1. Bhat AN, Galloway JC, Landa RJ. {{Social and non-social visual attention patterns and associative learning in infants at risk for autism}}. {J Child Psychol Psychiatry} (Apr 26)

Background: Social inattention is common in children with autism whereas associative learning capabilities are considered a relative strength. Identifying early precursors of impairment associated with autism could lead to earlier identification of this disorder. The present study compared social and non-social visual attention patterns as well as associative learning in infant siblings of children with autism (AU sibs) and low-risk (LR) infants at 6 months of age. Methods: Twenty-five AU sibs and 25 LR infants were observed in a novel social-object learning task, within which attention to social and non-social cues was contrasted. Video recorded data were coded for percent duration of gaze to objects or caregiver. Movement rates to activate the toy within the associative learning task were also quantified. Results: Both groups learned the association between moving a switch and activating a cause-effect toy. AU sibs spent less time looking at caregivers and more time looking at the toy or joystick when their caregivers made no attempts to engage their attention. However, response to caregiver-initiated social bids was comparable for both groups. Conclusions: Infrequent self-initiated socially directed gaze may be an early marker of later social and communication delays.

2. Castorina LL, Negri LM. {{The Inclusion of Siblings in Social Skills Training Groups for Boys With Asperger Syndrome}}. {J Autism Dev Disord} (May 12)

This pilot investigation evaluated the effectiveness of siblings as generalisation agents in an 8-week social skills training (SST) program designed for boys with Asperger syndrome (AS). Twenty-one boys aged 8-12 participated in a SST group alone, with a sibling, or remained in a wait-list control group. After training, participants’ identification of non-verbal social cues significantly improved and was maintained at 3-month follow-up, irrespective of sibling involvement. Similar trends existed for participants’ ability to accurately interpret emotions relative to controls. Improvements did not extend to parent and teacher ratings on standardised social skills measures, suggesting poor generalisation, or questionable sensitivity of measures to taught skills. Results suggest some promise in improving social skills training for children with AS.

3. James SJ, Melnyk S, Jernigan S, Pavliv O, Trusty T, Lehman S, Seidel L, Gaylor DW, Cleves MA. {{A functional polymorphism in the reduced folate carrier gene and DNA hypomethylation in mothers of children with autism}}. {Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet} (May 12)

The biologic basis of autism is complex and is thought to involve multiple and variable gene-environment interactions. While the logical focus has been on the affected child, the impact of maternal genetics on intrauterine microenvironment during pivotal developmental windows could be substantial. Folate-dependent one carbon metabolism is a highly polymorphic pathway that regulates the distribution of one-carbon derivatives between DNA synthesis (proliferation) and DNA methylation (cell-specific gene expression and differentiation). These pathways are essential to support the programmed shifts between proliferation and differentiation during embryogenesis and organogenesis. Maternal genetic variants that compromise intrauterine availability of folate derivatives could alter fetal cell trajectories and disrupt normal neurodevelopment. In this investigation, the frequency of common functional polymorphisms in the folate pathway was investigated in a large population-based sample of autism case-parent triads. In case-control analysis, a significant increase in the reduced folate carrier (RFC1) G allele frequency was found among case mothers, but not among fathers or affected children. Subsequent log linear analysis of the RFC1 A80G genotype within family trios revealed that the maternal G allele was associated with a significant increase in risk of autism whereas the inherited genotype of the child was not. Further, maternal DNA from the autism mothers was found to be significantly hypomethylated relative to reference control DNA. Metabolic profiling indicated that plasma homocysteine, adenosine, and S-adenosylhomocyteine were significantly elevated among autism mothers consistent with reduced methylation capacity and DNA hypomethylation. Together, these results suggest that the maternal genetics/epigenetics may influence fetal predisposition to autism. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

4. Keehn B, Lincoln AJ, Muller RA, Townsend J. {{Attentional networks in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder}}. {J Child Psychol Psychiatry} (Apr 26)

Background: Individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit lifelong abnormalities in the adaptive allocation of visual attention. The ubiquitous nature of attentional impairments in ASD has led some authors to hypothesize that atypical attentional modulation may be a factor in the development of higher-level sociocommunicative deficits. Method: Participants were 20 children with ASD and 20 age- and Nonverbal IQ-matched typically developing (TD) children. We used the Attention Network Test (ANT) to investigate the efficiency and independence of three discrete attentional networks: alerting, orienting, and executive control. Additionally, we sought to investigate the relationship between each attentional network and measures of sociocommunicative symptom severity in children with ASD. Results: Results indicate that the orienting, but not alerting or executive control, networks may be impaired in children with ASD. In contrast to TD children, correlational analyses suggest that the alerting and executive control networks may not function as independently in children with ASD. Additionally, an association was found between the alerting network and social impairment and between the executive control network and IQ in children with ASD. Conclusions: The results provide further evidence of an impairment in the visuospatial orienting network in ASD and suggest that there may be greater interdependence of alerting and executive control networks in ASD. Furthermore, decreased ability to efficiently modulate levels of alertness was related to increased sociocommunicative deficits, suggesting that domain-general attentional function may be associated with ASD symptomatology.

5. Verhulst FC. {{[Autism spectrum disorders: the word is not a disease]}}. {Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd};154(15):A1748.

In the Netherlands, a rising number of children are being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. It is unlikely that this rise is due to an increase in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder. There is no indication that the current level of behavioural and emotional problems of children in the Netherlands is higher than 20 years ago. Moreover, the level of behavioural and emotional problems of children in the Netherlands is comparable to that of children elsewhere. This rise might, however, be explained by a lack of reliability in making this diagnosis. Autism spectrum disorders should not be regarded as a disease entity that is either present or absent but as a mix of the behavioural and cognitive characteristics of a child. This change in the concept of diagnosing autism spectrum disorders may enhance diagnostic comparability and result in the needs of children and their parents being better supported.