1. Honda H. {{How can epidemiological studies contribute to understanding autism spectrum disorders?}}. {Brain Dev}. 2012.
More and more studies on the frequency of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been published recently, most of which show the increase in prevalence data. In this review, the author pointed out factors and parameters to be considered in analyzing frequency data, i.e., the enlargement of the concept of autism, prevalence and incidence, accuracy and precision in the initial screening, and the effect of the « vaccine debate ». The proportion of high-functioning ASD has been growing higher and higher due to better recognition in the last few years, and the apparent increase might still be the tip of an iceberg. Future epidemiological studies should include themes on diversity of the longitudinal course and re-conceptualization of ASD by dimensional diagnosis.
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2. Lakic A. {{Screening, identification and evaluation of autism spectrum disorders in primary health care}}. {Vojnosanit Pregl}. 2012; 69(5): 437-43.
3. McCabe A, Hillier A, Shapiro C. {{Brief Report: Structure of Personal Narratives of Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord}. 2012.
Young adults with High Functioning Autism and a matched comparison group told personal narratives using a standard conversational procedure. Longest narratives were determined (i.e., number of propositions included) and scored using an analysis that looks at the organization of a narrative around a highpoint. The group with Autism Spectrum Disorder produced narratives with significantly poorer HP macrostructure and introduced proportionately fewer propositions with conjunctions. Such impairments in the ability to make sense of personal experiences both reflect and contribute to difficulty in social-emotional functioning.
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4. Orekhova EV, Tsetlin MM, Butorina AV, Novikova SI, Gratchev VV, Sokolov PA, Elam M, Stroganova TA. {{Auditory Cortex Responses to Clicks and Sensory Modulation Difficulties in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)}}. {PLoS One}. 2012; 7(6): e39906.
Auditory sensory modulation difficulties are common in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and may stem from a faulty arousal system that compromises the ability to regulate an optimal response. To study neurophysiological correlates of the sensory modulation difficulties, we recorded magnetic field responses to clicks in 14 ASD and 15 typically developing (TD) children. We further analyzed the P100m, which is the most prominent component of the auditory magnetic field response in children and may reflect preattentive arousal processes. The P100m was rightward lateralized in the TD, but not in the ASD children, who showed a tendency toward P100m reduction in the right hemisphere (RH). The atypical P100m lateralization in the ASD subjects was associated with greater severity of sensory abnormalities assessed by Short Sensory Profile, as well as with auditory hypersensitivity during the first two years of life. The absence of right-hemispheric predominance of the P100m and a tendency for its right-hemispheric reduction in the ASD children suggests disturbance of the RH ascending reticular brainstem pathways and/or their thalamic and cortical projections, which in turn may contribute to abnormal arousal and attention. The correlation of sensory abnormalities with atypical, more leftward, P100m lateralization suggests that reduced preattentive processing in the right hemisphere and/or its shift to the left hemisphere may contribute to abnormal sensory behavior in ASD.
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5. Reed P, Osborne LA. {{The Role of Parenting Stress in Discrepancies Between Parent and Teacher Ratings of Behavior Problems in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord}. 2012.
The study assessed whether teacher and parent ratings of child behavior problems were similar for children with autism spectrum disorders. Two informants rated child behaviors in the same home environment, and the degree to which parenting stress impacted the similarity of the ratings was assessed. Overall behavior problem ratings did not differ between groups, but there was poor correspondence between the ratings for individual children, stress did not impact markedly on the discrepancies. Parent-teacher discrepancies in behavior ratings cannot be attributed entirely to differences in the assessment-environment, and there was little evidence of widespread impacts of parenting stress on these discrepant ratings. It was suggested that attention is needed in terms of the teacher characteristics when explaining such results.
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6. Tassone F, Choudhary NS, Durbin-Johnson B, Hansen R, Hertz-Picciotto I, Pessah I. {{Identification of Expanded Alleles of the FMR1 Gene in the CHildhood Autism Risks from Genes and Environment (CHARGE) Study}}. {J Autism Dev Disord}. 2012.
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a neuro-developmental disorder characterized by intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Expansion of a CGG trinucleotide repeat (>200 repeats) in the 5’UTR of the fragile X mental retardation gene, is the single most prevalent cause of cognitive disabilities. Several screening studies for FXS, among individuals with ID from different ethnic populations, have indicated that the prevalence of the syndrome varies between 0.5 and 16 %. Because the high co-morbidity with autism, we have conducted a screening study of the cohort from CHARGE, a large-scale, population-based, case control study. We have identified six subjects carrying an expanded allele, which emphasize the importance of screening for FXS in a population with intellectual disabilities and ASD.
