1. Almeida LE, Wang L, Khaibullina A, Quezado ZM. {{Nicotinic cholinergic system alterations and nitrous oxide exposure in a mouse model: a hypothesis for the pathobiology of autism spectrum disorder}}. {Psychopharmacology (Berl)};2016 (Oct 11)
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2. Bowler DM, Poirier M, Martin JS, Gaigg SB. {{Nonverbal short-term serial order memory in autism spectrum disorder}}. {J Abnorm Psychol};2016 (Oct);125(7):886-893.
To clarify the role of item and order memory in the serial recall of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we carried out 2 experiments in which adults with ASD and comparison participants matched on chronological age and verbal IQ saw sequences of 7 dots appear sequentially in a 3 x 4 grid. In Experiment 1 (serial recall), they had to recall the locations and the presentation order of the dots by tapping locations on an empty grid. In Experiment 2, (order reconstruction) the studied dots were provided at test and participants had to touch them in their order of appearance at study. Experiment 1 revealed diminished item and order recall in the ASD group; Experiment 2 revealed diminished order recall only when verbal IQ was controlled. The results support the view that people with ASD have particular difficulty with serial order recall but may use their language ability to achieve better serial recall performance. (PsycINFO Database Record
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3. Bryn V, Aass HC, Skjeldal OH, Isaksen J, Saugstad OD, Ormstad H. {{Cytokine Profile in Autism Spectrum Disorders in Children}}. {J Mol Neurosci};2016 (Oct 12)
The pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is not completely understood, but there is evidence of associations with altered immune responses. The aim of this study was to determine the serum levels of various cytokines in children with ASD and in healthy controls, in order to determine their role in ASD and its diagnostic subgroups. Sixty-five ASD patients were enrolled from an epidemiological survey in Norway, of which 30 were diagnosed with childhood autism, 16 with Asperger syndrome, 12 with atypical autism, 1 with Rett syndrome, and 6 with another ASD diagnosis. The serum levels of 12 cytokines were measured in all of the patients and in 30 healthy children. The cytokine levels did not differ significantly between the ASD group and the healthy controls. However, the interleukin-8 (IL-8) level was significantly higher (6.82 vs 4.58 pg/ml, p = 0.017) while that of IL-10 was significantly lower (2.24 vs 6.49 pg/ml, p = 0.009) in patients with childhood autism than in controls. Furthermore, the IL-8 level was significantly higher in childhood autism than in Asperger syndrome (6.82 vs 4.05 pg/ml, p = 0.013). Our study shows that the cytokine profile of children diagnosed with ASD, regardless of the subdiagnosis, does not differ from healthy controls. However, differentiation into different diagnostic subgroups reveals significantly different levels of IL-8 and IL-10. This indicates that different mechanisms may underlie the different ASD subdiagnoses. Future research into the pathophysiological mechanisms of ASD should pay more attention to the different subdiagnoses of ASD.
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4. David N, Schneider TR, Peiker I, Al-Jawahiri R, Engel AK, Milne E. {{Variability of cortical oscillation patterns: A possible endophenotype in autism spectrum disorders?}}. {Neurosci Biobehav Rev};2016 (Oct 13);71:590-600.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been associated with altered neural oscillations, especially fast oscillatory activity in the gamma frequency range, suggesting fundamentally disturbed temporal coordination of activity during information processing. A detailed review of available cortical oscillation studies in ASD does not convey a clear-cut picture with respect to dysfunctional oscillation patterns in the gamma or other frequency ranges. Recent evidence suggests that instead of a general failure to activate or synchronize the cortex, there is greater intra-participant variability across behavioral, fMRI and EEG responses in ASD. Intra-individual fluctuations from one trial to another have been largely ignored in task-related neural oscillation studies of ASD, which instead have focused on mean changes in power. We highlight new avenues for the analysis of cortical oscillation patterns in ASD which are sensitive to trial-to-trial variability within the participant, in order to validate the significance of increased response variability as possible endophenotype of the disorder.
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5. Hall SS, Barnett RP, Hustyi KM. {{Problem behaviour in adolescent boys with fragile X syndrome: relative prevalence, frequency and severity}}. {J Intellect Disabil Res};2016 (Oct 11)
BACKGROUND: A large proportion of boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common known inherited form of intellectual disability (ID), exhibit problem behaviours (e.g. aggression, self-injury, property destruction and stereotypy) that can negatively impact the health and safety of others as well as the individual concerned. However, data are limited concerning the relative prevalence, frequency and severity of problem behaviours exhibited by boys with FXS compared with those by boys with mixed-aetiology ID who also exhibit problem behaviours. METHOD: As part of a larger study on problem behaviour, we obtained survey data on 85 adolescent boys with FXS and 155 age-matched boys with mixed-aetiology ID who exhibited at least one form of problem behaviour. RESULTS: For boys with FXS, stereotypy was reported to be more prevalent (chi2 = 4.52, P = 0.012), self-injury was reported to more frequent (U = 2525, P = 0.010) and aggression was reported to be less severe (U = 4176, P = 0.029) than for boys with mixed-aetiology ID. Ratings of aggression and property destruction were highly correlated in each group in terms of both frequency and severity (r = 0.60 to 0.71). Examination of the data by age indicated that the relative frequency of self-injury decreased with age in boys with FXS (chi2 = 8.29, P = 0.040). CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these results refine and extend previous studies concerning the specificity of the behavioural phenotype in FXS and indicate that specific forms of problem behaviour shown by boys with FXS appear to differ from those exhibited by boys with mixed-aetiology ID in terms of prevalence, frequency and severity. Studies employing more objective measures of frequency and severity, including direct observations, are needed to confirm these findings.
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6. Hauck JL, Ketcheson LR, Ulrich DA. {{Methodology to Promote Physical Activity Monitoring Adherence in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {Front Public Health};2016;4:206.
BACKGROUND: Objective physical activity (PA) monitoring via accelerometry is both costly and time consuming. Furthermore, overall adherence to a monitoring protocol is often complicated by disability. Therefore, it is essential that strategies for supporting accelerometer wear for youth with disabilities are maximized. The purpose of this perspective was to provide researchers a set of efficacious PA monitoring strategies based on the retrospective examination of support methodology on adherence rates for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHOD: Accelerometer data were collected from 163 participants with ASD in three independent cohorts. Each cohort was provided a varying set of support strategies to help maximize adherence. Chi-square analysis was used to determine differences in adherence between each cohort. RESULTS: Adherence rates significantly increased from 51.9% in cohort 1 to 88.7% in cohort 2 [chi2(1) = 18.333, p < 0.001] and again from 88.7% in cohort 2 to 97.4% in cohort 3 [chi2(1) = 2.663, p = 0.103]. The greatest increase in adherence was observed from 51.9% in cohort 1 to 97.4% in cohort 3 [chi2(1) = 19.837, p < 0.001]. Support strategies associated with these increases included (1) social story, (2) incentive, (3) concealing techniques, and (4) 24 h/day wear instructions. CONCLUSION: Adherence to PA measurement increased when additional support strategies were utilized in combination with a traditional protocol. We recommend these support methodology to be considered as preliminary best practices when measuring objective PA in youth with ASD with likely success in other disability populations. Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
7. Kang E, Klein EF, Lillard AS, Lerner MD. {{Predictors and Moderators of Spontaneous Pretend Play in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {Front Psychol};2016;7:1577.
Although pretend play has long been linked to children’s normative cognitive development, inconsistent findings call for greater rigor in examining this relation (Lillard et al., 2013). Spontaneous pretend play is often impacted in atypical development, notably in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Since ASD traits exist along a continuum in the general population, investigating how pretend play varies across the range of ASD symptoms by indexing variations in ASD traits in both typically developing and ASD populations may provide insight into how ASD symptoms may influence the relation between pretend play and associated processes in cognitive development. This study used rigorous observational methods to assess spontaneous pretend play. Specifically, 5-min free-play sessions with two discrete toy sets were double-coded by blinded coders (coder assignment counterbalanced). Key facets of pretense development [attribution of pretend properties (APP), object substitution (OS), imaginary objects] were examined. These facets of pretend play production were then analyzed in relation to ASD symptoms, as well as plausible, long-theorized correlates [theory of mind (ToM), verbal ability, familiarity, and interest in specific toys]. Forty children (Mage = 6;5, SDage = 1.45; 29 males), six of whom met the threshold for ASD diagnosis via parent-reported ASD symptoms, participated in play sessions and completed measures of verbal IQ and ToM. Besides the measure of child ASD symptoms, parents completed a survey of their child’s interest in and familiarity with the play session toys. Overall, greater ToM predicted more APP, and more interest in the toys presented predicted more OS. In terms of overall pretend play production, two results were counterintuitive. First, among children with more ASD symptoms, verbal ability marginally negatively predicted pretend play production. Second, among children with fewer ASD symptoms, ToM negatively predicted pretend play production. Further probing revealed that the negative effect of ASD symptoms on pretend play was simultaneously moderated by both variables: low ToM and high verbal ability both related to less pretend play production among children with more ASD symptoms. Implications for assessment and subsequent treatment for pretend ability among children with varying degrees of ASD symptoms, as well as for future research, are discussed.
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8. Lewis MB, Dunn E. {{Instructions to mimic improve facial emotion recognition in people with sub-clinical autism traits}}. {Q J Exp Psychol (Hove)};2016 (Oct 13):1-14.
People tend to mimic the facial expression of others. It has been suggested that this helps provide social glue between affiliated people but it could also aid recognition of emotions through embodied cognition. The degree of facial mimicry, however, varies between individuals and is limited in people with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). The present study sought to investigate the effect of promoting facial mimicry during a facial-emotion-recognition test. In two experiments, participants without an ASC diagnosis had their autism quotient (AQ) measured. Following a baseline test, they did an emotion-recognition test again but half of the participants were asked to mimic the target face they saw prior to making their responses. Mimicry improved emotion recognition, and further analysis revealed that the largest improvement was for participants who had higher scores on the autism traits. In fact, recognition performance was best overall for people who had high AQ scores but also received the instruction to mimic. Implications for people with ASC are explored.
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9. Lu P, Chen X, Feng Y, Zeng Q, Jiang C, Zhu X, Fan G, Xue Z. {{Integrated transcriptome analysis of human iPS cells derived from a fragile X syndrome patient during neuronal differentiation}}. {Sci China Life Sci};2016 (Oct 11)
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) patients carry the expansion of over 200 CGG repeats at the promoter of fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1), leading to decreased or absent expression of its encoded fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). However, the global transcriptional alteration by FMRP deficiency has not been well characterized at single nucleotide resolution, i.e., RNA-seq. Here, we performed in-vitro neuronal differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells that were derived from fibroblasts of a FXS patient (FXS-iPSC). We then performed RNA-seq and examined the transcriptional misregulation at each intermediate stage during in-vitro differentiation of FXS-iPSC into neurons. After thoroughly analyzing the transcriptomic data and integrating them with those from other platforms, we found up-regulation of many genes encoding TFs for neuronal differentiation (WNT1, BMP4, POU3F4, TFAP2C, and PAX3), down-regulation of potassium channels (KCNA1, KCNC3, KCNG2, KCNIP4, KCNJ3, KCNK9, and KCNT1) and altered temporal regulation of SHANK1 and NNAT in FXS-iPSC derived neurons, indicating impaired neuronal differentiation and function in FXS patients. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the FMRP deficiency in FXS patients has significant impact on the gene expression patterns during development, which will help to discover potential targeting candidates for the cure of FXS symptoms.
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10. Margoni F, Surian L. {{Mental State Understanding and Moral Judgment in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder}}. {Front Psychol};2016;7:1478.
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11. McKenzie K, Martin L, Ouellette-Kuntz H. {{Frailty and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: a Scoping Review}}. {Can Geriatr J};2016 (Sep);19(3):103-112.
BACKGROUND: Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are both living longer than in previous generations and experiencing premature aging. Improved understanding of frailty in this aging population may inform community supports and avoid negative outcomes. METHODS: The objective of this study was to review the literature on frailty and IDD and determine areas for future research and application. The methodological framework for a scoping review as developed by H. Arksey and L. O’Malley was applied to identify and select original studies published since 2000. RESULTS: Seventeen studies were identified; these were based on the work of researchers from four research programs. The studies utilized six measures of frailty, including two frailty indices, the VFQ-ID(-R), the frailty phenotype, and the frailty marker. Frailty was equally studied as an outcome and as predictor for other outcomes (e.g., mobility, falls, care intensity, institutionalization, and survival). CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence of a growing interest in the measurement of frailty in aging adults with IDD. As in the general population, frailty in this group is associated with many negative outcomes. While a few measures have emerged, more work is required to replicate results, validate tools, and test the feasibility of applying frailty measures in practice and to inform policy.
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12. Miller M, Iosif AM, Young GS, Hill MM, Ozonoff S. {{Early Detection of ADHD: Insights From Infant Siblings of Children With Autism}}. {J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol};2016 (Oct 12):1-8.
Converging evidence suggests shared genetic underpinnings of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Studies of infants at risk for ASD have proliferated over the past decade; the few studies that have followed these infants beyond age 3 report a range of difficulties facing a subset of these infants as they reach school age, including elevated levels of attention problems and externalizing behavior. Given this, we aimed to identify early predictors of school-age ADHD outcomes in a sample of infant siblings at risk for ASD. This study reports on a sample of 59 infants at high and low risk for ASD who had been followed for more than a decade, collecting data at regular intervals from 3 to 36 months and then determining diagnostic outcome at 8-10 years of age. Seventeen participants were diagnosed with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.) ADHD at school age (n = 14 high risk, 3 low risk). As infants, the ADHD outcome group demonstrated atypical longitudinal patterns of sustained visual attention. A significantly larger proportion of their parents reported behavior/temperament problems at 36 months of age, and examiners noted the presence of inattentive, hyperactive, and/or impulsive behaviors in this group by 18 months of age. These data suggest that behavioral indicators of risk for later ADHD may be present early in development, which may improve earlier detection and treatment of the disorder.
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13. Puscian A, Leski S, Kasprowicz G, Winiarski M, Borowska J, Nikolaev T, Boguszewski PM, Lipp HP, Knapska E. {{Eco-HAB as a fully automated and ecologically relevant assessment of social impairments in mouse models of autism}}. {Elife};2016 (Oct 12);5
Eco-HAB is an open source, RFID-based system for automated measurement and analysis of social preference and in-cohort sociability in mice. The system closely follows murine ethology. It requires no contact between a human experimenter and tested animals, overcoming the confounding factors that lead to irreproducible assessment of murine social behavior between laboratories. In Eco-HAB, group-housed animals live in a spacious, four-compartment apparatus with shadowed areas and narrow tunnels, resembling natural burrows. Eco-HAB allows for assessment of the tendency of mice to voluntarily spend time together in ethologically relevant mouse group sizes. Custom-made software for automated tracking, data extraction, and analysis enables quick evaluation of social impairments. The developed protocols and standardized behavioral measures demonstrate high replicability. Unlike classic three-chambered sociability tests, Eco-HAB provides measurements of spontaneous, ecologically relevant social behaviors in group-housed animals. Results are obtained faster, with less manpower, and without confounding factors.
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14. Ruiz-Robledillo N, Romero-Martinez A, Moya-Albiol L. {{Lower cortisol response in high-resilient caregivers of people with autism: the role of anger}}. {Stress Health};2016 (Oct 13)
Caring for an offspring with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been related to high stress levels and health disturbances. However, a protective effect against these negative health outcomes has been described in high-resilient caregivers. In this context, the main aim of the present study was to assess the association between resilient coping and cortisol response to acute stress in caregivers of people with ASD. Furthermore, the study aimed to explore the mediating role of anger in this association. We exposed 40 caregivers of people with ASD to an acute psychosocial stressor in the laboratory. Salivary cortisol samples were obtained before, during, and after the stressor. Resilient coping, anger, and socio-demographic variables were also assessed. Resilient coping was negatively correlated with cortisol response. Specifically, cortisol release was lower in high-resilient than low-resilient caregivers. Anger was positively correlated with cortisol response, mediating the association with resilient coping. The observed associations of resilient coping and anger with cortisol response indicate that these variables may affect health outcomes, resilience being protective and anger harmful. Psychotherapeutic interventions focused on strengthening resilience and anger management could benefit caregivers, improving their health status and quality of life.
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15. Shah P, Catmur C, Bird G. {{Emotional decision-making in autism spectrum disorder: the roles of interoception and alexithymia}}. {Mol Autism};2016;7:43.
The way choices are framed influences decision-making. These « framing effects » emerge through the integration of emotional responses into decision-making under uncertainty. It was previously reported that susceptibility to the framing effect was reduced in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) due to a reduced tendency to incorporate emotional information into the decision-making process. However, recent research indicates that, where observed, emotional processing impairments in ASD may be due to co-occurring alexithymia. Alexithymia is thought to arise due to impaired interoception (the ability to perceive the internal state of one’s body), raising the possibility that emotional signals are not perceived and thus not integrated into decision-making in those with alexithymia and that therefore reduced framing effects in ASD are a product of co-occurring alexithymia rather than ASD per se. Accordingly, the present study compared framing effects in autistic individuals with neurotypical controls matched for alexithymia. Results showed a marked deviation between groups. The framing effect was, in line with previous data, significantly smaller in autistic individuals, and there was no relationship between alexithymia or interoception and decision-making in the ASD group. In the neurotypical group, however, the size of the framing effect was associated with alexithymia and interoception, even after controlling for autistic traits. These results demonstrate that although framing effects are associated with interoception and alexithymia in the neurotypical population, emotional and interoceptive signals have less impact upon the decision-making process in ASD.
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16. Xiong T, Chen H, Luo R, Mu D. {{Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)}}. {Cochrane Database Syst Rev};2016 (Oct 13);10:CD010922.
BACKGROUND: The rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased the need for evidence-based treatments to lessen the impact of symptoms. Presently, no therapies are available to effectively treat individuals with all of the symptoms of this disorder. It has been suggested that hyperbaric oxygen therapy may alleviate the biochemical dysfunction and clinical symptoms of ASD. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether treatment with hyperbaric oxygen:1. improves core symptoms of ASD, including social communication problems and stereotypical and repetitive behaviors;2. improves noncore symptoms of ASD, such as challenging behaviors;3. improves comorbid states, such as depression and anxiety; and4. causes adverse effects. SEARCH METHODS: On 10 December 2015, we searched CENTRAL, Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, and 15 other databases, four of which were Chinese language databases. We also searched multiple trial and research registers. SELECTION CRITERIA: We selected randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs of any dose, duration, and frequency for hyperbaric oxygen therapy compared with no treatment or sham treatment for children and adults with ASD. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We used standard methodological procedures expected by The Cochrane Collaboration, in that three review authors independently selected studies, assessed them for risk of bias, and extracted relevant data. We also assessed the quality of the evidence by using the GRADE approach. MAIN RESULTS: We included one trial with a total of 60 children with a diagnosis of ASD who randomly received hyperbaric oxygen therapy or a sham treatment. Using GRADE criteria, we rated the quality of the evidence as low because of the small sample size and wide confidence intervals (CIs). Other problems included selection bias and short duration or follow-up.Overall, study authors reported no improvement in social interaction and communication, behavioral problems, communication and linguistic abilities, or cognitive function. With regard to the safety of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (adverse events), they reported minor-grade ear barotrauma events. Investigators found significant differences between groups in total number of side effect events (Peto odds ratio (OR) 3.87, 95% CI 1.53 to 9.82) and in the number of children who experienced side effects (Peto OR 4.40, 95% CI 1.33 to 14.48). AUTHORS’ CONCLUSIONS: To date, there is no evidence that hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves core symptoms and associated symptoms of ASD. It is important to note that adverse effects (minor-grade ear barotrauma events) can occur. Given the absence of evidence of effectiveness and the limited biological plausibility and possible adverse effects, the need for future RCTs of hyperbaric oxygen therapy must be carefully considered.
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17. Yerys BE, Nissley-Tsiopinis J, de Marchena A, Watkins MW, Antezana L, Power TJ, Schultz RT. {{Evaluation of the ADHD Rating Scale in Youth with Autism}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2016 (Oct 13)
Scientists and clinicians regularly use clinical screening tools for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to assess comorbidity without empirical evidence that these measures are valid in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We examined the prevalence of youth meeting ADHD criteria on the ADHD rating scale fourth edition (ADHD-RS-IV), the relationship of ADHD-RS-IV ratings with participant characteristics and behaviors, and its underlying factor structure in 386, 7-17 year olds with ASD without intellectual disability. Expected parent prevalence rates, relationships with age and externalizing behaviors were observed, but confirmatory factor analyses revealed unsatisfactory fits for one-, two-, three-factor models. Exploratory analyses revealed several items cross-loading on multiple factors. Implications of screening ADHD in youth with ASD using current diagnostic criteria are discussed.
