1. Albrecht MA, Stuart GW, Falkmer M, Ordqvist A, Leung D, Foster JK, Falkmer T. {{Brief Report: Visual Acuity in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2014 (Mar 18)
Recently, there has been heightened interest in suggestions of enhanced visual acuity in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) which was sparked by evidence that was later accepted to be methodologically flawed. However, a recent study that claimed children with ASD have enhanced visual acuity (Brosnan et al. in J Autism Dev Disord 42:2491-2497, 2012) repeated a critical methodological flaw by using an inappropriate viewing distance for a computerised acuity test, placing the findings in doubt. We examined visual acuity in 31 children with ASD and 33 controls using the 2 m 2000 Series Revised Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study chart placed at twice the conventional distance to better evaluate possible enhanced acuity. Children with ASD did not demonstrate superior acuity. The current findings strengthen the argument that reports of enhanced acuity in ASD are due to methodological flaws and challenges the reported association between visual acuity and systemising type behaviours.
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2. Engineer CT, Centanni TM, Im KW, Borland MS, Moreno NA, Carraway RS, Wilson LG, Kilgard MP. {{Degraded auditory processing in a rat model of autism limits the speech representation in non-primary auditory cortex}}. {Dev Neurobiol};2014 (Mar 18)
Although individuals with autism are known to have significant communication problems, the cellular mechanisms responsible for impaired communication are poorly understood. Valproic acid (VPA) is an anticonvulsant that is a known risk factor for autism in prenatally exposed children. Prenatal VPA exposure in rats causes numerous neural and behavioral abnormalities that mimic autism. We predicted that VPA exposure may lead to auditory processing impairments which may contribute to the deficits in communication observed in individuals with autism. In this study, we document auditory cortex responses in rats prenatally exposed to VPA. We recorded local field potentials and multiunit responses to speech sounds in primary auditory cortex, anterior auditory field, ventral auditory field and posterior auditory field in VPA exposed and control rats. Prenatal VPA exposure severely degrades the precise spatiotemporal patterns evoked by speech sounds in secondary, but not primary auditory cortex. This result parallels findings in humans and suggests that secondary auditory fields may be more sensitive to environmental disturbances and may provide insight into possible mechanisms related to auditory deficits in individuals with autism. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2014.
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3. Kealey C. {{Autism spectrum disorder: importance of audiology}}. {CMAJ};2014 (Mar 18);186(5):372.
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4. Nishijo M, Pham TT, Nguyen AT, Tran NN, Nakagawa H, Hoang LV, Tran AH, Morikawa Y, Ho MD, Kido T, Nguyen MN, Nguyen HM, Nishijo H. {{2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in breast milk increases autistic traits of 3-year-old children in Vietnam}}. {Mol Psychiatry};2014 (Mar 18)
Dioxin levels in the breast milk of mothers residing near a contaminated former airbase in Vietnam remain much higher than in unsprayed areas, suggesting high perinatal dioxin exposure for their infants. The present study investigated the association of perinatal dioxin exposure with autistic traits in 153 3-year-old children living in a contaminated area in Vietnam. The children were followed up from birth using the neurodevelopmental battery Bayley-III. The high-2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) exposed groups (>/=3.5 pg per g fat) showed significantly higher Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS) scores for both boys and girls than the mild-TCDD exposed groups, without differences in neurodevelopmental scores. In contrast, the high total dioxin-exposed group, indicated by polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDDs/Fs)-the toxic equivalents (TEQ) levels>/=17.9 pg-TEQ per g fat, had significantly lower neurodevelopmental scores than the mild-exposed group in boys, but there was no difference in the ASRS scores. The present study demonstrates a specific impact of perinatal TCDD on autistic traits in childhood, which is different from the neurotoxicity of total dioxins (PCDDs/Fs).Molecular Psychiatry advance online publication, 18 March 2014; doi:10.1038/mp.2014.18.
