A cellular automaton model to find the risk of developing autism through gut mediated effects

Abstract

Among the various risk factors for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), researchers have explored the possible contribution of an imbalance in the human gut microbiome. Such a change in the normal gut bacterial composition may be due to alterations in the relative populations of different species, leading to the overgrowth of pathogens. This in turn could lead to an unhealthy gut microbiome, or dysbiosis, which promotes an abnormal increase in the gut permeability. The disruption of the normal gut mucosal barrier therefore allows the entry of bacteria, as well as their metabolic products and toxins, into the circulation and various body tissues, and across the blood-brain barrier. This may act as a promoting factor in the pathogenesis of ASD. In the current work, we assume that this process is reflected on a limited but representative scale by the dynamic shifts in the numbers of three selected species, namely Clostridium, Desulfovibrio, and Bifidobacterium, and the resulting changes in the risk of developing ASD.