1. Accardo PJ, Barrow W. {{Toe Walking in Autism: Further Observations}}. {Journal of child neurology}. 2014 Feb 21.
Toe walking has been associated with language disorders and autism. To better understand the association between persistent toe walking and sensory and motor variables in children with autism, the degree of toe walking was compared with an estimate of the severity of sensory integration dysfunction symptoms and the presence of residual components of the tonic labyrinthine in supine reflex pattern in 61 children younger than 37 months of age with newly diagnosed autism. There was no association between the presence of toe walking and sensory symptoms (P = .5298) or language age (P = .6142), but there was an association between toe walking and the presence of components of the tonic labyrinthine reflex (P = .04222). These preliminary results support the contribution of subtle motor deficits to the evolution of some behaviors associated with autism.
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2. Chen T, Lu JS, Song Q, Liu MG, Koga K, Descalzi G, Li YQ, Zhuo M. {{Pharmacological Rescue of Cortical Synaptic and Network Potentiation in a Mouse Model for Fragile X Syndrome}}. {Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology}. 2014 Feb 20.
Fragile X syndrome, caused by the mutation of the Fmr1 gene, is characterized by deficits of attention and learning ability. In hippocampus of Fmr1 knockout mice (KO), long term depression is enhanced while long-term potentiation (LTP) including late-phase LTP (L-LTP) is reduced or unaffected. Here we examined L-LTP in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in Fmr1 KO mice by using a 64-electrode array recording system. In wild-type mice, theta burst stimulation induced L-LTP, which does not occur in all active electrodes/channels within the cingulate circuit and is typically detected in about 75% of active channels. Furthermore, L-LTP recruited new responses from previous inactive channels. Both L-LTP and the recruitment of inactive responses were blocked in the ACC slices of Fmr1 KO mice. Bath application of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) antagonist or glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) inhibitors rescued the L-LTP and network recruitment. Our results demonstrate that loss of FMRP will greatly impair L-LTP and recruitment of cortical network in the ACC, which can be rescued by pharmacological inhibition of mGluR5 or GSK3. This study is the first report of the network properties of L-LTP in the ACC, and provides basic mechanisms for future treatment of cortex-related cognitive defects in fragile X patients.Neuropsychopharmacology accepted article preview online, 20 February 2014; doi:10.1038/npp.2014.44.
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3. Fernell E, Wilson P, Hadjikhani N, Bourgeron T, Neville B, Taylor D, Minnis H, Gillberg C. {{Screening, Intervention and Outcome in Autism and Other Developmental Disorders: The Role of Randomized Controlled Trials}}. {J Autism Dev Disord}. 2014 Feb 20.
We draw attention to a number of important considerations in the arguments about screening and outcome of intervention in children with autism and other developmental disorders. Autism screening in itself never provides a final clinical diagnosis, but may well identify developmental deviations indicative of autism-or of other developmental disorders-that should lead to referral for further clinical assessment. Decisions regarding population or clinic screening cannot be allowed to be based on the fact that prospective longitudinal RCT designs over decades could never be performed in complex developmental disorders. We propose an alternative approach. Early screening for autism and other developmental disorders is likely to be of high societal importance and should be promoted and rigorously evaluated.
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4. Hartley C, Allen ML. {{Brief Report: Generalisation of Word-Picture Relations in Children with Autism and Typically Developing Children}}. {J Autism Dev Disord}. 2014 Feb 21.
We investigated whether low-functioning children with autism generalise labels from colour photographs based on sameness of shape, colour, or both. Children with autism and language-matched controls were taught novel words paired with photographs of unfamiliar objects, and then sorted pictures and objects into two buckets according to whether or not they were also referents of the newly-learned labels. Stimuli matched depicted referents on shape and/or colour. Children with autism extended labels to items that matched depicted objects on shape and colour, but also frequently generalised to items that matched on only shape or colour. Controls only generalised labels to items that matched the depicted referent’s shape. Thus, low-functioning children with autism may not understand that shape constrains symbolic word-picture-object relations.
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5. Jensen CM, Steinhausen HC, Lauritsen MB. {{Time Trends Over 16 Years in Incidence-Rates of Autism Spectrum Disorders Across the Lifespan Based on Nationwide Danish Register Data}}. {J Autism Dev Disord}. 2014 Feb 20.
This study investigated time trends and associated factors of incidence rates of diagnosed autism spectrum disorders (ASD) across the lifespan from 1995 to 2010, using data from the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Registry. First time diagnosis of childhood autism, atypical autism, Asperger’s syndrome, or pervasive developmental disorder-unspecified (PDD-NOS) were identified, incidence rates were calculated, and data were fitted using non-linear least squares methods. A total of 14.997 patients were identified and incidence rates for ASD increased from 9.0 to 38.6 per 100,000 person years during the 16-year period. The increases were most pronounced in females, adolescents, adults, and patients with Asperger’s syndrome and PDD-NOS.
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6. Ludlow A, Mohr B, Whitmore A, Garagnani M, Pulvermuller F, Gutierrez R. {{Auditory processing and sensory behaviours in children with autism spectrum disorders as revealed by mismatch negativity}}. {Brain and cognition}. 2014 Feb 21;86C:55-63.
Sensory dysfunctions may underlie key characteristics in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The current study aimed to investigate auditory change detection in children with ASD in order to determine event-related potentials to meaningless and meaningful speech stimuli. 11 high functioning boys with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (mean age=13.0; SD=1.08) and 11 typically developing boys (mean age=13.7; SD=1.5) participated in a mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm. Results revealed that compared to TD controls, the children with ASD showed significantly reduced MMN responses to both words and pseudowords in the frontal regions of the brain and also a significant reduction in their activation for words in the Central Parietal regions. In order to test the relationship between sensory processing and auditory processing, children completed the Adult and Adolescent Sensory Profile. As predicted, the children with ASD showed more extreme sensory behaviours and were significantly higher than their typically developing controls across three of the sensory quadrants (sensory sensitivity, low registration and sensory avoidance). Importantly, only auditory sensory sensitivity was able to account for the differences displayed for words in the frontal and central parietal regions when controlling for the effect of group, revealing an inverse relationship of the higher sensory sensitivity scores the less activation in response for words. We discuss how the expression of sensory behaviours in ASD may result in deficient neurophysiological mechanisms underlying automatic language processing.
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7. Nishiyama T, Kanne SM. {{On the Misapplication of the BAPQ in a Study of Autism}}. {J Autism Dev Disord}. 2014 Feb 20.
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8. Phillips KL, Schieve LA, Visser S, Boulet S, Sharma AJ, Kogan MD, Boyle CA, Yeargin-Allsopp M. {{Prevalence and Impact of Unhealthy Weight in a National Sample of US Adolescents with Autism and Other Learning and Behavioral Disabilities}}. {Maternal and child health journal}. 2014 Feb 20.
We estimated the prevalence of obesity, overweight, and underweight among US adolescents with and without autism and other learning and behavioral developmental disabilities (DDs) and assessed the health consequences of obesity among adolescents with DDs. From the 2008 to 2010 National Health Interview Survey, we selected 9,619 adolescents ages 12-17 years. Parent respondents reported weight, height, presence of DDs and health conditions. We calculated body mass index (BMI) and defined obesity, overweight, and underweight as >/=95th, >/=85th to <95th, and <5th percentiles, respectively, using established criteria. We created mutually-exclusive DD subgroups using the following order of precedence: autism; intellectual disability; attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder; learning disorder/other developmental delay. We compared BMI outcomes among adolescents in each DD group versus adolescents without DDs using multivariable logistic regression. Socio-demographic factors and birthweight were included as confounders. Estimates were weighted to reflect the US population. Both obesity and underweight prevalences were higher among adolescents with than without DDs [adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) 1.5 (1.25-1.75) and 1.5 (1.01-2.20), respectively]. Obesity was elevated among adolescents with all DD types, and was highest among the autism subgroup [aPR 2.1 (1.44-3.16)]. Adolescents with either a DD or obesity had higher prevalences of common respiratory, gastrointestinal, dermatological and neurological conditions/symptoms than nonobese adolescents without DDs. Adolescents with both DDs and obesity had the highest estimates for most conditions. Obesity is high among adolescents with autism and other DDs and poses added chronic health risks. Obesity prevention and management approaches for this vulnerable population subgroup need further consideration.
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9. Piven J, Sasson NJ. {{On the Misapplication of the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire in a Study of Autism}}. {J Autism Dev Disord}. 2014 Feb 20.
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10. Thomas KC, Parish SL, Williams CS. {{Healthcare Expenditures for Autism During Times of School Transition: Some Vulnerable Families Fall Behind}}. {Maternal and child health journal}. 2014 Feb 20.
This study explores the association between school transition age and healthcare expenditures for children with autism. The paper explores three questions: (1) What is the composition of services overall and paid out-of-pocket and does it differ at transition? (2) Do transition age children have higher total and out-of-pocket health care expenditures than other children with autism? (3) Does the effect of transition differ for vulnerable families who often experience problems accessing care? Pooled data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 2000-2009 on children under 21 years of age with autism (n = 337) were used to describe expenditures for services by source of payment and estimate two-part models of total and out-of-pocket expenditures as a function of child transition age (5, 6, 11, 14) and other child and family characteristics. Median total annual expenditures for health care among children with autism are $2,400; median out-of-pocket expenditures are $390. The majority of total expenditures are devoted to outpatient medical services; nearly half of family out-of-pocket spending is devoted to prescription medications. When children are transition age, a larger proportion of both overall and out-of-pocket expenditures go toward ambulatory therapy, while a smaller proportion of out-of-pocket expenditures are devoted to prescription medications compared to children of other ages. Transition age children from vulnerable families experience a drop in expenditures that families with more resources fill through out-of-pocket spending. Findings raise questions about the dimensions of care for children with autism. Schools may be better positioned than health insurance to foster continuity of care.
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11. Wolff JJ, Botteron KN, Dager SR, Elison JT, Estes AM, Gu H, Hazlett HC, Pandey J, Paterson SJ, Schultz RT, Zwaigenbaum L, Piven J. {{Longitudinal patterns of repetitive behavior in toddlers with autism}}. {Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines}. 2014 Feb 19.
BACKGROUND: Recent evidence suggests that restricted and repetitive behaviors may differentiate children who develop autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by late infancy. How these core symptoms manifest early in life, particularly among infants at high risk for the disorder, is not well characterized. METHODS: Prospective, longitudinal parent-report data (Repetitive Behavior Scales-Revised) were collected for 190 high-risk toddlers and 60 low-risk controls from 12 to 24 months of age. Forty-one high-risk children were classified with ASD at age 2. Profiles of repetitive behavior were compared between groups using generalized estimating equations. RESULTS: Longitudinal profiles for children diagnosed with ASD differed significantly from high- and low-risk children without the disorder on all measures of repetitive behavior. High-risk toddlers without ASD were intermediate to low risk and ASD positive counterparts. Toddlers with ASD showed significantly higher rates of repetitive behavior across subtypes at the 12-month time point. Repetitive behaviors were significantly correlated with adaptive behavior and socialization scores among children with ASD at 24 months of age, but were largely unrelated to measures of general cognitive ability. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that as early as 12 months of age, a broad range of repetitive behaviors are highly elevated in children who go on to develop ASD. While some degree of repetitive behavior is elemental to typical early development, the extent of these behaviors among children who develop ASD appears highly atypical.
