Oxidative Stress, Glutathione, and the Neurodivergent Mind: What Science Is Teaching Us About Repetitive Behaviors

By David Wetherelt | November 2025

Why do repetitive thoughts and behaviors, those loops of checking, fidgeting, replaying, or fixating, show up so strongly in people with Autism, ADHD, or OCD?

The answer, it turns out, might not live only in the mind. A growing body of research suggests that our body’s internal chemistry, specifically oxidative stress and the balance of antioxidants like glutathione, plays a profound role in shaping how the brain regulates behavior.

A new study from Stanford University, published November 5, 2025, in PLOS ONE, has brought this conversation into sharp focus. The researchers found that oxidative stress markers such as glutathione were tightly linked to repetitive behaviors in mice, particularly during early development. The implication? There may be a measurable biological signature behind some of the very behaviors we associate with neurodivergence.

At Like Minds, this kind of science isn’t abstract. It’s personal. We coach people every day who live inside these loops of thought, habit, or compulsion, and help them understand that their biology and psychology are not separate stories.

The Redox Balancing Act

To understand what’s happening, let’s start with the basics.

Every cell in your body produces energy through chemical reactions that create a certain amount of oxidative stress, unstable molecules called free radicals that can damage cells if left unchecked. To keep this in balance, your body relies on antioxidants.

Among these, glutathione is the master regulator, the body’s main line of defense. When it’s depleted, oxidative stress rises. The brain, being rich in fat and oxygen, is especially vulnerable. Over time, this imbalance, called REDOX imbalance, can disrupt signaling pathways related to dopamine, serotonin, and even the brain’s reward circuitry. These systems are deeply tied to attention, impulse control, and repetitive behaviors.

In the Stanford study, the more oxidative stress the researchers found in young mice, the more repetitive behaviors they observed. This relationship was consistent across multiple genetic strains, suggesting it’s not just environmental but also genetically mediated.

Genes, Methylation, and the MTHFR Connection

This is where your genetic blueprint becomes part of the story.

Genes like MTHFR (methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase) regulate how efficiently your body processes folate and produces methyl groups, tiny chemical tags that activate and deactivate genes, repair DNA, and detoxify harmful compounds.

If someone carries a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP), a small variation, on this gene (like C677T or A1298C), their methylation cycle can slow down. That means they may have a harder time recycling homocysteine into methionine, producing glutathione efficiently, and clearing toxins from the body.

Over time, this genetic bottleneck can lead to lower glutathione levels and higher oxidative stress, fueling anxiety, cognitive fatigue, and the repetitive thinking or behaviors that many autistic and ADHD individuals describe as “getting stuck.”

In other words, a person’s genetic capacity to manage oxidative stress may help explain why some are more vulnerable to these patterns than others, even in similar environments.

What Supplements Like NAC Can Do

In our Like Minds coaching programs, we often introduce clients to the science behind nutritional and biochemical support. While we never prescribe or replace medical care, we do help people understand why supplements like N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) are widely studied for their ability to raise glutathione levels naturally.

NAC provides cysteine, the key amino acid your body needs to make glutathione. Studies have shown NAC can reduce oxidative stress and may even lessen compulsive or repetitive behaviors in both animals and humans. It has been explored in the treatment of Autism, OCD, and substance use disorder, with promising results in modulating brain glutamate and dopamine systems.

Other nutrients, like methylated B12 (methylcobalamin), L-methylfolate, and magnesium glycinate, also support this detoxification and methylation cycle, especially in individuals with MTHFR or related SNPs.

When people learn how these molecular pathways work, they begin to see their symptoms not as character flaws but as signs of biochemical imbalance that can often be supported and improved.

The Mind–Body Loop: Why This Matters

Understanding oxidative stress isn’t just about lab values, it’s about empowerment.If oxidative stress amplifies repetitive loops, then learning how to balance it can quiet the noise.

This biological lens offers a more compassionate and precise way to view neurodivergence:

• Autistic traits like intense focus or pattern-seeking may, in part, reflect altered REDOX states affecting dopaminergic signaling.

• ADHD-related restlessness could be the brain’s attempt to discharge metabolic stress.

• OCD-like rigidity might arise when the brain’s flexibility circuits are disrupted by inflammation or oxidative imbalance.
  

Science is revealing that these patterns are not just “mental habits” but whole-system phenomena involving genes, diet, metabolism, and neural chemistry.

Coaching the Whole Person

At Like Minds, we integrate this science into our coaching conversations. We help clients interpret their genetic data, understand their methylation pathways, and explore nutritional strategies, always in coordination with licensed healthcare providers.

We believe that self-knowledge is medicine. When people understand how their unique biology interacts with their environment, they gain the power to regulate, to adapt, and to thrive.

That’s what whole-person intelligence really means.

Looking Ahead

The Stanford study doesn’t claim that oxidative stress causes repetitive behaviors, but it does illuminate a crucial biological link that’s been hiding in plain sight. It suggests that the key to managing repetitive behaviors, anxiety, or rigidity may lie as much in restoring cellular balance as in cognitive or behavioral therapy.

In the coming years, research into personalized redox biology, mapping your oxidative stress profile, your MTHFR variants, and your antioxidant response, will likely transform how we approach neurodiversity and mental health.

Until then, we can start with awareness. Because understanding your chemistry might just help you rewrite your story.

If you’d like to learn more about oxidative stress, methylation, and how Like Minds coaching can help you understand your unique neurobiology, reach out www.likemindsalliance.org.