1. Abulebda K, Louer R, Lutfi R, Ahmed SS. {{A Comparison of Safety and Efficacy of Dexmedetomidine and Propofol in Children with Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders Undergoing Magnetic Resonance Imaging}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2018 (Apr 21)
Children with autism and autism spectrum disorders have a high incidence of neurologic comorbidities. Consequently, evaluation with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is deemed necessary. Sedating these patients poses several challenges. This retrospective study compared the efficacy and safety of dexmedetomidine to propofol in sedating autistic patients undergoing MRI. There were 56 patients in the dexmedetomidine group and 49 in the propofol group. All of the patients successfully completed the procedure. Recovery and discharge times were significantly lower in the propofol group, while the dexmedetomidine group maintained more stable hemodynamics. Both propofol and dexmedetomidine proved to be adequate and safe medications in the sedation of autistic children undergoing MRI.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
2. Brandler WM, Antaki D, Gujral M, Kleiber ML, Whitney J, Maile MS, Hong O, Chapman TR, Tan S, Tandon P, Pang T, Tang SC, Vaux KK, Yang Y, Harrington E, Juul S, Turner DJ, Thiruvahindrapuram B, Kaur G, Wang Z, Kingsmore SF, Gleeson JG, Bisson D, Kakaradov B, Telenti A, Venter JC, Corominas R, Toma C, Cormand B, Rueda I, Guijarro S, Messer KS, Nievergelt CM, Arranz MJ, Courchesne E, Pierce K, Muotri AR, Iakoucheva LM, Hervas A, Scherer SW, Corsello C, Sebat J. {{Paternally inherited cis-regulatory structural variants are associated with autism}}. {Science};2018 (Apr 20);360(6386):327-331.
The genetic basis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is known to consist of contributions from de novo mutations in variant-intolerant genes. We hypothesize that rare inherited structural variants in cis-regulatory elements (CRE-SVs) of these genes also contribute to ASD. We investigated this by assessing the evidence for natural selection and transmission distortion of CRE-SVs in whole genomes of 9274 subjects from 2600 families affected by ASD. In a discovery cohort of 829 families, structural variants were depleted within promoters and untranslated regions, and paternally inherited CRE-SVs were preferentially transmitted to affected offspring and not to their unaffected siblings. The association of paternal CRE-SVs was replicated in an independent sample of 1771 families. Our results suggest that rare inherited noncoding variants predispose children to ASD, with differing contributions from each parent.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
3. Dickinson A, DiStefano C, Lin YY, Scheffler AW, Senturk D, Jeste SS. {{Interhemispheric alpha-band hypoconnectivity in children with autism spectrum disorder}}. {Behav Brain Res};2018 (Apr 21)
Diverse genetic and environmental etiologies converge onto circuit level brain dysfunction in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), manifesting at a macroscopic level as aberrant neural connectivity. Previous studies have described atypical patterns of decreased short range and increased long range connectivity in ASD [1]. However, it remains unclear whether group level features of circuit dysfunction are consistently present across the range of cognitive function seen in the autism spectrum. The dynamics of neural oscillations in the alpha range (6-12Hz) are exquisitely sensitive to healthy development of functional and structural connectivity. Alpha-band coherence, measured with high temporal-precision electroencephalography (EEG) therefore represents an ideal tool for studying neural connectivity in developmental populations. Here we examined spontaneous alpha phase coherence in a heterogeneous sample of 59 children with ASD and 39 age matched typically developing children. Using a data driven approach, we conducted an unbiased examination of all possible atypical connectivity patterns across all cortical regions. Long-range hypoconnectivity was present in children with ASD compared to typically developing children, with temporal interhemispheric connectivity showing the largest difference between the two groups. Decreased long range alpha coherence distinguishes a heterogeneous group of ASD children from typically developing children. Interhemispheric temporal hypoconnectivity represents a fundamental functional difference in children with ASD across a wide cognitive and age range that may reflect white matter disturbances or increased signal variability at temporal sites in ASD.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
4. Joshi G, Wozniak J, Fitzgerald M, Faraone S, Fried R, Galdo M, Furtak SL, Conroy K, Kilcullen JR, Belser A, Biederman J. {{High Risk for Severe Emotional Dysregulation in Psychiatrically Referred Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Controlled Study}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2018 (Apr 19)
To assess prevalence and severity of emotional dysregulation (ED) in psychiatrically referred youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD youth (N = 123) were compared to youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and controls. The majority of psychiatrically referred youth with ASD had positive Child Behavior Checklist-ED (CBCL-ED) profile that was significantly higher than in youth with ADHD (82 vs. 53%; p < 0.001). The severe emotional dysregulation (SED) profile was significantly greater in ASD youth than ADHD (44 vs. 15%; p < 0.001). In the presence of SED profile ASD youth suffered from greater severity of autism, associated psychopathology, and psychosocial dysfunction. Greater than expected prevalence of SED in psychiatrically referred youth with ASD that identifies distinct clinical correlates associated with severe morbidity and dysfunction. Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
5. Li-Tsang CWP, Li TMH, Ho CHY, Lau MSW, Leung HWH. {{The Relationship Between Sensorimotor and Handwriting Performance in Chinese Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2018 (Apr 19)
Impaired sensorimotor control, as a common feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), could be a driving factor to handwriting problems. This study examined the Chinese and English handwriting and sensorimotor skills of 15 ASD and 174 typically developing Chinese adolescents. Participants with ASD had lower writing speed and poor manual dexterity (MD) than the typically developing participants. MD was a significant mediator between ASD and handwriting speed. Ground time and airtime represent the length of time when the pen touches the paper and is held in air, respectively. Participants with ASD who had better performance in MD showed shorter ground time in Chinese handwriting and shorter airtime in English handwriting. Training for adolescents with ASD on their MD may improve their handwriting performance.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
6. Lodi-Smith J, Rodgers JD, Cunningham SA, Lopata C, Thomeer ML. {{Meta-analysis of Big Five personality traits in autism spectrum disorder}}. {Autism};2018 (Apr 1):1362361318766571.
The present meta-analysis synthesizes the emerging literature on the relationship of Big Five personality traits to autism spectrum disorder. Studies were included if they (1) either (a) measured autism spectrum disorder characteristics using a metric that yielded a single score quantification of the magnitude of autism spectrum disorder characteristics and/or (b) studied individuals with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis compared to individuals without an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and (2) measured Big Five traits in the same sample or samples. Fourteen reviewed studies include both correlational analyses and group comparisons. Eighteen effect sizes per Big Five trait were used to calculate two overall effect sizes per trait. Meta-analytic effects were calculated using random effects models. Twelve effects (per trait) from nine studies reporting correlations yielded a negative association between each Big Five personality trait and autism spectrum disorder characteristics (Fisher’s z ranged from -.21 (conscientiousness) to -.50 (extraversion)). Six group contrasts (per trait) from six studies comparing individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder to neurotypical individuals were also substantial (Hedges’ g ranged from -.88 (conscientiousness) to -1.42 (extraversion)). The potential impact of personality on important life outcomes and new directions for future research on personality in autism spectrum disorder are discussed in light of results.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
7. Rivard K, Protzner AB, Burles F, Schuetze M, Cho I, Ten Eycke K, McCrimmon A, Dewey D, Cortese F, Bray S. {{Largely Typical Electrophysiological Affective Responses to Special Interest Stimuli in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2018 (Apr 21)
Circumscribed interests are a symptom of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that may be related to exaggerated affective neural responses. However, the use of generic ASD-interest image stimuli has left an open question as to whether affective responses towards individual interests are greater in ASD compared to typically developing (TD) controls. We compared amplitudes of the late positive potential (LPP), an affective electroencephalographic response, between adolescents with ASD (N = 19) and TD adolescents (N = 20), using images tailored to individual likes and dislikes. We found an LPP response for liked and disliked images, relative to neutral, with no difference in amplitude between groups. This suggests that the LPP is not atypical in adolescents with ASD towards images of individual interests.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
8. Zwart FS, Vissers C, Kessels RPC, Maes JHR. {{Implicit learning seems to come naturally for children with autism, but not for children with specific language impairment: Evidence from behavioral and ERP data}}. {Autism Res};2018 (Apr 20)
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and specific language impairment (SLI) are two neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by deficits in verbal and nonverbal communication skills. These skills are thought to develop largely through implicit-or automatic-learning mechanisms. The aim of the current paper was to investigate the role of implicit learning abilities in the atypical development of communication skills in ASD and SLI. In the current study, we investigated Response Times (RTs) and Event Related Potentials (ERPs) during implicit learning on a Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task in a group of typically developing (TD) children (n = 17), a group of autistic children (n = 16), and a group of children with SLI (n = 13). Findings suggest that learning in both ASD and SLI are similar to that in TD. However, electrophysiological findings suggest that autistic children seem to rely mainly on more automatic processes (as reflected by an N2b component), whereas the children with SLI seem to rely on more controlled processes (as reflected by a P3 component). The TD children appear to use a combination of both learning mechanisms. These findings suggest that clinical interventions should aim at compensating for an implicit learning deficit in children with SLI, but not in children with ASD. Future research should focus on developmental differences in implicit learning and related neural correlates in TD, ASD, and SLI. Autism Res 2018. (c) 2018 The Authors Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Autism and Specific Language Impairment (SLI) are two disorders characterized by problems in social communication and language. Social communication and language are believed to be learned in an automatic way. This is called « implicit learning. » We have found that implicit learning is intact in autism. However, in SLI there seems different brain activity during implicit learning. Maybe children with SLI learn differently, and maybe this different learning makes it more difficult for them to learn language.
