Neurochemical aspects of childhood autism

The topic of this thesis is neurochemical aspects of infantile autism. The experimental work is centered around the most robust and consistant neurochemical finding in child psychiatry, namely that group mean whole blood serotonin (5-Hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) values are increased approximately 50% in autistic populations. Although the elevation has been observed many times~ a number of basic questions are unanswered in respect of characterizations of this 5-HT elevation~ and the elucidation of its causes