1. Arunachalam S, Steele A, Pelletier T, Luyster R. Do focused interests support word learning? A study with autistic and nonautistic children. Autism Res;2024 (Mar 11)

Although focused interests are often associated with a diagnosis of autism, they are common in nonautistic individuals as well. Previous studies have explored how these interests impact cognitive, social, and language development. While some research has suggested that strong interests can detract from learning (particularly for autistic children), newer research has indicated that they can be advantageous. In this pre-registered study, we asked whether focused interests support word learning in 44 autistic children and a vocabulary-matched sample of 44 nonautistic children (mean ages 58 and 34 months respectively). In a word-learning task administered over Zoom, children were exposed to an action labeled by a novel word. The action was either depicted by their focused interest or by a neutral image; stimuli were personalized for each child. At test, they were asked to identify the referent of the novel word, and their eye gaze was evaluated as a measure of learning. The preregistered analyses revealed an effect of focused interests, and post-hoc analyses clarified that autistic children learned the novel word in both the focused interest and neutral conditions, while nonautistic children only showed evidence of learning in the neutral condition. These results suggest that focused interests are not disruptive for vocabulary learning in autism, and thus they could be utilized in programming that supports early language learning in this population.

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2. Feijs HME, van Aken L, van der Veld WM, van der Heijden PT, Egger JIM. No relations between executive functions and dimensional models of psychopathology or is time the missing link?. PLoS One;2024;19(3):e0288386.

Impaired executive functions (EF) have been found within various mental disorders (e.g., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia spectrum disorders) as described in DSM-5. However, although impaired EF has been observed within several categories of mental disorders, empirical research on direct relations between EF and broader dimension of psychopathology is still scarce. Therefore, in the current investigation we examined relations between three EF performance tasks and self-reported dimensions of psychopathology (i.e., the internalizing, externalizing, and thought disorder spectra) in a combined dataset of patients with a broad range of mental disorders (N = 440). Despite previously reported results that indicate impaired EF in several categories of mental disorders, in this study no direct relations were found between EF performance tasks and self-reported broader dimensions of psychopathology. These results indicate that relations between EF and psychopathology could be more complex and non-linear in nature. We evaluate the need for integration of EF and dimensional models of psychopathology and reflect on EF as a possible transdiagnostic factor of psychopathology.

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3. Huang L, Saint Onge JM. Differences in Healthcare Utilization in Children with Developmental Disabilities Following Value-Based Care Coordination Policies. J Healthc Manag;2024 (Mar-Apr 01);69(2):140-155.

GOAL: To address healthcare spending growth, coordinate care, and improve primary care utilization, a majority of states in the United States have adopted value-based care coordination programs. The objective of this study was to identify changes in national healthcare utilization for children with developmental disabilities (DDs), a high-cost and high-need population, following the broad adoption of value-based care coordination policies. METHODS: This retrospective study included 9,109 children with DDs and used data from 2002-2018 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. We applied an interrupted time series design approach to compare pre- and post-Affordable Care Act (ACA) care coordination policies concerning healthcare utilization outcomes, including outpatient visits, home provider days, emergency department (ED) visits, inpatient discharge, and inpatient nights of stay. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We found statistically significant increases in low-cost care post-ACA, including outpatient visits (5% higher, p < .001) and home provider days (11% higher, p < .001). The study findings also showed a statistically significant increase in inpatient nights of stay post-ACA (4% higher, p = .001). There were no changes in the number of ED and inpatient visits. Overall, broad implementation of care coordination programs was associated with increased utilization of low-cost care without increases in the number of high-cost ED and inpatient visits for children with DDs. Our study also found changes in population composition among children with DDs post-ACA, including increases in Hispanic (16.9% post-ACA vs. 13.4% pre-ACA, p = .006) and non-Hispanic multiracial children (9.1% post-ACA vs. 5.5% pre-ACA, p = .001), a decrease in non-Hispanic Whites (60.2% post-ACA vs. 68.6% pre-ACA, p = .001), more public-only insurance (44.3% post-ACA vs. 35.7% pre-ACA, p = .001), fewer children with DDs from middle-income families (27.4% post-ACA vs. 32.8% pre-ACA, p < .001), and more children with DDs from poor families (28.2% post-ACA vs. 25.1% pre-ACA, p = .043). PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: These findings highlight the importance of continued support for broad care coordination programs for U.S. children with DDs and potentially others with complex chronic conditions. Policymakers and healthcare leaders might consider improving care transitions from inpatient to community or home settings by overcoming barriers such as payment models and the lack of home care nurses who can manage complex chronic conditions. Healthcare leaders also need to understand and consider the changing population composition when implementing care coordination-related policies. This study provides data regarding trends in hospital and home care utilization and evidence of the effectiveness of care coordination policies before the COVID-19 interruption. These findings apply to current healthcare management because COVID-19 has incentivized home care, which may have a strong potential to minimize high-cost care for people with complex chronic conditions. More research is warranted to continue monitoring care coordination changes over a longer period.

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4. Imanpour S, Ullah R. Barriers and mediators for routine dental care visits from the experiences of immigrant parents of autistic children living in the United States. Spec Care Dentist;2024 (Mar 10)

INTRODUCTION: Immigrants are reluctant to attend routine dental care visits. Moreover, children with autism have a higher chance of developing periodontal disease. In this study, we describe the experiences of immigrant parents with autistic children and the barriers and mediators to routine dental care visits for their children in the United States. METHOD: We conducted semistructured interviews with 19 immigrants who have children with autism. RESULTS: We found that lack of transportation, support system, and insurance; prioritization of basic needs; and a mistrust of healthcare providers are the main barriers to attending routine dental care visits for autistic children of immigrant parents. Moreover, staff who consider the needs of children with autism, spend ample time with children with autism, and help with navigating the health system can improve access to routine dental care visits for autistic children with immigrant parents. This study found that despite their immigration status, all parents want to see improvements in the oral health of their children with special needs. CONCLUSION: This study aimed to unpack the structural barriers and mediators to routine dental care visits for autistic children of immigrant parents. We found that removing structural barriers to care and utilizing mediators will enhance the outcome of routine dental care, resulting in healthier oral hygiene.

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5. Kadi R, Gayed F, Kauzman P, Amam Ali Z, Dmitriev I, Mikhael V, Ghabi R, Hamamji J, Jabbour S, Mrchak M, Guirguis N, Metras ME, Becciolini L, Vassel FM, Gutzeit A, Cresson J, Froehlich JM, Higgs T, Dufour MM, Matoori S. Autism spectrum disorder: Practice guidelines for pharmacists. Can Pharm J (Ott);2024 (Mar-Apr);157(2):58-65.

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6. Kempner K, Dixon MW, Failla MD, Hadley S, Worthen-Chaudhari L. Structured, Creative Dance Classes for Children with Developmental Disabilities: A Pilot Study of Feasibility and Preliminary Effect on Motor Function. J Dance Med Sci;2024 (Mar 10):1089313×241237007.

INTRODUCTION: Promoting physical wellness for preschool-aged children with developmental disorders (DD) is a known challenge. Interventions are more likely to succeed when physical activity opportunities are available to children within the context of their typical environments. We evaluated the feasibility and preliminary effect of 1 potential solution: structured creative dance classes delivered within a preschool environment. METHODS: Using a non-randomized feasibility study design, we offered physical activity in the form of creative dance classes for children with and without DD within an inclusive preschool. Classes lasted 30 minutes and were held once a week or 7 weeks. We measured attendance (primary), observed active participation (% of class duration), and balance (Pediatric Balance Scale). Non-parametric descriptive statistics are expressed as median (interquartile range). Balance was evaluated regarding (a) difference between groups at baseline (Mann-Whitney statistic) and (b) intervention effect for children with DD (1-tailed, paired t-test). RESULTS: Twelve preschoolers (age range = 3-5 years) participated: 4 with DD and 8 with neurotypical development. Attendance was 93% (79%-100%) for children with and 100% for children without DD. Per class, rate of active participation in dance activity was 33% (28%-45%) for children with and 80% (71%-82%) for children without DD. Starting balance scores were lower (P = .014) for children with DD (42 (39-45)) compared to those without (51 (50-52)). Post-intervention, balance scores improved for the children with DD to 50 (50-51) (df = 3, p = .014, t-statistic = 2.35); each child with DD surpassed minimal detectable change for balance. CONCLUSION: Creative dance classes, delivered within an inclusive preschool environment, are feasible for some preschool-aged children with DD to participate in and efficacious as a physical training challenge at low activity doses. More study is warranted of this potential solution to meet the need for physical wellness promotion among young children with DD.

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7. Leblanc L, Genest C, Villemaire J, Dodin P, Gauvin-Lepage J. Management of Procedural Pain and Anxiety in Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Scoping Review. Pain Manag Nurs;2024 (Mar 9)

BACKGROUND: Although there is a body of literature on the implementation of interventions to manage procedural pain and anxiety in youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), we found no literature presenting the current state of knowledge on this topic. OBJECTIVES: To review the state of knowledge on interventions for the management of procedural pain and anxiety in children and adolescents with ASD. METHOD: A scoping review using PRISMA-ScR was conducted. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, MEDLINE, all EBM reviews, Embase, APA PsychInfo, EBSCO CINAHL, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global databases were searched. Gray literature was also searched. ANALYSIS METHOD: Braun and Clarke’s (2006) model for thematic analysis in psychology was used to synthesize the search results. RESULTS: Thirty articles were selected. Analysis of the extracted data revealed four elements of intervention for better management of procedural pain and anxiety in the study population: 1) characteristics of the procedure and the immediate environment; 2) parent-child interactions; 3) health care provider-child interactions; and 4) direct pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Nurses must be able to implement appropriate interventions for the management of procedural pain and anxiety in youth with an autism spectrum disorder.

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8. Milton DE, Green J. Theorising autism. Autism;2024 (Mar 11):13623613241235786.

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9. Ouellette J, Crouch EE, Morel JL, Coelho-Santos V, Lacoste B. A Vascular-Centric Approach to Autism Spectrum Disorders. Neurosci Insights;2024;19:26331055241235921.

Brain development and function are highly reliant on adequate establishment and maintenance of vascular networks. Early impairments in vascular health can impact brain maturation and energy metabolism, which may lead to neurodevelopmental anomalies. Our recent work not only provides novel insights into the development of cerebrovascular networks but also emphasizes the importance of their well-being for proper brain maturation. In particular, we have demonstrated that endothelial dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) mouse models is causally related to altered behavior and brain metabolism. In the prenatal human brain, vascular cells change metabolic states in the second trimester. Such findings highlight the need to identify new cellular and molecular players in neurodevelopmental disorders, raising awareness about the importance of a healthy vasculature for brain development. It is thus essential to shift the mostly neuronal point of view in research on ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders to also include vascular and metabolic features.

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10. Potter SN, Harvey D, Sterling A, Abbeduto L. Parental Responsivity and Child Communication During Mother-Child and Father-Child Interactions in Fragile X Syndrome. J Speech Lang Hear Res;2024 (Mar 11);67(3):939-959.

PURPOSE: Past research shows that parentally responsive behavior toward the child positively influences language development in both neurotypical children and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including those with fragile X syndrome (FXS); however, most studies have focused exclusively on the mother-child relationship. The current study examined relationships between parent behavior (i.e., responsivity and behavior management) and child language performance in both mother-child and father-child interactions, as well as relationships between child characteristics and both parent behavior and child language. METHOD: Participants were 23 families of young boys with FXS between 3 and 7 years of age. Mothers and fathers independently completed questionnaires assessing child characteristics and separately engaged in 12-min play-based interactions with their child via telehealth. One parent also completed a comprehensive interview assessing child adaptive behavior. Video recordings of the parent-child interactions were transcribed and coded for parent and child behavior, and measures of parent and child language were obtained from the transcripts. RESULTS: Mothers and fathers used similar rates of responsive behaviors during parent-child interactions, and parental responsivity was positively associated with some aspects of child language performance (i.e., talkativeness and lexical diversity). Parental behavior, however, was not associated with syntactic complexity. Older children and children with higher levels of adaptive behavior had parents who used higher rates of responsive behaviors. Fathers used higher rates of behavior management strategies compared to mothers, and this type of parent behavior was not associated with child language. CONCLUSION: Overall, this study provides evidence that interventions focused on increasing parental responsiveness would be beneficial for families of children with FXS and that these interventions should be delivered early given the association between responsivity and child age. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25229939.

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11. Radev S, Freeth M, Thompson AR. How healthcare systems are experienced by autistic adults in the United Kingdom: A meta-ethnography. Autism;2024 (Mar 11):13623613241235531.

Autistic adults are more likely to experience mental and physical health difficulties, and yet can find it difficult to get the support that they need. A meta-ethnographic approach was used to review the existing research on autistic adults’ experiences of accessing healthcare. Four databases were searched for qualitative and mixed-method studies which looked at the experiences of autistic adults who did not also have a learning disability when using healthcare services in the United Kingdom. Fifteen papers met the criteria to be included, and seven steps were used to analyse the information and develop new themes. Three main themes were identified: Professionals’ lack of knowledge can be damaging, Need to reduce processing demands and Adaptation to improve engagement. This review highlights how damaging misdiagnosis, inappropriate treatment, overwhelming environments and systems that are difficult to access can have on the well-being of autistic adults. Limited knowledge and understanding about autism knowledge among healthcare professionals along with autistic adult’s own communication and sensory differences indicate that there is a need for improved training developed with autistic adults and adaptations.

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12. Rodriguez KE, Rispoli M, Kelleher BL, MacLean EL, O’Haire ME. The effects of service dogs for children with autism spectrum disorder and their caregivers: a cross-sectional study. Front Psychiatry;2024;15:1355970.

INTRODUCTION: Service dogs are an increasingly popular complementary intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder. However, despite increasing demand, there remains a lack of empirical research on their potential benefits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of service dogs on children with autism and their caregivers. METHODS: A total of N = 75 families of children with autism were recruited from a non-profit service dog provider in the US, including n = 39 families previously placed with a service dog and n = 36 families engaging in usual care while on the waitlist. Caregivers completed an online survey containing both self- and proxy-report standardized measures of child, caregiver, and family functioning. Linear regressions modeled the relationship between service dog presence and survey outcomes, controlling for relevant child and caregiver covariates. RESULTS: Results indicated that having a service dog was associated with significantly better child sleep behaviors, including better sleep initiation and duration and less sleep anxiety/co-sleeping with medium effect sizes. However, service dog presence was not significantly related to child withdrawal, negative emotionality, emotional self-control, hyperactivity, irritability, and lethargy with small effect sizes. For caregivers, having a service dog was not significantly related to standardized measures of caregiver strain, sleep disturbance, depression, or the impact of the child’s condition on family functioning with small effect sizes. Supplemental matched case-control analyses confirmed these findings. DISCUSSION: In conclusion, service dogs were found to positively impact sleep behaviors among children with autism, but may not uniformly relate to other areas of child and caregiver wellbeing. Prospective longitudinal designs, larger sample sizes able to detect small effects, and studies that measure sleep using objective methods are needed to build on these findings.

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13. Shimoyama S, Endo T. Revisiting the Link: A qualitative analysis of the diverse experiences of gender dysphoria as a subset of pervasive social dysphoria co-occurring with autism in Japan. Autism;2024 (Mar 11):13623613241235722.

Studies have suggested that autistic people are more likely to experience gender dysphoria, which refers to the gender-related distress emerging from personal factors and gender norms that some transgender people experience. Transgender people are diverse; some experience gender incongruence (i.e. an incompatibility between a person’s gender identity and that expected of them based on their birth-assigned gender), whereas others do not. Therefore, the association of autistic transgender people’s gender dysphoria with gender incongruence varies, and the literature has overlooked such diversity. Interviews with 15 Japanese autistic transgender adults revealed diverse gender dysphoria experiences independent of gender incongruence, such as resistance to the societal gender norms themselves, physical dysphoria caused by the imposition of gender, sensory disgust related to autistic sensory sensitivities, uncertainty about the gender norms of the social majority, and the autistic burden of living in a gendered society. Moreover, we found that most participants had not only accumulated distress over gender norms (i.e. gender dysphoria) but also over pervasive social norms, termed Pervasive Social Dysphoria. Our findings suggests that future co-occurrence research and practice must affirm these internal perspectives more, such as by providing support for both gender dysphoria and Pervasive Social Dysphoria, as autistic transgender people may experience gender dysphoria as a subset of Pervasive Social Dysphoria.

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14. Shrivastava T, Singh V, Agrawal A. Autism spectrum disorder detection with kNN imputer and machine learning classifiers via questionnaire mode of screening. Health Inf Sci Syst;2024 (Dec);12(1):18.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder. ASD cannot be fully cured, but early-stage diagnosis followed by therapies and rehabilitation helps an autistic person to live a quality life. Clinical diagnosis of ASD symptoms via questionnaire and screening tests such as Autism Spectrum Quotient-10 (AQ-10) and Quantitative Check-list for Autism in Toddlers (Q-chat) are expensive, inaccessible, and time-consuming processes. Machine learning (ML) techniques are beneficial to predict ASD easily at the initial stage of diagnosis. The main aim of this work is to classify ASD and typical developed (TD) class data using ML classifiers. In our work, we have used different ASD data sets of all age groups (toddlers, adults, children, and adolescents) to classify ASD and TD cases. We implemented One-Hot encoding to translate categorical data into numerical data during preprocessing. We then used kNN Imputer with MinMaxScaler feature transformation to handle missing values and data normalization. ASD and TD class data is classified using Support vector machine, k-nearest-neighbor (KNN), random forest (RF), and artificial neural network classifiers. RF gives the best performance in terms of the accuracy of 100% with different training and testing data split for all four types of data sets and has no over-fitting issue. We have also examined our results with already published work, including recent methods like Deep Neural Network (DNN) and Convolution Neural Network (CNN). Even using complex architectures like DNN and CNN, our proposed methods provide the best results with low-complexity models. In contrast, existing methods have shown accuracy upto 98% with log-loss upto 15%. Our proposed methodology demonstrates the improved generalization for real-time ASD detection during clinical trials.

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15. Terner M, Israel-Yaacov S, Golan O. Sex differences in autism screening: An examination of the Childhood Autism Spectrum Test-Hebrew version. Autism;2024 (Mar 11):13623613241235053.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition, characterized by social communication alterations and restricted, repetitive behaviors. Typically diagnosed in early childhood, screening and diagnosis at a later age can be challenging, particularly in girls who exhibit a wider range of behaviors and characteristics. Our study set out to examine the effectiveness of the Hebrew translation of the Childhood Autism Spectrum Test, a parent report questionnaire, in identifying these diverse characteristics of autism within an Israeli sample of boys and girls. We examined parent reports on 403 (211 autistic, 192 non-autistic) children, aged 4-12 years. Results revealed the Childhood Autism Spectrum Test-Hebrew version was a valuable tool in differentiating between autistic and typically developing children, correctly identifying 93% of children with autism and 82% of typically developing children. In addition, specific items of the Childhood Autism Spectrum Test-Hebrew version were particularly useful in differentiating between autistic and non-autistic boys and autistic and non-autistic girls. Using these items, in addition to the overall score of the questionnaire, increased the correct identification of children as autistic or typically developing, especially in girls. The Childhood Autism Spectrum Test-Hebrew version test results corresponded well with the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, which relies on parental input, but not with the clinician-administered Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2. Our findings highlight the potential benefits of gender-specific tools to better support correct identification of autism in boys and in girls. More research is recommended to further explore these gender differences and to validate our findings with a larger, diverse group.

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16. Wakuda T, Benner S, Uemura Y, Nishimura T, Kojima M, Kuroda M, Matsumoto K, Kanai C, Inada N, Harada T, Kameno Y, Munesue T, Inoue J, Umemura K, Yamauchi A, Ogawa N, Kushima I, Suyama S, Saito T, Hamada J, Kano Y, Honda N, Kikuchi S, Seto M, Tomita H, Miyoshi N, Matsumoto M, Kawaguchi Y, Kanai K, Ikeda M, Nakamura I, Isomura S, Hirano Y, Onitsuka T, Ozaki N, Kosaka H, Okada T, Kuwabara H, Yamasue H. Oxytocin-induced increases in cytokines and clinical effect on the core social features of autism: Analyses of RCT datasets. Brain Behav Immun;2024 (Mar 8);118:398-407.

Although oxytocin may provide a novel therapeutics for the core features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), previous results regarding the efficacy of repeated or higher dose oxytocin are controversial, and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The current study is aimed to clarify whether repeated oxytocin alter plasma cytokine levels in relation to clinical changes of autism social core feature. Here we analyzed cytokine concentrations using comprehensive proteomics of plasmas of 207 adult males with high-functioning ASD collected from two independent multi-center large-scale randomized controlled trials (RCTs): Testing effects of 4-week intranasal administrations of TTA-121 (A novel oxytocin spray with enhanced bioavailability: 3U, 6U, 10U, or 20U/day) and placebo in the crossover discovery RCT; 48U/day Syntocinon or placebo in the parallel-group verification RCT. Among the successfully quantified 17 cytokines, 4 weeks TTA-121 6U (the peak dose for clinical effects) significantly elevated IL-7 (9.74, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 3.59 to 15.90, False discovery rate corrected P (P(FDR)) < 0.001), IL-9 (56.64, 20.46 to 92.82, P(FDR) < 0.001) and MIP-1b (18.27, 4.96 to 31.57, P(FDR) < 0.001) compared with placebo. Inverted U-shape dose-response relationships peaking at TTA-121 6U were consistently observed for all these cytokines (IL-7: P < 0.001; IL-9: P < 0.001; MIP-1b: P = 0.002). Increased IL-7 and IL-9 in participants with ASD after 4 weeks TTA-121 6U administration compared with placebo was verified in the confirmatory analyses in the dataset before crossover (P(FDR) < 0.001). Furthermore, the changes in all these cytokines during 4 weeks of TTA-121 10U administration revealed associations with changes in reciprocity score, the original primary outcome, observed during the same period (IL-7: Coefficient = -0.05, -0.10 to 0.003, P = 0.067; IL-9: -0.01, -0.02 to -0.003, P = 0.005; MIP-1b: -0.02, -0.04 to -0.007, P = 0.005). These findings provide the first evidence for a role of interaction between oxytocin and neuroinflammation in the change of ASD core social features, and support the potential role of this interaction as a novel therapeutic seed. Trial registration: UMIN000015264, NCT03466671/UMIN000031412.

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17. Wang BX, Chen S, Zhou F, Liu J, Xiao C, Chan A, Tang T. English Prosodic Focus Marking by Cantonese Trilingual Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Speech Lang Hear Res;2024 (Mar 11);67(3):782-801.

PURPOSE: The current study investigated English prosodic focus marking by autistic and typically developing (TD) Cantonese trilingual children, and examined the potential differences in this regard compared to native English-speaking children. METHOD: Forty-eight participants were recruited with 16 speakers for each of the three groups (Cantonese-speaking autistic [CASD], Cantonese-speaking TD [CTD], and English-speaking TD [ETD] children), and prompt questions were designed to elicit desired focus type (i.e., broad, narrow, and contrastive focus). Mean duration, mean fundamental frequency (F0), F0 range, mean intensity, and F0 curves were used as the acoustic correlates for linear mixed-effects model fitting and functional data analyses in relation to groups and focus conditions (i.e., broad, narrow, and contrastive pre-, on-, and post-focus). RESULTS: The CTD group had post-focus compression (PFC) patterns via reducing mean duration, narrowing F0 range, and lowering mean F0, F0 curve, and mean intensity for words under both narrow and contrastive post-focus conditions, while the CASD group only had shortened mean duration and lowered F0 curves. However, neither the CTD group nor CASD group showed much of on-focus expansion (OFE) patterns. The ETD group marked OFE by increasing mean duration, mean F0, mean intensity, and higher F0 curve for words under on-focus conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The CTD group utilized more acoustic cues than the CASD group when it comes to PFC. The ETD group differed from the CASD and CTD groups in the use of OFE. Furthermore, both the CASD and CTD groups showed positive first language transfer in the use of duration and intensity and, potentially, successful acquisition in the use of F0 for prosodic focus marking. Meanwhile, the differences in the use of OFE between the Cantonese-speaking and English-speaking groups, not PFC, might indicate that Cantonese-speaking children acquire PFC prior to OFE.

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18. Ye J, Fan H, Shi R, Song G, Wu X, Wang D, Xia B, Zhao Z, Zhao B, Liu X, Wang Y, Dai X. Dietary lipoic acid alleviates autism-like behavior induced by acrylamide in adolescent mice: the potential involvement of the gut-brain axis. Food Funct;2024 (Mar 11)

Consuming fried foods has been associated with an increased susceptibility to mental health disorders. Nevertheless, the impact of alpha-lipoic acid (α-LA, LA) on fried food-induced autism-like behavior remains unclear. This study aimed to explore how LA affects autism-related behavior and cognitive deficits caused by acrylamide in mice, a representative food hazard found in fried foods. This improvement was accomplished by enhanced synaptic plasticity, increased neurotrophin expression, elevated calcium-binding protein D28k, and restored serotonin. Additionally, LA substantially influenced the abundance of bacteria linked to autism and depression, simultaneously boosted short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels in fecal samples, and induced changes in serum amino acid concentrations. In summary, these findings suggested that exposure to acrylamide in adolescent mice could induce the development of social disorders in adulthood. LA showed promise as a nutritional intervention strategy to tackle emotional disorders during adolescence.

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19. Zhao S, Zhong Y, Shen F, Cheng X, Qing X, Liu J. Comprehensive exosomal microRNA profile and construction of competing endogenous RNA network in autism spectrum disorder: A pilot study. Biomol Biomed;2024 (Mar 11);24(2):292-301.

Exosomes have been demonstrated to exert momentous roles in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, few studies have reported a correlation between exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) and ASD. To date, our understanding of crucial competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks in ASD remains limited. Herein, the exosomal miRNA profile in the peripheral blood of children with ASD and healthy controls was investigated and the level of immune cell infiltration in ASD was evaluated to determine the distribution of immune cell subtypes. Exosomes were isolated from the peripheral blood of ten children with ASD and ten healthy controls, and further identified using transmission electron microscopy and western blot analysis. RNA sequencing was conducted to investigate exosomal miRNA profiles in patients with ASD. The mRNA and circular RNA (circRNA) expression profiles were acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs), miRNAs (DEmiRNAs), and circRNAs (DEcircRNAs) were identified and ceRNA regulatory networks were constructed. Furthermore, the immune cell infiltration levels in patients with ASD were evaluated. Exosomes were spherical, approximately 100 nm in size, and were confirmed via western blot analysis using exosome-associated markers CD9, CD63, and CD81. Thirty-five DEmRNAs, 63 DEmiRNAs, and 494 DEcircRNAs were identified in patients with ASD. CeRNA regulatory networks, including 6 DEmRNAs, 14 DEmiRNAs, and 86 DEcircRNAs, were established. Correlation analysis indicated that leucine-rich glioma inactivated protein 1 (LGI1) expression was significantly positively correlated with the content of CD8+ T cells. Our findings may be conducive to offering novel insights into this disease and providing further evidence of transcriptomic abnormalities in ASD.

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20. Zhu Y, Yang Q, Gu J, Chen Z, Jing N, Jin T, Lin J, Wang X, Hu J, Ji G, An Y. ‘Environmental standard limit concentration’ arsenic exposure is associated with anxiety, depression, and autism-like changes in early-life stage zebrafish. J Hazard Mater;2024 (Mar 5);469:133953.

Arsenic is a worldwide environmental pollutant that can impair human health. Previous studies have identified mental disorders induced by arsenic, but the environmental exposure concentrations in the early life stages associated with these disorders are poorly understood. In the present study, early-life stage zebrafish were used to explore the effects on mental disorders under ‘environmental standard limit concentrations’ arsenic exposures of 5, 10, 50, 150, and 500 μg/L. The results showed that arsenic exposure at these concentrations changed the locomotor behavior in larval zebrafish and was further associated with anxiety, depression, and autism-like behavior in both larval and juvenile zebrafish. Changes were noted at benchmark dose limit (BMDL) concentrations as low as 0.81 μg/L. Transcriptomics showed that immediate early genes (IEGs) fosab, egr1, egr2a, ier2b, egr3, and jund were decreased after arsenic exposure in larval and juvenile zebrafish. Nervous system impairment and anxiety, depression, and autism-like behaviors in early-life stage zebrafish at ‘environmental standard limit concentrations’ may be attributed to the downregulation of IEGs. These findings in zebrafish provided new experimental support for an arsenic toxicity threshold for mental disorders, and they suggest that low levels of environmental chemicals may be causative developmental factors for mental disorders.

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