The DOI matches its Crossref record; 322 of the 322 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Autism spectrum disorders and the gastrointestinal tract: insights into mechanisms and clinical relevance
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are recognized as central neurodevelopmental disorders diagnosed by impairments in social interactions, communication and repetitive behaviours. The recognition of ASD as a central nervous system (CNS)-mediated neurobehavioural disorder has led most of the research in ASD to be focused on the CNS. However, gastrointestinal function is also likely to be affected owing to the neural mechanistic nature of ASD and the nervous system in the gastrointestinal tract (enteric nervous system). Thus, it is unsurprising that gastrointestinal disorders, particularly constipation, diarrhoea and abdominal pain, are highly comorbid in individuals with ASD. Gastrointestinal problems have also been repeatedly associated with increased severity of the core symptoms diagnostic of ASD and other centrally mediated comorbid conditions, including psychiatric issues, irritability, rigid-compulsive behaviours and aggression. Despite the high prevalence of gastrointestinal dysfunction in ASD and its associated behavioural comorbidities, the specific links between these two conditions have not been clearly delineated, and current data linking ASD to gastrointestinal dysfunction have not been extensively reviewed. This Review outlines the established and emerging clinical and preclinical evidence that emphasizes the gut as a novel mechanistic and potential therapeutic target for individuals with ASD.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Recent research shows that gut health significantly influences brain function and behavior, particularly in neurodevelopmental conditions like ASD [128].”
From Unraveling the Connections: Eating Issues, Microbiome, and Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorder (2025) · cites this paper as [128]
Citations
Cites
Diet rapidly and reproducibly alters the human gut microbiome
David, L. A., Maurice, C. F., Carmody, R. N., Gootenberg, D. B., Button, J. E., Wolfe, B. E., Ling, A. V., Devlin, A. S., Varma, Y., Fischbach, M. A., et al. (2014) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature12820 · Cited by 10,100
Shrestha, S., & Offer, S. M. (2016) · Medical Epigenetics · doi:10.1159/000444713 · Cited by 8,951
Gut microbiota regulate motor deficits and neuroinflammation in a model of Parkinson's disease
Sampson, T. R., Debelius, J. W., Thron, T., Janssen, S., Shastri, G. G., Ilhan, Z. E., Challis, C., Schretter, C. E., Rocha, S., Gradinaru, V., et al. (2016) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2016.11.018 · Cited by 3,622
Hsiao, E. Y., McBride, S. W., Hsien, S., Sharon, G., Hyde, E. R., McCue, T., Codelli, J. A., Chow, J., Reisman, S. E., Petrosino, J. F., et al. (2013) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2013.11.024 · Cited by 3,283
Normal gut microbiota modulates brain development and behavior
Heijtz, R. D., Wang, S., Anuar, F., Qian, Y., Björkholm, B., Samuelsson, A., Hibberd, M. L., Forssberg, H., & Pettersson, S. (2011) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1010529108 · Cited by 3,228
Sudo, N., Chida, Y., Aiba, Y., Sonoda, J., Oyama, N., Yu, X., Kubo, C., & Koga, Y. (2004) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2004.063388 · Cited by 2,735
Maenner, M. J., Warren, Z., Williams, A. R., Amoakohene, E., Bakian, A. V., Bilder, D. A., Durkin, M. S., Fitzgerald, R. T., Furnier, S. M., Hughes, M. M., et al. (2023) · MMWR. Surveillance Summaries · doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss7202a1 · Cited by 2,706
The gut microbiota influences blood-brain barrier permeability in mice
Braniste, V., Al-Asmakh, M., Kowal, C., Anuar, F., Abbaspour, A., Tóth, M., Korecka, A., Bakocevic, N., Ng, L. G., Kundu, P., et al. (2014) · Science Translational Medicine · doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.3009759 · Cited by 2,530
A microbial symbiosis factor prevents intestinal inflammatory disease
Mazmanian, S. K., Round, J. L., & Kasper, D. L. (2008) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature07008 · Cited by 2,340
Clarke, G., Grenham, S., Scully, P., Fitzgerald, P., Moloney, R. D., Shanahan, F., Dinan, T. G., & Cryan, J. F. (2013) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/mp.2012.77 · Cited by 1,893
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Kanner, L. Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nerv. Child 2, 217–250 (1943).
- Achenbach, T. M. & Rescorla, L. A. Manual for the ASEBA preschool forms and profiles Vol. 30 (ASEBA, 2000).
- Hales, C. M., Carroll, M. D., Fryar, C. D. & Ogden, C. L. Prevalence of obesity and severe obesity among adults: United States, 2017–2018. NCHS Data Brief 360, 1–8 (2020).
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Tomaszek, N., Urbaniak, A. D., Bałdyga, D., Chwesiuk, K., Modzelewski, S., & Waszkiewicz, N. (2025) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu17030486 · Cited by 30
Hu, D.-X., Lu, C.-M., Si, X.-Y., Wu, Q.-T., Wu, L.-H., Zhong, H.-J., & He, X.-X. (2025) · Frontiers in Pediatrics · doi:10.3389/fped.2025.1528167 · Cited by 10
Metadata
- Authors
- Hung, L. Y., & Margolis, K. G.
- Affiliations
- New York University (US)
- NYU Langone Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Margolis, Kara Gross
- Venue
- Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology
- Published
- 2023-12-19
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 142-163
- ISSN
- 1759-5045 (ISSN-L)
- 1759-5053
- OpenAlex
- W4389937109
- Semantic Scholar
- ac9023f063ccd5025ccbc501f4fd67a5a4802d0f
- Cited by
- 96
- References
- 322
- Citations by year
- 2026: 42 · 2025: 40 · 2024: 14
- FWCI
- 3.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, gastrointestinal dysfunction, enteric nervous system, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, gut-brain axis, neurodevelopmental disorders
- MeSH terms
- Autism Spectrum Disorder, Clinical Relevance, Constipation, Humans, Abdominal Pain, Gastrointestinal Tract
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
