1. Brigham NB, Yoder PJ, Jarzynka MA, Tapp J. {{The Sequential Relationship Between Parent Attentional Cues and Sustained Attention to Objects in Young Children with Autism}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2009 (Aug 15)
This study examined the sequential relationship between parent attentional cues and sustained attention to objects in young children with autism during a 20 min free-play interaction session. Twenty-five parent-child dyads with a preschool child with autism participated. Results indicated that (a) parent attentional cues that maintained the child’s focus of attention were more likely to support child sustained object attention than parent attentional cues that redirected the child from his or her focus of attention or introduced a new focus of attention (d = 4.46), and (b) parent attentional cues that included three or more parent behaviors were more likely to support child sustained object attention than parent attentional cues that included one or two parent behaviors (d = 1.03).
2. Ecker C, Rocha-Rego V, Johnston P, Mourao-Miranda J, Marquand A, Daly EM, Brammer MJ, Murphy C, Murphy DG, the AIMS Consortium. {{Investigating The Predictive Value Of Whole-Brain Structural MR Scans In Autism: A Pattern Classification Approach}}. {Neuroimage};2009 (Aug 13)
Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is accompanied by subtle and spatially distributed differences in brain anatomy that are difficult to detect using conventional mass-univariate methods (e.g. VBM). These require correction for multiple comparisons and hence need relatively large samples to attain sufficient statistical power. Reports of neuroanatomical differences from relatively small studies are thus highly variable. Also, VBM does not provide predictive value, limiting its diagnostic value. Here, we examined neuroanatomical networks implicated in ASD using a whole-brain classification approach employing a Support Vector Machine (SVM), and investigated the predictive value of structural MRI scans in adults with ASD. Subsequently, results were compared between SVM and VBM. We included 44 male adults; 22 diagnosed with ASD using ‘gold standard’ research interviews and 22 healthy matched controls. SVM identified spatially distributed networks discriminating between ASD and controls. These included the limbic, frontal-striatal, fronto-temporal, fronto-parietal and cerebellar systems. SVM applied to gray matter scans correctly classified ASD individuals at a specificity of 86.0% and a sensitivity of 88.0%. 68.0% of all cases were correctly classified using white matter anatomy. The distance from the separating hyperplane (i.e. the test margin) was significantly related to current symptom severity. In contrast, VBM revealed few significant between-group differences at conventional levels of statistical stringency. We therefore suggest that SVM can detect subtle and spatially distributed differences in brain networks between adults with ASD and controls. Also, these differences provide significant predictive power for group membership, which is related to symptom severity.
3. Franken TE, Lewis C, Malone SA. {{Brief Report: Are Children with Autism Proficient Word Learners?}} {J Autism Dev Disord};2009 (Aug 18)
Many approaches to word learning argue for the importance of joint attention and other social-pragmatic abilities. This study explored word learning in children with autism (CWA), by examining it in ostensive and non-ostensive contexts, tested through both comprehension and elicited production. Novel nouns were taught to 17 CWA and 13 children with moderate learning difficulties (MLD) using an adapted version of Tomasello and Barton’s (Developmental Psychology, 30: 639-650, 1994) search paradigm. In elicited production for words learnt within an ostensive context, CWA performed at a significantly higher level than MLD children. This is contrary to prior findings and suggests that word learning abilities in CWA have been underestimated.
4. Hamilton AF, Brindley R, Frith U. {{Visual perspective taking impairment in children with autistic spectrum disorder}}. {Cognition};2009 (Aug 12)
Evidence from typical development and neuroimaging studies suggests that level 2 visual perspective taking – the knowledge that different people may see the same thing differently at the same time – is a mentalising task. Thus, we would expect children with autism, who fail typical mentalising tasks like false belief, to perform poorly on level 2 visual perspective taking as well. However, prior data on this issue are inconclusive. We re-examined this question, testing a group of 23 young autistic children, aged around 8years with a verbal mental age of around 4years and three groups of typical children (n=60) ranging in age from 4 to 8years on a level 2 visual perspective task and a closely matched mental rotation task. The results demonstrate that autistic children have difficulty with visual perspective taking compared to a task requiring mental rotation, relative to typical children. Furthermore, performance on the level 2 visual perspective taking task correlated with theory of mind performance. These findings resolve discrepancies in previous studies of visual perspective taking in autism, and demonstrate that level 2 visual perspective taking is a mentalising task.
5. Lasgaard M, Nielsen A, Eriksen ME, Goossens L. {{Loneliness and Social Support in Adolescent Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2009 (Aug 15)
Loneliness and perceived social support were examined in 39 adolescent boys with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by means of a self-labeling loneliness measure, the UCLA Loneliness Scale (third version), and the Social Support Scale for Children. Twenty-one percent of the boys with ASD described themselves as often or always feeling lonely. Compared with 199 boys from regular schools in a national probability study, ASD was strongly associated with often or always feeling lonely (OR: 7.08, p < .0005), as well as with a higher degree of loneliness (F(1,229) = 11.1, p < .005). Perceived social support from classmates, parents, and a close friend correlated negatively with loneliness in ASD. The study, therefore, indicates a high occurrence of loneliness among adolescent boys with ASD and points at perceived social support as an important protective factor.
6. Simmons DR, Robertson AE, McKay L, Toal E, McAleer P, Pollick FE. {{Vision in Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {Vision Res};2009 (Aug 11)
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are developmental disorders which are thought primarily to affect social functioning. However, there is now a growing body of evidence that unusual sensory processing is at least a concomitant and possibly the cause of many of the behavioural signs and symptoms of ASD. A comprehensive and critical review of the phenomenological, empirical, neuroscientific and theoretical literature pertaining to visual processing in ASD is presented, along with a brief justification of a new theory which may help to explain some of the data, and link it with other current hypotheses about the genetic and neural aetiologies of this enigmatic condition.
7. Staples KL, Reid G. {{Fundamental Movement Skills and Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2009 (Aug 15)
Delays and deficits may both contribute to atypical development of movement skills by children with ASD. Fundamental movement skills of 25 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (ages 9-12 years) were compared to three typically developing groups using the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2). The group matched on chronological age performed significantly better on the TGMD-2. Another comparison group matched on movement skill demonstrated children with ASD perform similarly to children approximately half their age. Comparisons to a third group matched on mental age equivalence revealed the movement skills of children with ASD are more impaired than would be expected given their cognitive level. Collectively, these results suggest the movement skills of children with ASD reflect deficits in addition to delays.
8. Yorbik O, Kurt I, Hasimi A, Ozturk O. {{Chromium, Cadmium, and Lead Levels in Urine of Children with Autism and Typically Developing Controls}}. {Biol Trace Elem Res};2009 (Aug 18)
Although potentially harmful effects of heavy metals are well known, limited numbers of studies exist regarding their relationship with autism. The aim of this study was to investigate urine levels of some heavy metals such as of chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in children with autism and healthy subjects. Urine levels of Cr, Cd, and Pb were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry in 30 children with autism and compared with 20 healthy controls. Urine Cd and Pb levels were found as significantly decreased in children with autism compared to healthy subjects (p < 0.05). On the other hand, urine Cr levels were significantly higher in children with autism than healthy subjects (p < 0.05). This study suggested that autism may be associated with significant decrease in excretion rate of Cd and Pb and a significant increase excretion rate in the levels of Cr in the urine. These results have indicated that further studies are warranted for investigation of possible roles of heavy metals in autism.
