1. Ambrosino S, Bos DJ, van Raalten TR, Kobussen NA, van Belle J, Oranje B, Durston S. {{Functional connectivity during cognitive control in children with autism spectrum disorder: an independent component analysis}}. {J Neural Transm};2014 (May 21)
Restrictive and repetitive behavior in autism may be related to deficits in cognitive control. Here, we aimed to assess functional connectivity during a cognitive control task and compare brain network activity and connectivity in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing children using a multivariate data-driven approach. 19 high-functioning boys with ASD and 19 age-matched typically developing boys were included in this study. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed at 3T during the performance of a cognitive control task (go/no-go paradigm). Functional networks were identified using independent component analysis. Network activity and connectivity was compared between groups and correlated with clinical measures of rigid behavior using multivariate analysis of covariance. We found no differences between the groups in task performance or in network activity. Power analysis indicated that, if this were a real difference, it would require nearly 800 subjects to show group differences in network activity using this paradigm. Neither were there correlations between network activity and rigid behavior. Our data do not provide support for the presence of deficits in cognitive control in children with ASD, or the functional networks supporting this ability.
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2. Bader SH, Barry TD. {{A Longitudinal Examination of the Relation Between Parental Expressed Emotion and Externalizing Behaviors in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2014 (May 23)
The current study explored the longitudinal relation between parental expressed emotion, a well-established predictor of symptom relapse in various other disorders (e.g., schizophrenia) with externalizing behaviors in 84 children, ages 8-18 (at Time 2), with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It was found that parental expressed emotion, specifically criticism/hostility at Time 1, significantly related to a change in externalizing behaviors from Time 1 to Time 2, even after controlling for Time 1 family income, ASD symptom severity, parental distress, and parenting practices. That is, higher levels of parental criticism/hostility at Time 1 predicted higher levels of child externalizing behaviors at Time 2. However, the reverse was not found. This finding of a unidirectional relation has important clinical implications.
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3. den Brok WL, Sterkenburg PS. {{Self-controlled technologies to support skill attainment in persons with an autism spectrum disorder and/or an intellectual disability: a systematic literature review}}. {Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol};2014 (May 22):1-10.
Abstract Persons with an autism spectrum disorder and/or intellectual disability have difficulties in processing information, which impedes the learning of daily living skills and cognitive concepts. Technological aids support learning, and if used temporarily and in a self-controlled manner, they may contribute to independent societal participation. This systematic review examines the studies that applied self-controlled technologies. The 28 relevant studies showed that skills and concepts are learned through prompting, interaction with devices, and practicing in (realistic) virtual environments. For attaining cognitive concepts, advanced technologies such as virtual reality are effective. Five studies focussed on cognitive concepts and two on emotion concepts. More research is necessary to examine the generalization of results and effect of using technology for learning cognitive and emotional concepts. Implications for Rehabilitation Persons with a moderate to mild intellectual disability and/or with autism can use self-controlled technology to learn new activities of daily living and cognitive concepts (e.g. time perception and imagination). Specific kinds of technologies can be used to learn specific kinds of skills (e.g. videos on computers or handheld devices for daily living skills; Virtual Reality for time perception and emotions of others). For learning new cognitive concepts it is advisable to use more advanced technologies as they have the potential to offer more features to support learning.
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4. Edwards LA. {{A Meta-Analysis of Imitation Abilities in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {Autism Res};2014 (May 23)
Although imitation impairments are often reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), previous work has not yet determined whether these impairments are significant, specific to ASD, and present across the entire spectrum. This report of 53 studies on imitation in ASD seeks to determine whether individuals with ASD show significant imitation deficits, the magnitude of these deficits, and whether they are specific to ASD. Using standard meta-analytic techniques in a random-effects model, the data reviewed suggest that individuals with ASD show deficits in imitation, performing on average 0.81 SDs below individuals without ASD on imitation tasks. This deficit was specific to the condition of having ASD. Moderator analyses revealed that the average Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) scores of groups of ASD participants were significantly and strongly negatively associated with the imitation abilities of these subjects, but average participant IQ was not associated with imitation abilities. Study setting, novelty of actions, format of imitation tasks (live vs. not), number of actions to imitate, or verbal prompts were not found to significantly affect the sizes of the imitation differences between individuals with and without ASD. The manner in which imitation was operationalized, however, had significant effects on whether imitation deficits were found between individuals with and without ASD. In tests that measured imitation of both form and end points, participants with ASD showed significant deficits compared with those without ASD; on tests of end point emulation only, individuals with ASD showed no deficits. Autism Res 2014, : -. (c) 2014 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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5. Freitag CM. {{Autismus-Spektrum Storung nach DSM-5}}. {Z Kinder Jugendpsychiatr Psychother};2014 (May);42(3):185-192.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in DSM-5 comprises the former DSM-IV-TR diagnoses of Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder and PDD-nos. The criteria for ASD in DSM-5 were considerably revised from those of ICD-10 and DSM-IV-TR. The present article compares the diagnostic criteria, presents studies on the validity and reliability of ASD, and discusses open questions. It ends with a clinical and research perspective.
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6. Fulton E, Eapen V, Crncec R, Walter A, Rogers S. {{Reducing maladaptive behaviors in preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder using the early start denver model}}. {Front Pediatr};2014;2:40.
The presence of maladaptive behaviors in young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can significantly limit engagement in treatment programs, as well as compromise future educational and vocational opportunities. This study aimed to explore whether the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) treatment approach reduced maladaptive behaviors in preschool-aged children with ASD in a community-based long day care setting. The level of maladaptive behavior of 38 children with ASD was rated using an observation-based measure on three occasions during the intervention: on entry, 12 weeks post-entry, and on exit (post-intervention) over an average treatment duration of 11.8 months. Significant reductions were found in children’s maladaptive behaviors over the course of the intervention, with 68% of children showing a treatment response by 12 weeks and 79% on exit. This change was accompanied by improvement in children’s overall developmental level as assessed by the Mullen scales of early learning, but not by significant changes on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-II or Social Communication Questionnaire. Replication with a larger sample, control conditions, and additional measures of maladaptive behavior is necessary in order to determine the specific factors underlying these improvements; however, the findings of the present study suggest that the ESDM program may be effective in improving not only core developmental domains, but also decreasing maladaptive behaviors in preschool-aged children with ASD.
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7. Fung LK, Libove RA, Phillips J, Haddad F, Hardan AY. {{Brief Report: An Open-Label Study of the Neurosteroid Pregnenolone in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2014 (May 22)
The objective of this study was to assess the tolerability and efficacy of pregnenolone in reducing irritability in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This was a pilot, open-label, 12-week trial that included twelve subjects with a mean age of 22.5 +/- 5.8 years. Two participants dropped out of the study due to reasons unrelated to adverse effects. Pregnenolone yielded a statistically significant improvement in the primary measure, Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC)-Irritability [from 17.4 +/- 7.4 at baseline to 11.2 +/- 7.0 at 12 weeks (p = 0.028)]. Secondary measures were not statistically significant with the exception of ABC-lethargy (p = 0.046) and total Short Sensory Profile score (p = 0.009). No significant vital sign changes occurred during this study. Pregnenolone was not associated with any severe side effects. Single episodes of tiredness, diarrhea and depressive affect that could be related to pregnenolone were reported. Overall, pregnenolone was modestly effective and well-tolerated in individuals with ASD.
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8. Goldstein ND, Tager-Flusberg H, Lee BK. {{Mapping Collaboration Networks in the World of Autism Research}}. {Autism Res};2014 (May 21)
In the era of globalization and with the emergence of autism spectrum disorder as a global concern, the landscape of autism research has expanded to encompass much of the world. Here, we seek to provide an overview of the world of autism research, by documenting collaboration underlying the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR), the pre-eminent annual scientific meeting devoted to the presentation of the latest autism research. We analyzed published abstracts presented at IMFAR meetings, between 2008 and 2013, to determine patterns of collaboration. We described collaboration networks on the individual, institutional, and international levels, and visually depicted these results on spatial network maps. Consistent with findings from other scientific disciplines, we found that collaboration is correlated with research productivity. Collaborative hotspots of autism research throughout the years were clustered on the East and West coasts of the U.S., Canada, and northern Europe. In years when conferences were held outside of North America, the proportion of abstracts from Europe and Asia increased. While IMFAR has traditionally been dominated by a large North American presence, greater global representation may be attained by shifting meeting locations to other regions of the world. Autism Res 2014, : -. (c) 2014 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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9. Holmes LG, Himle MB. {{Brief Report: Parent-Child Sexuality Communication and Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2014 (May 23)
While considerable research has focused on promoting independence and optimizing quality of life for adolescents and young adult with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), sexual development and sexuality education have been largely neglected. Experts recommend that parents be the primary source of sex education for adolescents with ASD, and that sex education be tailored to a child’s developmental level. Prior studies show that parents of youth with ASD are uncertain about how to best communicate about sex and which topics to discuss with their children. In the current study we administered an online survey to 190 parents of adolescents with ASD in order to better understand sexuality communication patterns between parents and adolescents with both low and high functioning ASD.
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10. Irwin JR, Brancazio L. {{Seeing to hear? Patterns of gaze to speaking faces in children with autism spectrum disorders}}. {Front Psychol};2014;5:397.
Using eye-tracking methodology, gaze to a speaking face was compared in a group of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and a group with typical development (TD). Patterns of gaze were observed under three conditions: audiovisual (AV) speech in auditory noise, visual only speech and an AV non-face, non-speech control. Children with ASD looked less to the face of the speaker and fixated less on the speakers’ mouth than TD controls. No differences in gaze were reported for the non-face, non-speech control task. Since the mouth holds much of the articulatory information available on the face, these findings suggest that children with ASD may have reduced access to critical linguistic information. This reduced access to visible articulatory information could be a contributor to the communication and language problems exhibited by children with ASD.
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11. Lee YJ, Oh SH, Park C, Hong M, Lee AR, Yoo HJ, Shin CY, Cheon KA, Bahn GH. {{Advanced Pharmacotherapy Evidenced by Pathogenesis of Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci};2014 (Apr);12(1):19-30.
In clinical practice, pharmacological treatment is mostly focused on behavioral symptoms in everyday life. Nevertheless, persistent effort continues to develop medication for causal treatment. Recent changes in diagnostic criteria from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, text revision (DSM-IV-TR) to DSM-5 would affect not only diagnosing approaches, but also therapeutic approaches. Because previous pervasive developmental disorders have been integrated into a single entity, the autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we have to prepare for what medications are valuable for the ASD. In this article, we reviewed the following etiological treatment: acetylcholine and glutamate related medicine; amino acid medicine such as secretin, endogenous opioid, and oxytocin; complementary and alternative medicine such as chelating agents, vitamins, and omega-3; promising drugs related to the scope of pharmacogenetics currently under study.
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12. Lucas R, Norbury CF. {{Levels of Text Comprehension in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): The Influence of Language Phenotype}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2014 (May 22)
Many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have reading comprehension difficulties, but the level of processing at which comprehension is most vulnerable and the influence of language phenotype on comprehension skill is currently unclear. We explored comprehension at sentence and passage levels across language phenotypes. Children with ASD and age-appropriate language skills (n = 25) demonstrated similar syntactic and semantic facilitation to typically developing peers. In contrast, few children with ASD and language impairments (n = 25) could read beyond the single word level. Those who could read sentences benefited from semantic coherence, but were less sensitive to syntactic coherence. At the passage level, the strongest predictor of comprehension was vocabulary knowledge. This emphasizes that the intimate relationship between language competence and both decoding skill and comprehension is evident at the sentence, as well as the passage level, for children with ASD.
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13. Martin BS, Corbin JG, Huntsman MM. {{Deficient tonic GABAergic conductance and synaptic balance in the Fragile-X Syndrome Amygdala}}. {J Neurophysiol};2014 (May 21)
Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the leading cause of inherited intellectual disability. Comorbidities of FXS such as autism are increasingly linked to imbalances in excitation and inhibition (E/I) as well as dysfunction in GABAergic transmission in a number of brain regions including the amygdala. However, the link between E/I imbalance and GABAergic transmission deficits in the FXS amygdala is poorly understood. Here, we reveal that normal tonic GABAA receptor-mediated neurotransmission in principal neurons (PNs) of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) is comprised of both delta- and alpha5-subunit containing GABAA receptors. Furthermore, tonic GABAergic capacity is reduced in these neurons in the Fmr1 knock-out (KO) mouse model of FXS (1.5-fold total, 3-fold delta-, and 2-fold alpha5-subunit mediated) as indicated by application of gabazine (50 muM), THIP (1 muM), and alpha5ia (1.5 muM) in whole-cell patch clamp recordings. Moreover, alpha5-containing tonic GABAA receptors appear to preferentially modulate non-somatic compartments of BLA PNs. Examination of evoked feedforward synaptic transmission in these cells surprisingly revealed no differences in overall synaptic conductance or E/I balance between WT and Fmr1 KO mice. Instead, we observed altered feedforward kinetics in Fmr1 KO PNs that supports a subtle, yet significant decrease in E/I balance at the peak of excitatory conductance. Blockade of alpha5-subunit containing GABAA receptors replicated this condition in WT PNs. Therefore, our data suggest that tonic GABAA receptor mediated neurotransmission can modulate synaptic E/I balance and timing established by feedforward inhibition and thus may represent a therapeutic target to enhance amygdala function in FXS.
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14. Matson JL, Williams LW. {{Depression and mood disorders among persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {Res Dev Disabil};2014 (May 23);35(9):2003-2007.
In the past decade, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have both risen in prevalence and become a critical area of research in the field of developmental disabilities. As the body of knowledge about ASD has grown, the overlap of ASD with other problems has also become a rapidly emerging area of study. One of the most studied of these topics is comorbid psychopathology, with depression and mood disorders emerging as one of the more troublesome of these co-occurring conditions. A great deal of research is still needed to determine how best to assess and treat these disorders within the context of ASD. This manuscript reviews current trends and topics relative to this area of study.
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15. Ogata H, Ihara H, Murakami N, Gito M, Kido Y, Nagai T. {{Autism spectrum disorders and hyperactive/impulsive behaviors in Japanese patients with Prader-Willi syndrome: A comparison between maternal uniparental disomy and deletion cases}}. {Am J Med Genet A};2014 (May 21)
This study aims to compare maternal uniparental disomy 15 (mUPD) and a paternal deletion of 15q11-13 (DEL) of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) in regard to autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Forty-five Japanese individuals with PWS were recruited from a single recruitment center. The participants consisted of 22 children (aged from 6 to 12) and 23 adolescents (aged from 13 to 19). Six children and seven adolescents were confirmed as having mUPD. Sixteen children and 16 adolescents were confirmed as having DEL. Under blindness to the participants’ genotypes, a single psychologist carried out behavioral and psychological assessments, including the Wechsler Intelligence Scales, Pervasive Developmental Disorders Autism Society Japan Rating Scale (PARS), and ADHD-Rating Scale-IV (ADHD-RS-IV). Two comparisons were made: one between mUPD and DEL children and another between mUPD and DEL adolescents. In children, no significant differences were found between mUPD and DEL participants in terms of autistic (PARS childhood, P = 0.657) and impulsive behaviors (ADHD-RS-IV hyperactive/impulsive, P = 0.275). In adolescents, mUPD patients showed significantly more autistic symptomatology (PARS adolescent, P = 0.027) and significantly more impulsive behavior (ADHD-RS-IV hyperactive/impulsive, P = 0.01) than DEL patients. Our findings about Japanese PWS patients were consistent with previous researches from western countries not focused on Asian patients, indicating that mUPD cases would be more prone to ASD than DEL cases, regardless of ethnoregional differences. In addition, our data suggested that the behavioral difference between mUPD and DEL cases in terms of autistic and impulsive symptoms tend to be unrecognizable in their childhood. (c) 2014 The Authors. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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16. Parma V, Bulgheroni M, Tirindelli R, Castiello U. {{Facilitation of action planning in children with autism: The contribution of the maternal body odor}}. {Brain Cogn};2014 (May 23);88C:73-82.
Imitation is a key socio-cognitive skill impaired in individuals with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC). It is known that the familiarity with an actor facilitates the appearance of imitative abilities. Here, we explore whether a highly familiar and socially relevant stimulus presented in the olfactory modality is able to improve spontaneous imitation as early as at the level of action planning. A group of 20 children with ASC and 20 controls observed their own mother or the mother of another child performing a reach-to-grasp action towards an object, under the exposure to their maternal odor, the odor of the mother of another child or no odor. Subsequently, children acted upon the same object with no specific instruction to imitate. Child’s movement initiation time (MIT) served as an indicator of motor planning facilitation induced by action observation. Results suggest that for children with ASC (but not controls) MIT was significantly lower when exposed to the maternal odor both when interacting with a familiar or an unfamiliar model. In the former case, the performance is comparable to controls. The familiar model in the absence of any olfactory cue is able to induce a facilitation effect, but the maximal facilitation on MIT is evident when maternal odor and familiar model are paired. We hypothesize that for children with ASC the maternal odor provides relevant social motivation for taking advantage of others’ actions when planning movements in an imitative context.
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17. Samson AC, Hardan AY, Podell RW, Phillips JM, Gross JJ. {{Emotion Regulation in Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {Autism Res};2014 (May 23)
Emotion dysregulation is not a formal criterion for the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, parents and clinicians have long noted the importance of emotional problems in individuals with ASD (e.g. tantrums and « meltdowns »). In this study, 21 high-functioning children and adolescents with ASD and 22 age and gender group-matched typically developing (TD) controls completed a Reactivity and Regulation Situation Task. This task assesses emotional reactivity and spontaneous use of emotion regulation strategies (problem solving, cognitive reappraisal, avoidance, distraction, venting, suppression, and relaxation) in the context of age-appropriate ambiguous and potentially threatening negative scenarios. After the concept of cognitive reappraisal was explained, the scenarios were presented again to participants, and they were prompted to use this strategy. Results indicated that individuals with ASD exhibited the same level of reactivity to negative stimuli as TD participants. Furthermore, youth with ASD had a different emotion regulation profile than TD individuals, characterized by a less frequent use of cognitive reappraisal and more frequent use of suppression. When prompted to use cognitive reappraisal, participants with ASD were less able to implement reappraisal, but benefitted from this strategy when they were able to generate a reappraisal. Findings from this study suggest that cognitive reappraisal strategies may be useful to children and adolescents with ASD. Therefore, the development of treatment programs that focus on enhancing the use of adaptive forms of emotion regulation might decrease emotional problems and optimize long-term outcomes in youth with ASD. Autism Res 2014, : -. (c) 2014 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
