1. Barnea-Goraly N, Frazier TW, Piacenza L, Minshew NJ, Keshavan MS, Reiss AL, Hardan AY. {{A preliminary longitudinal volumetric MRI study of amygdala and hippocampal volumes in autism}}. {Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry}. 2014 Jan 3;48:124-8.
BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggest that amygdala volume, when compared with healthy controls, is increased in young children with autism, is unchanged in cohorts of older youth, and is smaller in adults. Hippocampal volume, however, does not appear to have age-related changes, and it is unclear whether individuals with autism have volumetric differences in this structure. The goal of this pilot investigation is to characterize the developmental trajectories of the amygdala and hippocampus in children with autism between the ages of 8 and 14years and to examine clinical correlates of volume change. METHODS: Twenty-three children with autism and 23 controls between the ages of 8 and 12 underwent a magnetic resonance imaging procedure of the brain (T1-weighted) at two time points. Nine children with autism and 14 controls had good quality scans from both time points; however, all usable scans from all subjects (15 children with autism and 22 controls) were included in a mixed effect analysis. Regression models were used to estimate group differences in amygdala and hippocampal volumes. Changes in amygdala and hippocampal volumes (Time 2-Time 1) were correlated with clinical severity measures. RESULTS: Amygdala volume changes with time were similar between the two groups. Within the autism group, right amygdala volume change was correlated with the ability to establish appropriate eye contact. Right hippocampal volume was significantly increased in the autism group when compared with controls. Differences in right hippocampal volume change with time between the two groups approached significance. CONCLUSION: This study provides preliminary evidence of normalization of amygdala volumes in late childhood and adolescence. It also suggests that hippocampal volumetric differences may exist in autism in late childhood and adolescence.
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2. Guimard-Brunault M, Hernandez N, Roche L, Roux S, Barthelemy C, Martineau J, Bonnet-Brilhault F. {{Back to basic: do children with autism spontaneously look at screen displaying a face or an object?}}. {Autism research and treatment}. 2013;2013:835247.
Eye-tracking studies on exploration of faces and objects in autism provided important knowledge but only in a constraint condition (chin rest, total time looking at screen not reported), without studying potential differences between subjects with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and controls in spontaneous visual attention toward a screen presenting these stimuli. This study used eye tracking to compare spontaneous visual attention to a screen displaying a face or an object between children with autism and controls in a nonconstraint condition and to investigate the relationship with clinical characteristics in autism group. Time exploring screen was measured during passive viewing of static images of faces or objects. Autistic behaviors were assessed by the CARS and the BSE-R in autism group. In autism group, time exploring face screen and time exploring object screen were lower than in controls and were not correlated with degree of distractibility. There was no interaction between group and type of image on time spent exploring screen. Only time exploring face screen was correlated with autism severity and gaze impairment. Results highlight particularities of spontaneous visual attention toward a screen displaying faces or objects in autism, which should be taken into account in future eye-tracking studies on face exploration.
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3. Isong IA, Rao SR, Holifield C, Iannuzzi D, Hanson E, Ware J, Nelson LP. {{Addressing Dental Fear in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study Using Electronic Screen Media}}. {Clinical pediatrics}. 2014 Jan 3.
Background. Dental care is a significant unmet health care need for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Many children with ASD do not receive dental care because of fear associated with dental procedures; oftentimes they require general anesthesia for regular dental procedures, placing them at risk of associated complications. Many children with ASD have a strong preference for visual stimuli, particularly electronic screen media. The use of visual teaching materials is a fundamental principle in designing educational programs for children with ASD. Purpose. To determine if an innovative strategy using 2 types of electronic screen media was feasible and beneficial in reducing fear and uncooperative behaviors in children with ASD undergoing dental visits. Methods. We conducted a randomized controlled trial at Boston Children’s Hospital dental clinic. Eighty (80) children aged 7 to 17 years with a known diagnosis of ASD and history of dental fear were enrolled in the study. Each child completed 2 preventive dental visits that were scheduled 6 months apart (visit 1 and visit 2). After visit 1, subjects were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups: (1) group A, control (usual care); (2) group B, treatment (video peer modeling that involved watching a DVD recording of a typically developing child undergoing a dental visit); (3) group C, treatment (video goggles that involved watching a favorite movie during the dental visit using sunglass-style video eyewear); and (4) group D, treatment (video peer modeling plus video goggles). Subjects who refused or were unable to wear the goggles watched the movie using a handheld portable DVD player. During both visits, the subject’s level of anxiety and behavior were measured using the Venham Anxiety and Behavior Scales. Analyses of variance and Fisher’s exact tests compared baseline characteristics across groups. Using intention to treat approach, repeated measures analyses were employed to test whether the outcomes differed significantly: (1) between visits 1 and 2 within each group and (2) between each intervention group and the control group over time (an interaction). Results. Between visits 1 and 2, mean anxiety and behavior scores decreased significantly by 0.8 points (P = .03) for subjects within groups C and D. Significant changes were not observed within groups A and B. Mean anxiety and behavior scores did not differ significantly between groups over time, although group A versus C pairwise comparisons showed a trend toward significance (P = .06). Conclusion. These findings suggest that certain electronic screen media technologies may be useful tools for reducing fear and uncooperative behaviors among children with ASD undergoing dental visits. Further studies are needed to assess the efficacy of these strategies using larger sample sizes. Findings from future studies could be relevant for nondental providers who care for children with ASD in other medical settings.
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4. Ma Y, Wang C, Li B, Qin L, Su J, Yang M, He S. {{Bcl-2-associated transcription factor 1 interacts with fragile X-related protein 1}}. {Acta biochimica et biophysica Sinica}. 2014 Jan 3.
The absence of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) causes fragile X syndrome (FXS), which is the leading cause of hereditary mental retardation. Fragile X-related protein 1 (FXR1P), which plays an important role in normal muscle development, is one of the two autosomal paralogs of FMRP. To understand the functions of FXR1P, we screened FXR1P-interacting proteins by using a yeast two-hybrid system. The fragile X-related gene 1 (FXR1) was fused to pGBKT7 and then used as the bait to screen the human fetal brain cDNA library. The screening results revealed 10 FXR1P-interacting proteins including Bcl-2-associated transcription factor 1 (BTF). The interaction between FXR1P and BTF was confirmed by using both beta-galactosidase assay and growth test in selective media. Co-immunoprecipitation assay in mammalian cells was also carried out to confirm the FXR1P/BTF interaction. Moreover, we confirmed that BTF co-localized with FXR1P in the cytoplasm around the nucleus in rat vascular smooth muscle cells by using confocal fluorescence microscopy. These results provide clues to elucidate the relationship between FXR1P and FXS.
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5. Rivard M, Terroux A, Parent-Boursier C, Mercier C. {{Determinants of Stress in Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {J Autism Dev Disord}. 2014 Jan 3.
Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder are known to experience more stress than parents of children with any other conditions. The current study describes the parental stress of 118 fathers and 118 mothers at the onset of their children’s Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention program. The objectives of the study were to compare and analyze each parent’s stress and to identify factors that might predict their stress. Results indicated that fathers reported higher levels of stress than mothers. Correlations indicated that the stress levels of both parents were associated with their child’s age, intellectual quotient, severity of autistic symptoms, and adaptive behaviors. Paternal stress, but not maternal stress, was predicted by severity of autistic symptoms and child’s gender. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for services and early interventions.
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6. Toloe J, Mollajew R, Kugler S, Mironov SL. {{Metabolic differences in hippocampal ‘Rett’ neurons revealed by ATP imaging}}. {Molecular and cellular neurosciences}. 2014 Jan 3.
Understanding metabolic control of neuronal function requires detailed knowledge of ATP handling in living neurons. We imaged ATP in organotypic hippocampal slices using genetically encoded sensor Ateam 1.03 modified to selectively transduce neurons in the tissue. ATP imaging indicated distinct differences in ATP production and consumption in dentate gyrus and CA areas. Removal of extracellular Mg2+ from the bath evoked epileptiform-like activity that was accompanied by ATP decline from 2-3 to 1-2mM. The slices fully recovered from treatment and showed persistent spontaneous activity. Neuronal discharges were followed by transient ATP changes and periodic activation of ATP-sensitive K+ (K-ATP) channels. The biggest ATP decreases during epileptiform-like episodes of activity were observed in CA1 and CA3 neurons. Examination of neurons from the Rett model mice MeCP2-/y showed that seizure-like activity had earlier onset and subsequent spontaneous activity demonstrated more frequent discharges. Hippocampal MeCP2-/y neurons had higher resting ATP levels and showed bigger ATP decreases during epileptiform-like activity. More intense ATP turnover in MeCP2-/y neurons may result from necessity to maintain hippocampal function in Rett Syndrome. Elevated ATP may make, in turn, Rett hippocampus more prone to epilepsy due to inadequate activity of K-ATP channels.
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7. Williams K, Woolfenden S, Roberts J, Rodger S, Bartak L, Prior M. {{Autism in context 1: Classification, counting and causes}}. {Journal of paediatrics and child health}. 2014 Jan 3.
This review paper describes our current perspective of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), taking into account past, current and future classification systems and the evolving definitions of ASD. International prevalence rates from 1965 to 2012 are presented and key issues, including whether there is an epidemic of autism and what this means in terms of thinking about possible causes of autism, are discussed. Also discussed is the need for high quality national data collection in Australia and the evidence, and lack of evidence, for the many theoretical causes of ASD. The lack of robust classification of autism along with limited high quality evidence base about its prevalence and possible causes leaves ample space for future discoveries.
