1. Bal E, Harden E, Lamb D, Van Hecke AV, Denver JW, Porges SW. {{Emotion Recognition in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Relations to Eye Gaze and Autonomic State}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2009 (Nov 3)
Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA), heart rate, and accuracy and latency of emotion recognition were evaluated in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing children while viewing videos of faces slowly transitioning from a neutral expression to one of six basic emotions (e.g., anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise). Children with ASD were slower in emotion recognition and selectively made more errors in detecting anger. ASD children had lower amplitude RSA and faster heart rate. Within the ASD group, children with higher amplitude RSA recognized emotions faster. Less severe ASD symptoms and increased gaze to the eye region in children with ASD were related to more accurate emotion recognition.
2. Cederlund M, Hagberg B, Gillberg C. {{Asperger syndrome in adolescent and young adult males Interview, self- and parent assessment of social, emotional, and cognitive problems}}. {Res Dev Disabil};2009 (Oct 30)
Descriptive and comparative follow-up studies of young adult males with Asperger syndrome (AS) diagnosed in childhood, using both interview, self- and parent assessment instruments for the study of aspects of emotional well-being, social functioning, and cognitive-practical skills have not been performed in the past. One-hundred males with AS diagnosed in childhood were approached for the assessment using the Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Interview (ASDI), (personal and parent interview), the Leiter-R-Questionnaires, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX). About 75% of the targeted group participated. The ASDI results came out significantly different at personal vs parent interviews in several key domains. In contrast, the Leiter-R-Questionnaires, showed no significant differences across the individuals with AS and their parents in the scoring of cognitive/social and emotional/adaptive skills. The BDI proved to be an adequate screening instrument for depression in that it correctly identified the vast majority of cases with clinical depression in the AS group. The DEX results suggested an executive function deficit problem profile in males with AS as severe as that reported in groups of individuals with traumatic brain injury and schizophrenia. Interviews (personal and collateral), and self-rating and parent-rating questionnaires all have a role in the comprehensive diagnostic process in AS and other autism spectrum disorders, and could be used as adjuncts when evaluating whether or not individuals meeting diagnostic symptom criteria for the condition have sufficient problems in daily life to warrant a clinical diagnosis of AS.
3. Kajizuka M, Miyachi T, Matsuzaki H, Iwata K, Shinmura C, Suzuki K, Suda S, Tsuchiya KJ, Matsumoto K, Iwata Y, Nakamura K, Tsujii M, Sugiyama T, Takei N, Mori N. {{Serum levels of platelet-derived growth factor BB homodimers are increased in male children with autism. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol}} {Biol Psychiatry};2009 (Oct 28)
BACKGROUND: The neurobiological basis of autism remains poorly understood. To examine the role played by serum cytokines in brain development, we hypothesized that Platelet-Derived Growth Factor (PDGF) and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) may be associated with pathophysiology of autism. In this study, we screened serum levels of these growth factors in young male subjects with autism. METHODS: We measured serum levels of PDGF subtypes and VEGF in the 31 male children with autism (6-19years old) and 31 healthy age- and gender-matched subjects. RESULTS: The serum levels of PDGF-BB in male children with autism (N=31, 5624.5+/-1651.8pg/mL [mean+/-SD]) were significantly higher (two-tailed Student’s t-test: p=0.0188) than those of normal control subjects (N=31, 4758.2+/-1521.5pg/mL [mean+/-SD]). There was a significant and positive correlation (Pearson’s r=0.5320, p=0.0010) between the serum levels of PDGF-BB and the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) domain C scores, which represent stereotyped patterns of behavior in the children with autism. However, there were no marked or significant correlations between serum PDGF-BB levels and clinical variables, including the other ADI-R scores and Intellectual Quotient (IQ) scores by WAIS-R. There were no significant change and correlations with clinical variables in serum PDGF-AA, PDGF-AB, and VEGF levels in the children with autism. CONCLUSIONS: Increased levels of serum PDGF-BB homodimers might be implicated in the pathophysiology of autism.
4. Lind SE, Bowler DM. {{Impaired Performance on See-Know Tasks Amongst Children with Autism: Evidence of Specific Difficulties with Theory of Mind or Domain-General Task Factors?}} {J Autism Dev Disord};2009 (Nov 3)
It is widely assumed that children with autism have a diminished understanding of the perception-knowledge relationship, as a specific manifestation of a theory of mind (ToM) impairment. However, such a conclusion may not be justified on the basis of previous studies, which have suffered from significant methodological weaknesses. The current study aimed to avoid such problems by adopting more stringent participant matching methods, using a larger sample (N = 80), and implementing a new, more rigorous control task in order to ensure that non-ToM task factors were not confounding results. After excluding children who failed the control task, it was found that children with autism were moderately impaired in their understanding of the perception-knowledge relationship, relative to age- and verbal ability matched comparison children.
5. Marriage S, Wolverton A, Marriage K. {{Autism spectrum disorder grown up: a chart review of adult functioning}}. {J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry};2009 (Nov);18(4):322-328.
OBJECTIVE: To survey the adult functioning of patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and to compare the outcomes for those diagnosed in childhood with those diagnosed as adults. METHODS: Using a chart review, we evaluated the adult outcomes for 45 individuals diagnosed with ASD prior to age 18, and compared this with the functioning of 35 patients whose ASD was identified after 18 years. Concurrent mental illnesses were noted for both groups. RESULTS: Adult outcome was poorest for those with the combination of ASD and Intellectual Disability (ID). The sub- group of individuals with Autism identified in adulthood whose functioning was assessed after 25 years of age had achieved more in the areas of education and independent living. All three groups had a high frequency of psychiatric co-morbidity. CONCLUSION: While co-morbid ID and ASD generally imply a poor outcome, for children and youth with ASD and normal range IQ, adult functioning is more variable and difficult to predict. Because of delays in ongoing social development, some of these individuals may attain educational, independent living and relationship goals, but reach them a decade or more later than typical for the general population.
6. Pollmann MM, Finkenauer C, Begeer S. {{Mediators of the Link Between Autistic Traits and Relationship Satisfaction in a Non-Clinical Sample}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2009 (Nov 3)
People with ASD have deficits in their social skills and may therefore experience lower relationship satisfaction. This study investigated possible mechanisms to explain whether and how autistic traits, measured with the AQ, influence relationship satisfaction in a non-clinical sample of 195 married couples. More autistic traits were associated with lower relationship satisfaction for husbands but not for wives. Multiple mediation analyses revealed that husbands’ responsiveness towards their wives, trust, and intimacy mediated this link between autistic traits and relationship satisfaction. These findings suggest that autistic traits may hamper men’s relationship satisfaction because they impede relationship-specific feelings and behavior. There was no partner-effect of autistic traits, indicating that more autistic traits do not necessarily influence the partner’s perceptions of relationship satisfaction.
7. Sitholey P, Agarwal V, Pargaonkar A. {{Rapid and spontaneous recovery in autistic disorder}}. {Indian J Psychiatry};2009 (Jul-Sep);51(3):209-211.
Recovery in autistic disorder is rare. There are few reports of recovery from autistic disorder after a few years of therapeutic intervention. We report here a case of autistic disorder who recovered spontaneously without any intervention in 13 days.
8. Vattikuti S, Chow CC. {{A Computational Model for Cerebral Cortical Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {Biol Psychiatry};2009 (Oct 30)
BACKGROUND: Perturbations to the microscopic level balance between synaptic excitation and inhibition and neuron organization in the cerebral cortex are suggested to underlie autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits. The mechanism linking these perturbations to cognitive behaviors in ASD is unknown. This study strives to bridge this gap by generating clinically testable diagnostic and pharmacological predictions based on the effect of synaptic imbalance and neuron distribution on a computational local circuit model of the cerebral cortex. METHODS: We use a computational microscopic model of the cerebral cortex that incorporates N-methyl-D-aspartate and gamma-aminobutyric acid synaptic kinetics. We employ the model circuit during model tasks similar to visually guided and gap oculomotor saccade tasks and interpret qualitative model predictions of saccade hypometria and dysmetria. We consider the effects of varying the excitatory to inhibitory synaptic balance, neuron density, and neuron clustering in this model. RESULTS: An increase of synaptic excitation over synaptic inhibition results in increased hypometria and dysmetria. Similar effects by either reduced inhibition or increased excitation suggest that a variety of pharmacological compounds can be used for both screening and medical management. On the other hand, any change to the microscopic neuron anatomy that increases the effective maximum distance between excitatory neurons decreases hypometria but has no affect on dysmetria. CONCLUSIONS: Perturbations to a computational model of a local cerebral cortical circuit can account for saccade hypometria and dysmetria reported in ASD studies. This approach may provide a direct link between cerebral cortical function and ASD behaviors.
