1. Ahmed SA, Elhefnawy AM, Azouz HG, Roshdy YS, Ashry MH, Ibrahim AE, Meheissen MA. {{Study of the gut Microbiome Profile in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Single Tertiary Hospital Experience}}. {J Mol Neurosci};2020 (Feb 15)
The role of gut microbiome was recently raised in the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The aim of this study was to elucidate changes in gut microbiome in Egyptian autistic children and its possible correlation with the severity of autism and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. The gut bacterial microbiome of 41 ASD children, 45 siblings, and 45 healthy controls were analyzed using quantitative SYBR Green real-time PCR technique targeting 16S rRNA of selected bacteria. The gut microbiome of ASD children and their siblings contained a higher relative abundance of Bacteroides as well as Ruminococcus than controls. Prevotella/Bacteroides (P/B) ratio and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B) were significantly lower in both ASD cases and their siblings. The only difference between the autistic cases and their siblings was the significantly higher level of Bifidobacterium in siblings, which appears to offer them a protective role. There was no correlation between the altered gut microbiome and the severity of autism or GI symptoms. The current study showed an evidence of changes in the gut microbiome of autistic children compared to the unrelated control. However, the microbiome profile of siblings was more like that of autistic children than that of unrelated controls indicating that gut microbiota is affected by dietary habits, living conditions together with host genetic factors.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
2. Carlier S, Van der Paelt S, Ongenae F, De Backere F, De Turck F. {{Empowering Children with ASD and Their Parents: Design of a Serious Game for Anxiety and Stress Reduction}}. {Sensors (Basel)};2020 (Feb 11);20(4)
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by social interaction difficulties and communication difficulties. Moreover, children with ASD often suffer from other co-morbidities, such as anxiety and depression. Finding appropriate treatment can be difficult as symptoms of ASD and co-morbidities often overlap. Due to these challenges, parents of children with ASD often suffer from higher levels of stress. This research aims to investigate the feasibility of empowering children with ASD and their parents through the use of a serious game to reduce stress and anxiety and a supporting parent application. The New Horizon game and the SpaceControl application were developed together with therapists and according to guidelines for e-health patient empowerment. The game incorporates two mini-games with relaxation techniques. The performance of the game was analyzed and usability studies with three families were conducted. Parents and children were asked to fill in the Spence’s Children Anxiety Scale (SCAS) and Spence Children Anxiety Scale-Parents (SCAS-P) anxiety scale. The game shows potential for stress and anxiety reduction in children with ASD.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
3. Do TQN, Riley C, Paramsothy P, Ouyang L, Bolen J, Grosse SD. {{Fragile X Syndrome-Associated Emergency Department Visits in the United States, 2006-2011}}. {Am J Intellect Dev Disabil};2020 (Mar);125(2):103-108.
Using national data, we examined emergency department (ED) encounters during 2006-2011 for which a diagnosis code for fragile X syndrome (FXS) was present (n = 7,217). Almost half of ED visits coded for FXS resulted in hospitalization, which is much higher than for ED visits not coded for FXS. ED visits among females coded for FXS were slightly more likely to result in hospitalization. These findings underscore the importance of surveillance systems that could accurately identify individuals with FXS, track healthcare utilization and co-occurring conditions, and monitor quality of care in order to improve care and reduce FXS-associated morbidity.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
4. Flowers J, Lantz J, Hamlin T, Simeonsson RJ. {{Associated Factors of Self-injury Among Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder in a Community and Residential Treatment Setting}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2020 (Feb 13)
Self-injurious behavior (SIB) occurs in up to 50% of individuals with autism. As one of the most serious conditions in individuals with developmental disabilities, SIB affects the individual and his or her family in multiple contexts. A systematic analysis of factors most commonly associated with SIB could inform the development of individualized intervention strategies. The current study examined factors related to SIB in an analysis of client records of 145 children with autism in a comprehensive care center. Predictor variables included age, gender, the Adaptive Behavior Composite, sensory processing, aggression, stereotypies, irritability, adaptive skills, and medical conditions. Age, irritability, and the Adaptive Behavior Composite were found to significantly predict SIB.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
5. Forbes PAG, Hamilton AFC. {{Brief Report: Autistic Adults Assign Less Weight to Affective Cues When Judging Others’ Ambiguous Emotional States}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2020 (Feb 13)
Understanding other people’s emotional states involves integrating multiple sources of information, such as someone’s smile (affective cue) with our knowledge that they have passed an exam (situational cue). We explored whether autistic adults display differences in how they integrate these cues by showing participants videos of students receiving their exams results. Our results suggest autistic adults generally perform as neurotypical participants when identifying and integrating affective and situational cues. It was only in certain unfamiliar and ambiguous social situations that autistic adults assigned less weight to affective cues compared to situational cues when judging other people’s emotional states.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
6. Gaetz W, Rhodes E, Bloy L, Blaskey L, Jackel CR, Brodkin ES, Waldman A, Embick D, Hall S, Roberts TPL. {{Evaluating motor cortical oscillations and age-related change in autism spectrum disorder}}. {Neuroimage};2020 (Feb 15);207:116349.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is primarily characterized by impairments in social communication and the appearance of repetitive behaviors with restricted interests. Increasingly, evidence also points to a general deficit of motor tone and coordination in children and adults with ASD; yet the neural basis of motor functional impairment in ASD remains poorly characterized. In this study, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to (1) assess potential group differences between typically developing (TD) and ASD participants in motor cortical oscillatory activity observed on a simple button-press task and (2) to do so over a sufficiently broad age-range so as to capture age-dependent changes associated with development. Event-related desynchronization was evaluated in Mu (8-13Hz) and Beta (15-30Hz) frequency bands (Mu-ERD, Beta-ERD). In addition, post-movement Beta rebound (PMBR), and movement-related gamma (60-90Hz) synchrony (MRGS) were also assessed in a cohort of 123 participants (63 typically developing (TD) and 59 with ASD) ranging in age from 8 to 24.9 years. We observed significant age-dependent linear trends in Beta-ERD and MRGS power with age for both TD and ASD groups; which did not differ significantly between groups. However, for PMBR, in addition to a significant effect of age, we also observed a significant reduction in PMBR power in the ASD group (p<0.05). Post-hoc tests showed that this omnibus group difference was driven by the older cohort of children >13.2 years (p<0.001) and this group difference was not observed when assessing PMBR activity for the younger PMBR groups (ages 8-13.2 years; p=0.48). Moreover, for the older ASD cohort, hierarchical regression showed a significant relationship between PMBR activity and clinical scores of ASD severity (Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS T scores)), after regressing out the effect of age (p<0.05). Our results show substantial age-dependent changes in motor cortical oscillations (Beta-ERD and MRGS) occur for both TD and ASD children and diverge only for PMBR, and most significantly for older adolescents and adults with ASD. While the functional significance of PMBR and reduced PMBR signaling remains to be fully elucidated, these results underscore the importance of considering age as a factor when assessing motor cortical oscillations and group differences in children with ASD. Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
7. Graham Holmes L, Strassberg DS, Himle MB. {{Family Sexuality Communication: Parent Report for Autistic Young Adults Versus a Comparison Group}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2020 (Feb 13)
Families are a critical context for healthy sexuality development. This study characterized family sexuality communication for autistic adults (age 18-30) without intellectual disability (n = 117) versus a neurotypical comparison group (n = 319). Parent-reported number of sexuality topics covered did not significantly differ by gender or autism/comparison group. Parents of autistic adults who covered few or no topics (31%) reported higher religiosity, lower comfort and self-efficacy, and were less likely to say that the adult expressed attraction or desire for relationships. Parents of autistic adults were more likely than comparison parents to perceive their young person as being uninterested or not ready to learn about sexuality topics. These results suggest that families of autistic people require support to convey sexuality-related knowledge and values.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
8. Hall JP, Batza K, Streed CG, Jr., Boyd BA, Kurth NK. {{Health Disparities Among Sexual and Gender Minorities with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2020 (Feb 13)
We explored the health and health care experiences of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+) using data from a national, internet-based survey of adults with disabilities supplemented by focused interviews. LGBTQ+ respondents had significantly higher rates of mental illness, poor physical health days per month, and smoking compared to straight, cisgender respondents with ASD. LGBTQ+ respondents also reported much higher rates of unmet health care need, inadequate insurance provider networks, and rates of being refused services by a medical provider. Examining the intersection of LGBTQ+ identity and ASD reveals compounded health disparities that insurers and medical providers are not adequately addressing, particularly as individuals transition to the adult medical system.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
9. Hillier A, Ryan J, Buckingham A, Schena D, 2nd, Queenan A, Dottolo A, Abreu M. {{Prospective College Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Parent Perspectives}}. {Psychol Rep};2020 (Feb 14):33294120905517.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
10. Kerr-Gaffney J, Harrison A, Tchanturia K. {{Autism spectrum disorder traits are associated with empathic abilities in adults with anorexia nervosa}}. {J Affect Disord};2020 (Jan 29);266:273-281.
BACKGROUND: Social and emotional difficulties have been identified as key factors in the development and maintenance of anorexia nervosa (AN). However, few studies have investigated the influence of comorbid psychopathology on social cognition. The aim of the current study was to examine perception of nonverbal communication and empathy in AN using ecologically valid, performance-based measures, and to explore associations with comorbid psychopathology (anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits, alexithymia, and social anxiety). METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET) and the Mini Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity (MiniPONS) were administered to 51 adults with AN, 51 recovered AN (REC), and 51 healthy controls (HCs). Comorbid psychopathological traits were assessed using self-report questionnaires and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule – 2nd edition (ADOS-2). RESULTS: Individuals with AN showed reduced affective empathy to positive stimuli compared to HCs, and a trend towards lower vocal prosody recognition scores relative to REC. Around a quarter of AN and REC scored above the clinical cut-off for ASD on the ADOS-2, and high ASD symptoms predicted lower cognitive and affective empathy scores. LIMITATIONS: The study is cross-sectional, future research would benefit from examining social-cognition performance and comorbid psychopathology longitudinally. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the importance of ASD symptoms in empathy dysfunction in those with a lifetime history of AN. Future research should explore whether treatment adaptations to accommodate for differences in social-cognitive abilities may be helpful in the treatment of AN.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
11. Koegel LK, Bryan KM, Su PL, Vaidya M, Camarata S. {{Definitions of Nonverbal and Minimally Verbal in Research for Autism: A Systematic Review of the Literature}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2020 (Feb 13)
This systematic review examined definitions of « nonverbal » or « minimally verbal » and assessment measures used to evaluate communication in intervention studies focusing on improving expressive verbal communication in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We reviewed sample size, number of participants, participant age, and male/female representation. Our analysis yielded relatively few studies with non/minimally verbal children with ASD focusing on verbal expressive communication. Further, we found large inconsistencies in measures used, definitions of « nonverbal » and « minimally verbal », and ages targeted. Guidelines are suggested to create a more uniform assessment protocol with systematic descriptions of early communication learners as a foundational step for understanding the heterogeneity in this group and replicating research findings for this subgroup of children with ASD.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
12. Kuno-Fujita A, Iwabuchi T, Wakusawa K, Ito H, Suzuki K, Shigetomi A, Hirotaka K, Tsujii M, Tsuchiya KJ. {{Sensory Processing Patterns and Fusiform Activity During Face Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {Autism Res};2020 (Feb 14)
A growing body of evidence has indicated that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit abnormal reactions to sensory stimuli and impaired face processing. Although behavioral studies have reported that individual differences in sensory processing patterns are correlated with performance in face processing tasks, the neural substrates underlying the association between sensory processing patterns and face processing remain unknown. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the present study examined the relationships between sensory processing patterns assessed with the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (AASP) and brain activity during a one-back task with two types of stimuli (face or house pictures). We enrolled 18 Japanese adults with ASD and 19 age- and IQ-matched controls. Sensation Avoiding scores, which were assessed using the AASP, were positively correlated with right fusiform activity during the presentation of pictures of faces in the ASD group, but not in the control group. This suggests that abnormal sensory processing patterns in ASD are associated with abnormal face-related brain activity, possibly resulting in impaired face processing. LAY SUMMARY: Sensory abnormalities are one of the most common symptoms in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study shows that individuals with ASD who react abnormally to sensory stimuli also exhibit atypical brain activity when recognizing faces. Abnormal sensory processing may partly explain the difficulty that people diagnosed with ASD have in identifying others’ faces.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
13. McDaniel J, Yoder P, Crandall M, Millan ME, Ardel CM, Gengoux GW, Hardan AY. {{Effects of pivotal response treatment on reciprocal vocal contingency in a randomized controlled trial of children with autism spectrum disorder}}. {Autism};2020 (Feb 14):1362361320903138.
LAY ABSTRACT: A recent randomized controlled trial found that children with autism spectrum disorder who received a pivotal response treatment package showed improved language and social communication skills following the intervention. The pivotal response treatment package includes clinician-delivered and parent-implemented strategies. Reciprocal vocal contingency is an automated measure of vocal reciprocity derived from daylong audio samples from the child’s natural environment. It may provide stronger and complementary evidence of the effects of the pivotal response treatment package because it is at lower risk for detection bias than parent report and brief parent-child interaction measures. The current study compared reciprocal vocal contingency for 24 children with autism spectrum disorder in the pivotal response treatment package group and 24 children with autism spectrum disorder in the control group. The pivotal response treatment package group received 24 weeks of the pivotal response treatment package intervention. The control group received their usual intervention services during that time. The groups did not differ in reciprocal vocal contingency when the intervention started or after 12 weeks of intervention. However, after 24 weeks the pivotal response treatment package group had higher ranked reciprocal vocal contingency scores than the control group. These findings are consistent with results from parent report and parent-child interaction measures obtained during the trial. The participants in the pivotal response treatment package exhibited greater vocal responsiveness to adult vocal responses to their vocalizations than the control group. Findings support the effectiveness of the pivotal response treatment package on vocal reciprocity of children with autism spectrum disorder, which may be a pivotal skill for language development.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
14. Meagher SP, Carlson BL, Elrod MG. {{Behaviors Interfering with Audiometry Associated with Eventual Diagnosis of Autism}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2020 (Feb 13)
Children referred for audiology evaluation due to speech and language delays represent a neurodevelopmentally high-risk group. The audiology evaluation is a behaviorally-challenging encounter early in the diagnostic process. We assessed interfering behaviors (IB) that complicated completion of audiometry as predictors of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. This retrospective cohort study using the Military Health System electronic medical record included 296 children aged 18 to 71 months. Children who displayed IB had increased odds of receiving an ASD diagnosis compared to those who did not (OR = 5.6, 95% CI 2.6-12.1). Interfering behaviors had a high specificity (81%) and negative predictive value (94%) for ASD. The audiology evaluation may represent an opportunity early in the diagnostic process to stratify risk for ASD.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
15. Patel SP, Nayar K, Martin GE, Franich K, Crawford S, Diehl JJ, Losh M. {{An Acoustic Characterization of Prosodic Differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder and First-Degree Relatives}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2020 (Feb 13)
This study examined prosody through characterization of acoustic properties of the speech of individuals with ASD and their parents, during narration. A subset of utterances were low-pass filtered and rated for differences in intonation, speech rate, and rhythm. Listener ratings were minimally related to acoustic measures, underscoring the complexity of atypical prosody in ASD. Acoustic analyses revealed greater utterance-final fundamental frequency excursion size and slower speech rate in the ASD group. Slower speech rate was also evident in the ASD parent group, particularly parents with the broad autism phenotype. Overlapping prosodic differences in ASD and ASD Parent groups suggest that prosodic differences may constitute an important phenotype contributing to ASD features and index genetic liability to ASD among first-degree relatives.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
16. Qian M, Chou SY, Lai EK. {{Confirmatory bias in health decisions: Evidence from the MMR-autism controversy}}. {J Health Econ};2020 (Feb 10):102284.
Since Wakefield et al. (1998), the public was exposed to mixed information surrounding the claim that measles-mumps-rubella vaccine causes autism. A persistent trend to delay the vaccination during 1998-2011 in the US was driven by children of college-educated mothers, suggesting that these mothers held biases against the vaccine influenced by the early unfounded claim. Consistent with confirmatory bias, exposures to negative information about the vaccine strengthened their biases more than exposures to positive information attenuated them. Positive online information, however, had strong impacts on vaccination decisions, suggesting that online dissemination of vaccine-safety information may help tackle the sticky misinformation.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
17. Ribeiro DM, Miguel CF. {{Using multiple-tact training to produce emergent visual categorization in children with autism}}. {J Appl Behav Anal};2020 (Feb 14)
Previous research has shown that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can categorize visual stimuli without direct training when they can also tact these stimuli using a common name and behave as listeners in relation to this name. However, children usually learn to assign objects specific names prior to learning the category to which they belong. The current study replicated previous research and evaluated whether multiple-tact training would establish visual categorization (measured by a picture sorting test) and listener behavior. We used a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across 2 children with autism spectrum disorder. After multiple-tact training, we assessed whether participants would visually categorize stimuli based on their common category name. Both participants categorized and engaged in the corresponding listener behavior.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
18. Ribeiro MC, MacDonald JL. {{Sex differences in Mecp2-mutant Rett syndrome model mice and the impact of cellular mosaicism in phenotype development}}. {Brain Res};2020 (Feb 15);1729:146644.
There is currently no effective treatment for Rett syndrome (RTT), a severe X-linked progressive neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutations in the transcriptional regulator MECP2. Because MECP2 is subjected to X-inactivation, most affected individuals are female heterozygotes who display cellular mosaicism for normal and mutant MECP2. Males who are hemizygous for mutant MECP2 are more severely affected than heterozygous females and rarely survive. Mecp2 loss-of-function is less severe in mice, however, and male hemizygous null mice not only survive until adulthood, they have been the most commonly studied model system. Although heterozygous female mice better recapitulate human RTT, they have not been as thoroughly characterized. This is likely because of the added experimental challenges that they present, including delayed and more variable phenotypic progression and cellular mosaicism due to X-inactivation. In this review, we compare phenotypes of Mecp2 heterozygous female mice and male hemizygous null mouse models. Further, we discuss the complexities that arise from the many cell-type and tissue-type specific roles of MeCP2, as well as the combination of cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous disruptions that result from Mecp2 loss-of-function. This is of particular importance in the context of the female heterozygous brain, composed of a mixture of MeCP2+ and MeCP2- cells, the ratio of which can alter RTT phenotypes in the case of skewed X-inactivation. The goal of this review is to provide a clearer understanding of the pathophysiological differences between the mouse models, which is an essential consideration in the design of future pre-clinical studies.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
19. Sarn N, Jaini R, Thacker S, Lee H, Dutta R, Eng C. {{Cytoplasmic-predominant Pten increases microglial activation and synaptic pruning in a murine model with autism-like phenotype}}. {Mol Psychiatry};2020 (Feb 13)
Germline mutations in PTEN account for ~10% of cases of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with coincident macrocephaly. To explore the importance of nuclear PTEN in the development of ASD and macrocephaly, we previously generated a mouse model with predominantly cytoplasmic localization of Pten (Pten(m3m4/m3m4)).Cytoplasmic predominant Pten localization results in a phenotype of extreme macrocephaly and autistic-like traits. Transcriptomic analysis of the Pten(m3m4/m3m4) cortex found upregulated gene pathways related to myeloid cell activation, myeloid cell migration, and phagocytosis. These transcriptomic findings were used to direct in vitro assays on Pten wild-type and Pten(m3m4/m3m4) microglia. We found increased Iba1 and C1q expression with enhanced phagocytic capacity in Pten(m3m4/m3m4) microglia, indicating microglial activation. Moreover, through a series of neuron-microglia co-culture experiments, we found Pten(m3m4/m3m4) microglia are more efficient at synaptic pruning compared with wild-type controls. In addition, we found evidence for neuron-microglia cross-talk, where Pten(m3m4/m3m4) neurons elicit enhanced pruning from innately activated microglia. Subsequent in vivo studies validated our in vitro findings. We observed a concurrent decline in the expression of Pten and synaptic markers in the Pten(m3m4/m3m4) cortex. At ~3 weeks of age, with a 50% drop in Pten expression compared with wild-type levels, we observed enhanced activation of microglia in the Pten(m3m4/m3m4) brain. Collectively, our data provide evidence that dysregulated Pten in microglia has an etiological role in microglial activation, phagocytosis, and synaptic pruning, creating avenues for future studies on the importance of PTEN in maintaining microglia homeostasis.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
20. Saurman V, Margolis KG, Luna RA. {{Autism Spectrum Disorder as a Brain-Gut-Microbiome Axis Disorder}}. {Dig Dis Sci};2020 (Feb 13)
While there are numerous medical comorbidities associated with ASD, gastrointestinal (GI) issues have a significant impact on quality of life for these individuals. Recent findings continue to support the relationship between the gut microbiome and both GI symptoms and behavior, but the heterogeneity within the autism spectrum requires in-depth clinical characterization of these clinical cohorts. Large, diverse, well-controlled studies in this area of research are still needed. Although there is still much to discover about the brain-gut-microbiome axis in ASD, microbially mediated therapies, specifically probiotics and fecal microbiota transplantation have shown promise in the treatment of GI symptoms in ASD, with potential benefit to the core behavioral symptoms of ASD as well. Future research and clinical trials must increasingly consider complex phenotypes in ASD in stratification of large datasets as well as in design of inclusion criteria for individual therapeutic interventions.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
21. Shepard KA, Korsak LIT, DeBartolo D, Akins MR. {{Axonal localization of the fragile X family of RNA binding proteins is conserved across mammals}}. {J Comp Neurol};2020 (Feb 15);528(3):502-519.
Spatial segregation of proteins to neuronal axons arises in part from local translation of mRNAs that are first transported into axons in ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs), complexes containing mRNAs and RNA binding proteins. Understanding the importance of local translation for a particular circuit requires not only identifying axonal RNPs and their mRNA cargoes, but also whether these RNPs are broadly conserved or restricted to only a few species. Fragile X granules (FXGs) are axonal RNPs containing the fragile X related family of RNA binding proteins along with ribosomes and specific mRNAs. FXGs were previously identified in mouse, rat, and human brains in a conserved subset of neuronal circuits but with species-dependent developmental profiles. Here, we asked whether FXGs are a broadly conserved feature of the mammalian brain and sought to better understand the species-dependent developmental expression pattern. We found FXGs in a conserved subset of neurons and circuits in the brains of every examined species that together include mammalian taxa separated by up to 160 million years of divergent evolution. A developmental analysis of rodents revealed that FXG expression in frontal cortex and olfactory bulb followed consistent patterns in all species examined. In contrast, FXGs in hippocampal mossy fibers increased in abundance across development for most species but decreased across development in guinea pigs and members of the Mus genus, animals that navigate particularly small home ranges in the wild. The widespread conservation of FXGs suggests that axonal translation is an ancient, conserved mechanism for regulating the proteome of mammalian axons.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
22. Soltys SM, Scherbel JR, Kurian JR, Diebold T, Wilson T, Hedden L, Groesch K, Diaz-Sylvester PL, Botchway A, Campbell P, Loret de Mola JR. {{An association of intrapartum synthetic oxytocin dosing and the odds of developing autism}}. {Autism};2020 (Feb 14):1362361320902903.
LAY ABSTRACT: Oxytocin is a hormone naturally produced in the human body that can make the womb (uterus) contract during labor. Manufactured oxytocin is frequently given to mothers in labor to strengthen the contractions or in some cases to start labor. This study compared children with a diagnosis of autism and children without autism to see whether children with autism received more oxytocin during labor. The odds of a child having an autism diagnosis were significantly higher if the delivery was a first-time Cesarean section, if the mother had a body mass index of 35 or higher, or if the reason for delivery were a range of fetal problems that made delivery necessary. It was found that boys who were exposed to oxytocin for longer periods of time during labor and received higher total doses of oxytocin had significantly higher odds of developing autism. There were no significant associations of oxytocin dosing and autism noted in female children. As this is the first study to look at any relationship between the dose of oxytocin received during labor and the odds of developing autism, further study needs to be done to determine whether there is any cause and effect relationship. Thus, at this time, there is no recommended change in clinical practice.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
23. Sommantico M, Parrello S, De Rosa B. {{Adult siblings of people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities: Sibling relationship attitudes and psychosocial outcomes}}. {Res Dev Disabil};2020 (Feb 15);99:103594.
There is still little research on the relationships between adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their typically-developing siblings, despite the importance of these ties for siblings’ psychological well-being, especially in terms of depression, anxiety, and life satisfaction. In this study, the sibling relationship attitudes of adult siblings of people with (N = 133) and without (N = 140) intellectual and developmental disabilities were explored. Feelings, behaviors, and thoughts related to sibling relationships were measured using the Lifespan Sibling Relationship Scale; depression was measured using the Beck Depression Inventory-II; anxiety was measured using the Beck Anxiety Inventory; and life satisfaction was measured using the Satisfaction With Life Scale. Results indicate that higher levels of positive sibling relationship attitudes are negatively related to levels of depression and anxiety, and positively related to levels of life satisfaction. Furthermore, adult siblings of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities show less positive sibling relationship attitudes, higher levels of depression and anxiety, and lower levels of life satisfaction. Finally, group membership, indirectly through sibling relationship attitudes, was related to depressive and anxious symptoms, as well as to life satisfaction. Implications for future research and policies are discussed.
