1. Dekker V, Nauta MH, Timmerman ME, Mulder EJ, van der Veen-Mulders L, van den Hoofdakker BJ, van Warners S, Vet LJJ, Hoekstra PJ, de Bildt A. {{Social skills group training in children with autism spectrum disorder: a randomized controlled trial}}. {Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry}. 2018.
In 122 high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; 9-13 years; 19 girls), we investigated the effectiveness of a 15-session social skills group training (SST) with and without parent and teacher involvement (PTI) in a randomized controlled trial with three conditions: SST (n = 47), SST-PTI (n = 51), and care-as-usual (CAU, n = 24). Hierarchical linear modeling was used for immediate and 6-month follow-up analyses. Measures were administered before randomization (blind), post-treatment and at follow-up (not blind). TRIAL REGISTRATION: Dutch Trial Register; http://www.trialregister.nl ; NTR2405. At post-treatment, children in both SSTs had improved significantly more than CAU on the primary outcome, Vineland Socialization (SST: Cohen’s d = 0.39; 95% CI – 2.23 to 3.11 and SST-PTI: d = 0.43; 95% CI – 2.19 to 3.15) and on the secondary outcome parent-SSRS « Cooperation » (SST: d = 0.43; 95% CI – 0.23 to 1.15 and SST-PTI: d = 0.45; 95% CI – 0.21 to 1.17), with no difference between post-treatment and follow-up. Additionally, children in SST-PTI improved significantly more on the teacher-SSRS than in CAU [« Cooperation » d =0.42 (95% CI – 0.33 to 1.13); « Assertion » d =0.34 (95% CI – 0.39 to 1.11); « Self-Control » d =0.61 (95% CI – 0.08 to 1.34)] and in SST [« Cooperation » d =0.34 (95% CI – 0.37 to 1.05); « Self-Control » d =0.59 (95% CI – 0.13 to 1.32)]. The current study corroborates earlier findings in smaller samples and wider age ranges, with small but statistically significant effects of SST for high-functioning pre-adolescent children with ASD. Parental and teacher involvement intensified treatment, yet did not yield an additional effect relative to SST for children only, as reported by parents. 6 months after training, no further improvement or decline was found.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
2. Edwards KA, Madden AMK, Zup SL. {{Serotonin receptor regulation as a potential mechanism for sexually dimorphic oxytocin dysregulation in a model of Autism}}. {Brain Res}. 2018.
Perinatal administration of serotonin (5HT) agonist 5-methoxytryptamine (5MT) induces developmental hyperserotonemia (DHS; elevated blood serotonin) and produces behavioral and neurochemical changes in rats relevant to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), such as oxytocin dysregulation. Disruption of the oxytocin system may underlie many of the social deficits present in ASD individuals, thus we investigated the mechanism(s) underlying DHS-induced oxytocin dysregulation. The most parsimonious mechanism of 5HT action would be via alteration of 5HT receptors on oxytocin cells; 5HT is known to influence cell survival as well as influence oxytocin release via 5HT1A and 5HT2A receptors, which co-localize in oxytocin-expressing (OXT+) cells in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus. We report that both male and female DHS rats have a lower percentage of OXT+ cells co-localized with excitatory 5HT2A receptors than control animals, while only DHS females have a higher percentage of OXT+ cells co-localized with inhibitory 5HT1A receptors compared to controls. Importantly, DHS also reduces the number of OXT+ cells in the PVN of adult male, but not female, rats. This pattern suggests that females, but not males, can regulate 5HT receptors in response to DHS in a manner that promotes oxytocin cell survival and functional efficiency. In addition, it has been previously reported that DHS alters normal juvenile play, especially in males, thus we also tested play partner preference among juvenile control and DHS males. Sex differences observed using the DHS model of ASD add to its validity, given the pronounced male sex bias in the prevalence of ASD, and emphasize the need for inclusion of both sexes in ASD research.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
3. Mazzoni A, Grove R, Eapen V, Lenroot RK, Bruggemann J. {{The promise of functional near-infrared spectroscopy in autism research: What do we know and where do we go?}}. {Social neuroscience}. 2018: 1-14.
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a neuroimaging technique that has been gaining increasing interest as a method to investigate the brain function of individuals on the autism spectrum. It is a non-invasive, portable and relatively motion-tolerant method of measuring haemodynamic activity in the brain. fNIRS can be particularly effective for quantifying brain function in challenging clinical populations. In light of this, there is a growing body of fNIRS literature focusing on individuals on the autism spectrum. The aim of this review is to evaluate and summarise key studies from the literature and discuss their implications for the field. Potential limitations of the fNIRS approach and resolution of these issues based on emerging fNIRS research are also discussed.
