1. Baker JK, Fenning RM, Howland MA, Huynh D. {{Parental criticism and behavior problems in children with autism spectrum disorder}}. {Autism : the international journal of research and practice}. 2018: 1362361318804190.
Associations between parent critical attitudes (a component of the Expressed Emotion construct) and behavior problems have been relatively well established in adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder, but use of systems adapted for children with autism spectrum disorder and additional investigations with younger samples are needed. This study examined parental criticism, derived from a population-specific coding system, as related to behavior problems in children with autism spectrum disorder between the ages of 4 and 11 years, and considered parental warmth and children’s psychophysiological reactivity as statistical moderators of these associations. In all, 40 children with autism spectrum disorder and their primary caregivers attended a visit involving collection of child electrodermal activity, parent-child interaction, a parent interview from which critical attitudes and warmth were coded, and parent report of child behavior problems. Criticism was directly related to higher child externalizing but not internalizing problems. Parental criticism interacted with warmth in the prediction of internalizing problems such that criticism was only associated with more problems in the context of moderate but not high warmth. Criticism was positively associated with externalizing problems under conditions of moderate and high, but not low, child electrodermal activity reactivity. Implications for conceptualizations of parental criticism in autism spectrum disorder, for understanding comorbid behavior problems in this population, and for intervention are discussed.
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2. Faja S, Nelson Darling L. {{Variation in restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests relates to inhibitory control and shifting in children with autism spectrum disorder}}. {Autism : the international journal of research and practice}. 2018: 1362361318804192.
Symptoms of restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests in autism are theoretically linked to executive functioning, which includes problem-solving abilities such as inhibition and cognitive flexibility. This study examined whether inhibition and flexibility are related to higher order restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests (e.g. circumscribed interests and ritualistic behavior) and sensorimotor behaviors (e.g. stereotyped and repetitive movements and sensory preoccupations) among 102 school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder who had cognitive abilities in the average or above average range. The ability to inhibit interfering information and shifting ability were related to higher order restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests, and each uniquely accounted for variance. This suggests that the ability to suppress interfering information as well as the ability to flexibly shift between patterns of responding is protective against higher order restricted and repetitive behaviors and interest symptoms in autism. In addition, the ability to proactively slow one’s reaction time in order to respond more carefully was related to sensorimotor restricted and repetitive behaviors. These results support the importance of distinguishing between higher order and sensorimotor symptoms due to their distinct relationships to executive functioning abilities.
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3. Kinnaird E, Stewart C, Tchanturia K. {{Investigating alexithymia in autism: A systematic review and meta-analysis}}. {European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists}. 2018; 55: 80-9.
BACKGROUND: New research suggests that, rather than representing a core feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), emotional processing difficulties reflect co-occurring alexithymia. Autistic individuals with alexithymia could therefore represent a specific subgroup of autism who may benefit from tailored interventions. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to explore the nature and prevalence of alexithymia in autism using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS). METHODS: Online scientific databases were searched systematically for studies on ASD popu lations using the TAS. Meta-analyses were performed to evaluate differences in scores between the ASD and neurotypical groups, and to determine the prevalence of alexithymia in these populations. RESULTS: 15 articles comparing autistic and neurotypical (NT) groups were identified. Autistic people scored significantly higher on all scores compared to the NT group. There was also a higher prevalence of alexithymia in the ASD group (49.93% compared to 4.89%), with a significantly increased risk of alexithymia in autistic participants. CONCLUSIONS: This review highlights that alexithymia is common, rather than universal, in ASD, supporting a growing body of evidence that co-occurring autism and alexithymia represents a specific subgroup in the ASD population that may have specific clinical needs. More research is needed to understand the nature and implications of co-occurring ASD and alexithymia.
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4. Moy SS, Teng BL, Nikolova VD, Riddick NV, Simpson CD, Van Deusen A, Janzen WP, Sassano MF, Pedersen CA, Jarstfer MB. {{Prosocial effects of an oxytocin metabolite, but not synthetic oxytocin receptor agonists, in a mouse model of autism}}. {Neuropharmacology}. 2018.
Currently, there are no established pharmaceutical strategies that effectively treat social deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Oxytocin, a neurohormone that plays a role in multiple types of social behaviors, has been proposed as a possible therapeutic against social impairment and other symptoms in ASD. However, from the standpoint of pharmacotherapy, oxytocin has several liabilities as a standard clinical treatment, including rapid metabolism, low brain penetrance, and activity at the vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone) receptors. The present studies describe findings from a preclinical screening program to evaluate oxytocin receptor (OXTR) agonists and oxytocin metabolites for potential clinical use as more optimal treatments. We first investigated two synthetic oxytocin analogs, TC-OT-39 and carbetocin, using in vitro cell-based assays for pharmacological characterization and behavioral tests in the BALB/cByJ mouse model of ASD-like social deficits. Although both TC-OT-39 and carbetocin selectively activate the OXTR, neither synthetic agonist had prosocial efficacy in the BALB/cByJ model. We next evaluated two oxytocin metabolites: OT(4-9) and OT(5-9). While OT(5-9) failed to affect social deficits, the metabolite OT(4-9) led to significant social preference in the BALB/cByJ model, in a dose-dependent manner. The increased sociability was observed at both 24h and 12 days following the end of a subchronic regimen with OT(4-9) (2.0mg/kg). Overall, these results suggest that the prosocial effects of oxytocin could be mediated by downstream activity of oxytocin metabolites, raising the possibility of new pathways to target for drug discovery relevant to ASD.
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5. Sethi C, Harrop C, Zhang W, Pritchett J, Whitten A, Boyd BA. {{Parent and professional perspectives on behavioral inflexibility in autism spectrum disorders: A qualitative study}}. {Autism : the international journal of research and practice}. 2018: 1362361318810217.
Restricted and repetitive behaviors are a core feature of autism spectrum disorder; however, research on the functional impact of these behaviors on the quality of life for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and their families remains scarce. We conducted focus groups with parents of children with autism spectrum disorder and clinicians in order to better characterize the functional impact of behavioral inflexibility, which represents one potential dimensional construct that could account for the breadth of behaviors comprising the restricted and repetitive behavior domain. Transcripts of the focus groups were analyzed using qualitative analysis coding methods to determine parent and clinician beliefs on a range of issues related to behavioral inflexibility including overall impact, types of child behaviors, and strategies for managing behavioral inflexibility. Thematic analysis revealed that parents and clinicians view behavioral inflexibility as an important behavior that impacts multiple areas of functioning, relates to other restricted and repetitive behaviors as well as social communication behaviors, and warrants targeted treatment. Notably, many parents and clinicians emphasized some positive consequences of behavioral inflexibility as well. These findings add crucial insights into the functional impact of behavioral inflexibility and restricted and repetitive behaviors as a whole and suggest that behavioral inflexibility represents an important avenue for future research.
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6. Williams TV, Hartmann K, Paulson JF, Raffaele CT, Urbano MR. {{Life After an Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis: A Comparison of Stress and Coping Profiles of African American and Euro-American Caregivers}}. {Journal of autism and developmental disorders}. 2018.
The purpose of the present study was to understand how caregiver stress and coping behaviors impact African American and Euro-American families differently when caring for a child with autism. This study used discriminate function analysis to contrast the stress and coping profiles of Euro-American caregivers who are more acculturated with the majority culture with African American caregivers who ascribe to more traditional values. A sample of 103 families was recruited (52 Euro-American, 51 African American). African American families reported significantly more stress and utilizing more varied coping strategies than their Euro-American counterparts. Additional differences were found between the high and low acculturated African American groups such that low acculturated African Americans were more likely to engage in religious coping.
