a better idea how this is working.\u201d<\/p>\n