1. Baribeau DA, Anagnostou E. {{An update on medication management of behavioral disorders in autism}}. {Current psychiatry reports}. 2014 Mar;16(3):437.
Autism spectrum disorder is often comorbid with behavioral disturbances such as irritability, aggression and hyperactivity. Throughout the mid 2000s, several large-scale controlled clinical trials were published leading to the approval of two medications (aripiprazole and risperidone) for treatment of irritability in this condition. This review serves as an update regarding new research findings regarding psychopharmacology for children and adolescents with ASD. In summary, the past five years have yielded no further approved medications with ASD as a primary indication. Important new research results include 1) long-term safety and efficacy data (52 week) regarding treatment with aripiprazole for irritability, 2) consensus regarding potential harm from SSRIs for treatment of repetitive behaviors in children/ adolescents with ASD, 3) a randomized controlled trial showing modest benefits from atomoxetine on hyperactivity, 4) many novel agents currently under investigation.
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2. Chiocchetti AG, Bour HS, Freitag CM. {{Glutamatergic candidate genes in autism spectrum disorder: an overview}}. {Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996)}. 2014 Feb 4.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders with early onset in childhood. Most of the risk for ASD can be explained by genetic variants that act in interaction with biological environmental risk factors. However, the architecture of the genetic components is still unclear. Genetic studies and subsequent systems biological approaches described converging functional effects of identified genes towards pathways relevant for neuronal signalling. Mouse models suggest an aberrant synaptic plasticity at the neuropathological level, which is believed to be conferred by dysregulation of long-term potentiation or depression of neuronal connections. A central pathway regulating these mechanisms is glutamatergic signalling. Here, we hypothesized that susceptibility genes for ASD are enriched for components of this pathway. To further understand the impact of ASD risk genes on the glutamatergic pathway, we performed a systematic review using the literature database « pubmed » and the « AutismKB » knowledgebase. We provide an overview of the glutamatergic system in typical brain function and development, and summarize findings from linkage, association, copy number variants, and sequencing studies in ASD to provide a comprehensive picture of the glutamatergic landscape of ASD genetics. Genetic variants associated with ASD were enriched in glutamatergic pathways, affecting receptor signalling, metabolism and transport. Furthermore, in genetically modified mouse models for ASD, pharmacological compounds acting on ionotropic or metabotropic receptor activity are able to rescue ASD reminscent phenotypes. We conclude that glutamatergic genetic risk factors for ASD show a complex pattern and further studies are needed to fully understand its mechanisms, before translation of findings into clinical applications and individualized treatment approaches will be possible.
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3. Clipperton-Allen AE, Page DT. {{Pten haploinsufficient mice show broad brain overgrowth but selective impairments in autism-relevant behavioral tests}}. {Human molecular genetics}. 2014 Feb 4.
Accelerated head and brain growth (macrocephaly) during development is a replicated biological finding in a subset of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the relationship between brain overgrowth and the behavioral and cognitive symptoms of ASD is poorly understood. The PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway regulates cellular growth; several genes encoding negative regulators of this pathway are ASD risk factors, including PTEN. Mutations in PTEN have been reported in individuals with ASD and macrocephaly. We report that brain overgrowth is widespread in Pten germline haploinsufficient (Pten+/-) mice, reflecting Pten mRNA expression in the developing brain. We then ask if broad brain overgrowth translates into general or specific effects on the development of behavior and cognition by testing Pten+/- mice using assays relevant to ASD and comorbidities. Deficits in social behavior were observed in both sexes. Males also showed abnormalities related to repetitive behavior and mood/anxiety. Females exhibited circadian activity and emotional learning phenotypes. Widespread brain overgrowth together with selective behavioral impairments in Pten+/- mice raises the possibility that most brain areas and constituent cell types adapt to an altered trajectory of growth with minimal impact on the behaviors tested in our battery; however, select areas/cell types relevant to social behavior are more vulnerable or less adaptable, thus resulting in social deficits. Probing dopaminergic neurons as a candidate vulnerable cell type, we found social behavioral impairments in mice with Pten conditionally inactivated in dopaminergic neurons that are consistent with the possibility that desynchronized growth in key cell types may contribute to ASD endophenotypes.
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4. Deschamps PK, Been M, Matthys W. {{Empathy and Empathy Induced Prosocial Behavior in 6- and 7-Year-Olds with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord}. 2014 Feb 1.
The present study aimed to assess empathy and prosocial behavior in 6-7 year old children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Results showed, first, lower levels of parent- and teacher-rated cognitive empathy, and similar levels of affective empathy in children with ASD compared to typically developing (TD) children. Second, emotion recognition for basic emotions, one aspect of cognitive empathy, in a story task was adequate in ASD children, but ASD children with severe impairments in social responsiveness had difficulties in recognizing fear. Third, prosocial behavior in response to signals of distress of a peer in a computer task was similar in ASD as in TD children. In conclusion, early elementary school children with ASD show specific impairments in cognitive empathy.
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5. Elian M, Rudolf Nde M. {{Rett Syndrome: some Behavioural Aspects and an Overview}}. {Behavioural neurology}. 1989;2(4):211-8.
A brief review of the Rett syndrome is presented. The main clinical features are onset of mental deterioration, in girls only, between the ages of6 and 18 months, all of whom later develop peculiar stereotyped repetitive movements resembling hand washing. The cause is unknown; the condition occurs more often than phenylketonuria and laboratory tests are normal. Random sequences of hyper-ventilation-apnoea-normal breathing appear in a considerable number of girls and are accompanied by certain EEG features. The nature of the repetitive manual and respiratory phenomena is discussed. We suggest that these behavioural peculiarities may be a form of communication, possibly pleasurable and to some extent interchangeable.
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6. Farmer C, Butter E, Mazurek MO, Cowan C, Lainhart J, Cook EH, Dewitt MB, Aman M. {{Aggression in children with autism spectrum disorders and a clinic-referred comparison group}}. {Autism}. 2014 Feb 4.
A gap exists in the literature regarding aggression in autism spectrum disorders and how this behavior compares to other groups. In this multisite study, the Children’s Scale for Hostility and Aggression: Reactive/Proactive and the Aggression subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist were rated for 414 children with autism spectrum disorder (autistic disorder, 69%; pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, 24%; Asperger’s disorder, 7%) and 243 clinic-referred children without autism spectrum disorder, aged 1-21 years (mean age about 7 years). Participants were not selected for aggressive behavior. Relative to the comparison group, children with autism spectrum disorder were reported to have less aggression and were more likely to be rated as reactive rather than proactive. Among all subjects, sex was not associated with aggression; higher IQ/adaptive behavior and older age were associated with more sophisticated types of aggression, while lower scores on IQ, adaptive behavior, and communication measures were associated with more physical aggression. The interaction between demographic variables and diagnosis was significant only for age: younger but not older children with autism spectrum disorder showed less aggression than clinic-referred controls.
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7. Foley AG, Cassidy AW, Regan CM. {{Pentyl-4-yn-VPA, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, ameliorates deficits in social behavior and cognition in a rodent model of autism spectrum disorders}}. {European journal of pharmacology}. 2014 Jan 30.
In utero exposure of rodents to valproic acid (VPA) has been proposed to induce an adult phenotype with behavioural characteristics reminiscent of those observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Our previous studies have demonstrated the social cognition deficits observed in this model, a major core symptom of ASD, to be ameliorated following chronic administration of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors. Using this model, we now demonstrate pentyl-4-yn-VPA, an analogue of valproate and HDAC inhibitor, to significantly ameliorate deficits in social cognition as measured using the social approach avoidance paradigm as an indicator of social reciprocity and spatial learning to interrogate dorsal stream cognitive processing. The effects obtained with pentyl-4-yn-VPA were found to be similar to those obtained with SAHA, a pan-specific HDAC inhibitor. Histones isolated from the cerebellar cortex and immunoblotted with antibodies recognising lysine-specific modification revealed SAHA and pentyl-4-yn-VPA to enhance the acetylation status of H4K8. Additionally, the action of pentyl-4-yn-VPA, could be differentiated from that of SAHA by its ability to decrease H3K9 acetylation and enhance H3K14 acetylation. The histone modifications mediated by pentyl-4-yn-VPA are suggested to act cooperatively through differential acetylation of the promoter and transcription regions of active genes.
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8. Gillberg C, Rastam M. {{Do some cases of anorexia nervosa reflect underlying autistic-like conditions?}}. {Behavioural neurology}. 1992;5(1):27-32.
In a sample of 51 teenagers with anorexia nervosa (AN)-which included 24 cases constituting the total population of AN cases born in 1970-several had shown social, communicative and behaviour patterns suggestive of autistic-like conditions as children, long before the onset of AN. One of the three boys in the AN group had Asperger syndrome. Three of the 48 girls had histories suggesting high functioning autism and continued to show many features typical of autism. Two further girls had Tourette syndrome and obsessive-compulsive traits in combination with social interaction problems. Eighteen other girls met criteria for obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) and most of these also had had moderate-severe childhood social interaction problems. In a sex- and age-matched comparison group from the same schools, two girls had OCPD, but none had autistic-like conditions or Tourette syndrome. The results are discussed in the context of a recently suggested link between Asperger syndrome, Tourette syndrome and obsessive-compulsive problems, and it is suggested that AN in a subgroup of cases might represent a disorder belonging in the same class as autism and autistic-like conditions.
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9. Grandgeorge M, Lemonnier E, Degrez C, Jallot N. {{The effect of bumetanide treatment on the sensory behaviours of a young girl with Asperger syndrome}}. {BMJ case reports}. 2014;2014.
Sensory behaviours were not considered as core features of autism spectrum disorders until recently. However, they constitute an important part of the observed symptoms that result in social maladjustment and are currently quite difficult to treat. One promising strategy for the treatment of these behaviours is the use of bumetanide, which was previously shown to reduce the severity of autism spectrum disorders. In this study, we proposed to evaluate sensory behaviours using Dunn’s Sensory Profile after 18 months of bumetanide treatment in a 10-year-old girl with Asperger syndrome. Reported improvements covered a large range of sensory behaviours, including auditory, vestibular, tactile, multisensory and oral sensory processing. Although our results were limited to a single case report, we believe that our clinical observations warrant clinical trials to test the long-term efficacy of bumetanide to manage the sensory behaviours of people with autism spectrum disorders.
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10. Hammett T, Harris A, Boreham B, Mehdian SM. {{Surgical correction of scoliosis in Rett syndrome: cord monitoring and complications}}. {European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society}. 2014 Feb 1.
AIM: Rett syndrome is a progressive neurodevelopmental disorder that predominantly affects females and is associated with a high incidence of scoliosis and epilepsy. There is scant published work about intraoperative spinal cord monitoring in these patients and little more regarding the rate of perioperative complications. We investigated our institutions’ experience with both. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 11 patients with Rett syndrome who underwent surgical correction of scoliosis at our institution between 2004 and 2010. RESULTS: Eleven patients underwent successful correction of their scoliosis at an average age of 12. Eight of the patients suffered one or more significant complications. The average curve was corrected from 71 degrees to 27 degrees . Successful spinal cord monitoring was achieved in eight of the nine patients where it was attempted. No patient suffered any neurological complications. Average inpatient stay was 18.2 days. CONCLUSION: Scoliosis surgery in patients with Rett syndrome carries a very high rate of complications and an average hospital stay approaching 3 weeks. Both caregivers and surgeons should be aware of this when planning any intervention. These patients frequently have useful lower limb function and spinal cord monitoring is a valid tool to aid in its preservation. We would suggest aggressive optimisation of these patients prior to surgery, with an emphasis on nutrition.
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11. Harrington JW, Allen K. {{The Clinician’s Guide to Autism}}. {Pediatrics in review / American Academy of Pediatrics}. 2014 Feb;35(2):62-78.
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12. Heimann M, Ullstadius E, Dahlgren SO, Gillberg C. {{Imitation in autism. A preliminary research note}}. {Behavioural neurology}. 1992;5(4):219-27.
Previous studies have claimed that children with autism are poor imitators and a lack of imitative capacity has been included by some investigators as one early sign of autism. Presented here are results from a pilot study focusing on observed imitation after presenting 15 tasks to five children with autism (mental age 25-51 months). Imitation tasks involving simple object manipulation, vocal responses, facial and manual gestures, and object substitution were presented to each child. The performance of the children with autism is compared with (1) three normal 4-year-old children (for all 15 tasks), and (2) observations from 28 healthy 1-year-olds (for 10 of the tasks used). The findings indicate that the autistic group displayed the highest level of imitation on object manipulation and vocal tasks while object substitution, facial, and motor imitation acts seemed to be difficult for children with autism. However, the small number of children included as well as the individual variation observed among the autistic subjects precludes any definite conclusions from these pilot observations. It is hypothesized that imitation in children with autism has to be studied separately for different domains and probably also for different subgroups within the autistic population.
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13. Jacobson JD, Ellerbeck KA, Kelly KA, Fleming KK, Jamison TR, Coffey CW, Smith CM, Reese RM, Sands SA. {{Evidence for alterations in stimulatory G proteins and oxytocin levels in children with autism}}. {Psychoneuroendocrinology}. 2014 Feb;40:159-69.
The neurotransmitter oxytocin plays an important role in social affiliation. Low oxytocin levels and defects in the oxytocin receptor have been reported in childhood autism. However, little is known about oxytocin’s post-receptor signaling pathways in autism. Oxytocin signals via stimulatory and inhibitory G proteins. c-fos mRNA expression has been used as a marker of OT signaling as well as of G protein signaling. Herein, we hypothesized that oxytocin and its signaling pathways would be altered in children with autism. We measured plasma oxytocin levels by ELISA, G-protein and c-fos mRNA by PCR, and G proteins by immunoblot in cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in children with autism and in age-matched controls. Males with autism displayed elevated oxytocin levels compared to controls (p<0.05). Children with autism displayed significantly higher mRNA for stimulatory G proteins compared to controls (p<0.05). Oxytocin levels correlated strongly positively with c-fos mRNA levels, but only in control participants (p<0.01). Oxytocin, G-protein, and c-fos mRNA levels correlated inversely with measures of social and emotional behaviors, but only in control participants. These data suggest that children with autism may exhibit a dysregulation in oxytocin and/or its signaling pathways.
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14. Koldewyn K, Yendiki A, Weigelt S, Gweon H, Julian J, Richardson H, Malloy C, Saxe R, Fischl B, Kanwisher N. {{Differences in the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus but no general disruption of white matter tracts in children with autism spectrum disorder}}. {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America}. 2014 Feb 4;111(5):1981-6.
One of the most widely cited features of the neural phenotype of autism is reduced « integrity » of long-range white matter tracts, a claim based primarily on diffusion imaging studies. However, many prior studies have small sample sizes and/or fail to address differences in data quality between those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typical participants, and there is little consensus on which tracts are affected. To overcome these problems, we scanned a large sample of children with autism (n = 52) and typically developing children (n = 73). Data quality was variable, and worse in the ASD group, with some scans unusable because of head motion artifacts. When we follow standard data analysis practices (i.e., without matching head motion between groups), we replicate the finding of lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in multiple white matter tracts. However, when we carefully match data quality between groups, all these effects disappear except in one tract, the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF). Additional analyses showed the expected developmental increases in the FA of fiber tracts within ASD and typical groups individually, demonstrating that we had sufficient statistical power to detect known group differences. Our data challenge the widely claimed general disruption of white matter tracts in autism, instead implicating only one tract, the right ILF, in the ASD phenotype.
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15. Kuhlthau KA, Warfield ME, Hurson J, Delahaye J, Crossman MK. {{Pediatric provider’s perspectives on the transition to adult health care for youth with autism spectrum disorder: Current strategies and promising new directions}}. {Autism}. 2014 Feb 4.
Few youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) nationally report receiving services to help them transition from the pediatric health care system to the adult health care system. For example, only one-fifth (21.1%) of youth with ASD receive any transition planning services. To better understand why the transition from pediatric to adult health care is so difficult, we interviewed pediatric health care providers with extensive experience serving youth with ASD. We gathered information about the strategies and interventions they use to transition their patients with ASD to an adult provider. Five interventions or strategies are currently being used. These include providing families with written medical summaries to give to adult providers, compiling lists of available adult providers or community resources, coordinating care and communication between individual pediatric and adult providers, making transition-specific appointments, and using checklists to track transition progress. Other interventions or strategies were identified as needed but not currently in practice, and these focused on education and training. For example, informational workshops were suggested to train families and youth about transition. Training adult providers and medical students was also seen as important. Several respondents additionally identified the need for a transition center where all services could be coordinated in one place. With large numbers of youth with ASD becoming young adults, it seems that pediatric practices might want to consider some of the activities described here. Some of these activities, such as family educational seminars and written medical summaries, are likely relatively easy for a practice to implement.
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16. Liu EY, Scott CT. {{Great Expectations: Autism Spectrum Disorder and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Technologies}}. {Stem cell reviews}. 2014 Feb 1.
New applications of iPSC technology to research on complex idiopathic conditions raise several important ethical and social considerations for potential research participants and their families. In this short review, we examine these issues through the lens of emerging research on autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We begin by describing the current state of iPSC technology in research on ASD. Then we discuss how the social history of and current controversies in autism research combined with the emergence of autism-specific iPSC biobanks indicate an urgent need for researchers to clearly communicate the limitations and possibilities of iPSC research to ensure research participants have the ability to provide fully informed, voluntary consent. We conclude by offering recommendations to bolster informed consent for research involving iPSC biobanks, both in the specific context of ASD and more broadly.
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17. Pierce NP, O’Reilly MF, Sorrells AM, Fragale CL, White PJ, Aguilar JM, Cole HA. {{Ethnicity Reporting Practices for Empirical Research in Three Autism-Related Journals}}. {J Autism Dev Disord}. 2014 Feb 4.
This review examines ethnicity reporting in three autism-related journals (Autism, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, and Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders) over a 6-year period. A comprehensive multistep search of articles is used to identify ethnicity as a demographic variable in these three journals. Articles that identified research participants’ ethnicity were further analyzed to determine the impact of ethnicity as a demographic variable on findings of each study. The results indicate that ethnicity has not been adequately reported in these three autism related journals even though previous recommendations have been made to improve inadequacies of descriptive information of research participants in autism research (Kistner and Robbins in J Autism Dev Disord 16:77-82, 1986). Implications for the field of autism spectrum disorders are discussed in addition to further recommendations for future research.
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18. Siller M, Swanson M, Gerber A, Hutman T, Sigman M. {{A Parent-Mediated Intervention That Targets Responsive Parental Behaviors Increases Attachment Behaviors in Children with ASD: Results from a Randomized Clinical Trial}}. {J Autism Dev Disord}. 2014 Feb 2.
The current study is a randomized clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of Focused Playtime Intervention (FPI) in a sample of 70 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This parent-mediated intervention has previously been shown to significantly increase responsive parental communication (Siller et al. in J Autism Dev Disord 43:540-555, 2013a). The current analyses focus on children’s attachment related outcomes. Results revealed that children who were randomly assigned to FPI showed bigger increases in attachment-related behaviors, compared to children assigned to the control condition. Significant treatment effects of FPI were found for both an observational measure of attachment-related behaviors elicited during a brief separation-reunion episode and a questionnaire measure evaluating parental perceptions of child attachment. The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
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19. Tavano A, Pesarin A, Murino V, Cristani M. {{Automatic conversational scene analysis in children with asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism and typically developing peers}}. {PloS one}. 2014;9(1):e85819.
Individuals with Asperger syndrome/High Functioning Autism fail to spontaneously attribute mental states to the self and others, a life-long phenotypic characteristic known as mindblindness. We hypothesized that mindblindness would affect the dynamics of conversational interaction. Using generative models, in particular Gaussian mixture models and observed influence models, conversations were coded as interacting Markov processes, operating on novel speech/silence patterns, termed Steady Conversational Periods (SCPs). SCPs assume that whenever an agent’s process changes state (e.g., from silence to speech), it causes a general transition of the entire conversational process, forcing inter-actant synchronization. SCPs fed into observed influence models, which captured the conversational dynamics of children and adolescents with Asperger syndrome/High Functioning Autism, and age-matched typically developing participants. Analyzing the parameters of the models by means of discriminative classifiers, the dialogs of patients were successfully distinguished from those of control participants. We conclude that meaning-free speech/silence sequences, reflecting inter-actant synchronization, at least partially encode typical and atypical conversational dynamics. This suggests a direct influence of theory of mind abilities onto basic speech initiative behavior.
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20. Tudor ME, Walsh CE, Mulder EC, Lerner MD. {{Pain as a predictor of sleep problems in youth with autism spectrum disorders}}. {Autism}. 2014 Feb 4.
Evidence suggests that pain interferes with sleep in youth with developmental disabilities. This study examined the relationship between pain and sleep problems in a sample of youth with parent-reported autism spectrum disorder (N = 62). Mothers reported on standardized measures of pain and sleep problems. Youth demonstrated atypically high levels of both observed pain and sleep problems. Pain predicted overall sleep disturbance and three specific sleep problems: sleep duration, parasomnias, and sleep-disordered breathing. These specific sleep problems were predicted by specific modalities of nonverbal pain communication (e.g. sleep duration problems were predicted by social communication of pain). Effects were consistent across probing of relevant moderators. These findings suggest that comprehensive assessment of both pain and sleep problems may provide important information for medical and behavioral treatment planning for youth with autism spectrum disorder.
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21. Vara AS, Pang EW, Doyle-Thomas KA, Vidal J, Taylor MJ, Anagnostou E. {{Is inhibitory control a ‘no-go’ in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder?}}. {Molecular autism}. 2014 Jan 31;5(1):6.
BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a range of neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by social communication deficits, repetitive behaviours, and restrictive interests. Impaired inhibition has been suggested to exacerbate the core symptoms of ASD. This is particularly critical during adolescence when social skills are maturing to adult levels. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we identified the location and timing pattern of neural activity associated with inhibition in adolescents with autism, compared to typically developing adolescents. METHODS: The MEG data from 15 adolescents with ASD and 15 age-matched controls (13 to 17 years) were collected during a go/no-go task with inverse ratios of go/no-go trials in two conditions: an inhibition condition (1:2) and a baseline condition (2:1). No-go trials from the two conditions were analyzed using beamformer source localizations from 200 ms to 400 ms post-stimulus onset. Significant activations were determined using permutation testing. RESULTS: Adolescents with ASD recruited first the right middle frontal gyrus (200 to 250 ms) followed by the left postcentral gyrus (250 to 300 ms) and finally the left middle frontal and right medial frontal gyri (300 to 400 ms). Typically developing adolescents recruited first the left middle frontal gyrus (200 to 250 ms), followed by the left superior and inferior frontal gyri (250 to 300 ms), then the right middle temporal gyrus (300 to 350 ms), and finally the superior and precentral gyri and right inferior lobule (300 to 400 ms). CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents with ASD showed recruitment limited largely to the frontal cortex unlike typically developing adolescents who recruited parietal and temporal regions as well. These findings support the presence of an atypical, restricted inhibitory network in adolescents with ASD compared to controls.
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22. Westerfield MA, Zinni M, Vo K, Townsend J. {{Tracking the Sensory Environment: An ERP Study of Probability and Context Updating in ASD}}. {J Autism Dev Disord}. 2014 Feb 2.
We recorded visual event-related brain potentials from 32 adult male participants (16 high-functioning participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 16 control participants, ranging in age from 18 to 53 years) during a three-stimulus oddball paradigm. Target and non-target stimulus probability was varied across three probability conditions, whereas the probability of a third non-target stimulus was held constant in all conditions. P3 amplitude to target stimuli was more sensitive to probability in ASD than in typically developing participants, whereas P3 amplitude to non-target stimuli was less responsive to probability in ASD participants. This suggests that neural responses to changes in event probability are attention-dependant in high-functioning ASD. The implications of these findings for higher-level behaviors such as prediction and planning are discussed.
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23. Whitaker-Azmitia PM, Lobel M, Moyer A. {{Low maternal progesterone may contribute to both obstetrical complications and autism}}. {Medical hypotheses}. 2014 Jan 14.
Studies show increased autism risk among children born to mothers experiencing obstetrical complications. Although this is usually interpreted as suggesting that the obstetrical complications could be causing autism, it is possible that a single factor could be responsible for both complications and autism. We hypothesized that low levels of the hormone progesterone is responsible since it is supplied to the fetus maternally and does not only support pregnancy but also promotes brain development. Following a review of the literature, we report findings from a survey of mothers of autistic children (n=86) compared to mothers of typically-developing children (n=88) regarding obstetrical histories, including five obstetrical risk factors indicative of low progesterone. Using this analysis, the ASD group had significantly more risk factors than controls (1.21+/-0.09 vs. 0.76+/-0.08, p<.0001), suggesting low progesterone. Thus, results suggest that low progesterone may be responsible for both obstetrical complications and brain changes associated with autism and that progesterone levels should be routinely monitored in at-risk pregnancies. Our hypothesis also suggests that ensuring adequate levels of progesterone may decrease the likelihood of autism.
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24. Zhang W, Yan TT, Du YS, Liu XH. {{Brief Report: Effects of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Group-Work on Promoting Post-traumatic Growth of Mothers Who Have a Child with ASD}}. {J Autism Dev Disord}. 2014 Feb 1.
The study evaluated the impact of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) group-work on the post-traumatic growth (PTG) of mothers who have a child with ASD. A quasi-experimental design was used in which 43 mothers participated. 18 mothers in 2 SFBT groups (n = 9 in each group) received a 6-session SFBT group therapy while 25 mothers in a control group received no treatment. The Post-traumatic Growth Inventory was used to measure the PTG levels of the participants at baseline, post-treatment and 6-month follow-up assessments. Mothers who attended SFBT group-work reported higher PTG scores both at post-treatment (t = 4.065, p = .001) and 6-month follow-up (t = 2.980, p = .006) assessments. Further investigations to prove whether SFBT in groups can increase the positivity of clients would promote the use of SFBT.
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25. Zuckerman KE, Hill AP, Guion K, Voltolina L, Fombonne E. {{Overweight and Obesity: Prevalence and Correlates in a Large Clinical Sample of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord}. 2014 Feb 2.
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) and childhood obesity (OBY) are rising public health concerns. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of overweight (OWT) and OBY in a sample of 376 Oregon children with ASD, and to assess correlates of OWT and OBY in this sample. We used descriptive statistics, bivariate, and focused multivariate analyses to determine whether socio-demographic characteristics, ASD symptoms, ASD cognitive and adaptive functioning, behavioral problems, and treatments for ASD were associated with OWT and OBY in ASD. Overall 18.1 % of children met criteria for OWT and 17.0 % met criteria for OBY. OBY was associated with sleep difficulties, melatonin use, and affective problems. Interventions that consider unique needs of children with ASD may hold promise for improving weight status among children with ASD.
