The neurodevelopmental frontostriatal disorders: evolutionary adaptiveness and anomalous lateralization

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Genetics
• Psychiatry

Background:

• The frontostriatal system governs adaptive responses, and its dysfunction is linked to neurodevelopmental disorders such as Tourette's syndrome (TS), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia (SCZ), autism, and depression.
• These disorders share a genetic component and are highly comorbid, suggesting a common underlying pathophysiology involving frontostriatal circuitry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the adaptive nature of subclinical manifestations of frontostriatal disorders.
• To examine evidence for altered lateralization in these neurodevelopmental conditions.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of frontostriatal system disorders.
• Analysis of genetic predispositions and environmental factors.
• Examination of clinical manifestations and subclinical traits.

Main Results:

• Subclinical traits associated with frontostriatal disorders may confer adaptive advantages (e.g., autism with computational skills, depression with creativity).
• Alterations in structural, functional, and behavioral lateralization are observed in these syndromes.
• The adaptive significance of altered lateralization is unclear; it may be a marker for altered regulatory function.

Conclusions:

• Dysfunction in the frontostriatal system underlies a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders.
• While low-level genetic predispositions may offer adaptive benefits, high penetrance is generally deleterious.
• Altered lateralization might serve as a marker for underlying regulatory dysfunction in the frontostriatal system.