1. Angel RM, Luis MA. {{An Autistic Endophenotype and Testosterone Are Involved in an Atypical Decline in Selective Attention and Visuospatial Processing in Middle-Aged Women}}. {International journal of environmental research and public health}. 2015;12(12):15960-6.
Mothers of offspring with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) could present mild forms of their children’s cognitive characteristics, resulting from prenatal brain exposure and sensitivity to testosterone (T). Indeed, their cognition is frequently characterized by hyper-systemizing, outperforming in tests that assess cognitive domains such as selective attention, and fine motor and visuospatial skills. In the general population, all these start to decline around the mid-forties. This study aimed to characterize whether middle-aged women who are biological mothers of individuals with ASD had better performance in the aforementioned cognitive skills than mothers of normative children (in both groups n = 22; mean age = 45), using the standardized Stroop and mirror-drawing tests. We also examined the role of T in their performance in the aforementioned tests. ASD mothers outperformed controls in both tests, giving more correct answers and making fewer mistakes. In addition, they presented higher T levels, which have been associated with better cognitive performance. Cognitive decline in specific skills with aging could be delayed in these middle-aged women, corresponding to a cognitive endophenotype, T playing an important role in this process.
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2. Brodhead MT, Higbee TS, Gerencser KR, Akers JS. {{The use of a discrimination-training procedure to teach mand variability to children with autism}}. {Journal of applied behavior analysis}. 2015 Dec 23.
We investigated the effects of a script-fading and discrimination-training procedure on mand variability in preschoolers with autism. Participants were taught to vary their vocal mands in the presence of written scripts, a green placemat, and a lag schedule of reinforcement. They were also taught to engage in repetitive mands in the presence of the same written scripts and a red placemat. When the scripts were removed, all 3 participants continued to engage in varied manding in the presence of the green placemat and lag schedule, and they continued to engage in repetitive manding in the presence of the red placemat. When the lag schedule was also removed, 2 of the 3 participants continued to engage in varied responding in the presence of the green placemat and repetitive responding in the presence of the red placemat. Finally, all 3 participants demonstrated generalization and maintenance of mand variability during snack sessions with their peers.
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3. Chan AS, Han YM, Sze SL, Lau EM. {{Neuroenhancement of Memory for Children with Autism by a Mind-Body Exercise}}. {Frontiers in psychology}. 2015;6:1893.
The memory deficits found in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be caused by the lack of an effective strategy to aid memory. The executive control of memory processing is mediated largely by the timely coupling between frontal and posterior brain regions. The present study aimed to explore the potential effect of a Chinese mind-body exercise, namely Nei Gong, for enhancing learning and memory in children with ASD, and the possible neural basis of the improvement. Sixty-six children with ASD were randomly assigned to groups receiving Nei Gong training (NGT), progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) training, or no training for 1 month. Before and after training, the participants were tested individually on a computerized visual memory task while EEG signals were acquired during the memory encoding phase. Children in the NGT group demonstrated significantly enhanced memory performance and more effective use of a memory strategy, which was not observed in the other two groups. Furthermore, the improved memory after NGT was consistent with findings of elevated EEG theta coherence between frontal and posterior brain regions, a measure of functional coupling. The scalp EEG signals were localized by the standardized low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography method and found to originate from a neural network that promotes effective memory processing, including the prefrontal cortex, the parietal cortex, and the medial and inferior temporal cortex. This alteration in neural processing was not found in children receiving PMR or in those who received no training. The present findings suggest that the mind-body exercise program may have the potential effect on modulating neural functional connectivity underlying memory processing and hence enhance memory functions in individuals with autism.
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4. Chandrasekara CH, Wijesundera WS, Perera HN, Chong SS, Rajan-Babu IS. {{Cascade Screening for Fragile X Syndrome/CGG Repeat Expansions in Children Attending Special Education in Sri Lanka}}. {PloS one}. 2015;10(12):e0145537.
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the commonest cause of inherited mental retardation and clinically presents with learning, emotional and behaviour problems. FXS is caused by expansion of cytosine-guanine-guanine (CGG) repeats present in the 5′ untranslated region of the FMR1 gene. The aim of this study was to screen children attending special education institutions in Sri Lanka to estimate the prevalence of CGG repeat expansions. The study population comprised a representative national sample of 850 children (540 males, 310 females) with 5 to 18 years of age from moderate to severe mental retardation of wide ranging aetiology. Screening for CGG repeat expansion was carried out on DNA extracted from buccal cells using 3′ direct triplet primed PCR followed by melting curve analysis. To identify the expanded status of screened positive samples, capillary electrophoresis, methylation specific PCR and Southern hybridization were carried out using venous blood samples. Prevalence of CGG repeat expansions was 2.2%. Further classification of the positive samples into FXS full mutation, pre-mutation and grey zone gave prevalence of 1.3%, 0.8% and 0.1% respectively. All positive cases were male. No females with FXS were detected in our study may have been due to the small sample size.
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5. Huang F, Zhou T, Yao X, Yi J, Zhou F, Long Z, Hou X, Wang C, Chen Z, Jiang H. {{miRNA profiling in autism spectrum disorder in China}}. {Genomics data}. 2015 Dec;6:108-9.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a clinically complex and heterogeneous disorder. It is characterized by impaired social abilities, disordered language, isolated areas of interest, and repetitive behaviors. Evidence suggested that the neuropathology of ASD is widely distributed, involving epigenetic regulation in the brain. MiRNAs are a group of endogenous non-coding RNAs that play a critical role in neurodevelopment, neuroplasticity, and other fundamental neurobiological processes. To study miRNA profiling in Autism spectrum disorder in China, we performed miRNA microarray followed quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Here, we describe detailed methods and analysis on these microarray data which has been deposited in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO): GSE67979.
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6. Kim KC, Rhee J, Park JE, Lee DK, Choi CS, Kim JW, Lee HW, Song MR, Yoo HJ, Chung C, Shin CY. {{Overexpression of Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Induces Autism-like Excitatory Phenotypes in Mice}}. {Molecular neurobiology}. 2015 Dec 22.
In addition to its classical role as a regulator of telomere length, recent reports suggest that telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) plays a role in the transcriptional regulation of gene expression such as beta-catenin-responsive pathways. Silencing or over-expression of TERT in cultured NPCs demonstrated that TERT induced glutamatergic neuronal differentiation. During embryonic brain development, expression of transcription factors involved in glutamatergic neuronal differentiation was increased in mice over-expressing TERT (TERT-tg mice). We observed increased expression of NMDA receptor subunits and phosphorylation of alpha-CaMKII in TERT-tg mice. TERT-tg mice showed autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-like behavioral phenotypes as well as lowered threshold against electrically induced seizure. Interestingly, the NMDA receptor antagonist memantine restored behavioral abnormalities in TERT-tg mice. Consistent with the alteration in excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) ratio, TERT-tg mice showed autism-like behaviors, abnormal synaptic organization, and function in mPFC suggesting the role of altered TERT activity in the manifestation of ASD, which is further supported by the significant association of certain SNPs in Korean ASD patients.
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7. Liu C, Lu B, Zhang Y, Xu CG, Peng FX, Ma LF, Liu LL, Nie WY. {{[Clinical efficacy of structured institution-based teaching programme combined with family rehabilitation training in treatment of childhood autism]}}. {Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics}. 2015 Dec;17(12):1277-81.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical efficacy of a structured institution-based teaching programme combined with family rehabilitation training in the treatment of childhood autism. METHODS: One hundred children with autism were divided into a combination therapy group (n=50) and a control group (n=50). The children in the control group received a structured institution-based teaching programme, and the children in the combination therapy group received a family rehabilitation training besides the structured institution-based teaching programme. Comparisons were made between the two groups by the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) score, Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) score, and Chinese version of Psychoeducational Profile (C-PEP) sore. RESULTS: After 12-months training, each dimension score and total score of ABC in the combination therapy group were all significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). The combination therapy group had significantly lower dimension scores and total score of ATEC than the control group (P<0.05). Each dimension score and total score of C-PEP were significantly higher in the combination therapy than in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: As an effective treatment mode for childhood autism, structured institution-based teaching programme combined with family rehabilitation training is worthy of clinical promotion and application. Lien vers Pubmed
8. Sarnat H, Samuel E, Ashkenazi-Alfasi N, Peretz B. {{Oral Health Characteristics of Preschool Children with Autistic Syndrome Disorder}}. {The Journal of clinical pediatric dentistry}. 2016 Winter;40(1):21-5.
OBJECTIVE: to assess the dental status of young children with Autistic Syndrome Disorder (ASD) in order to allow better understanding of the dentist’s role in treating these children. STUDY DESIGN: The ASD group consisted of 47 children diagnosed as ASD from three special kindergartens from three towns in Israel. The control group was 44 normally developed children from 4 kindergartens from 2 neighboring towns. Parents were asked to complete a questionnaire requesting the following: socio-demographic information, general medical condition, dental information (previous visit to a dentist, feeding habits, oral hygiene behavior, oral habits and the Vinland Adaptive Behavioral Scales (VABS). RESULTS: While in the control group there was no report of no brushing at all, among the ASD children 25% did not brush at all. Use of pacifier, fussy eating and eating problems were significantly more prevalent among the ASD group. In addition, the ASD children significantly preferred more salty, spicy and sweet foods than the control. There were more cariesfree children among the ASD group. In the ASD group, the ability to perform everyday life functions was slightly more than half of what is expected for age. CONCLUSIONS: autistic children have a relative age of one half, meaning they function at half the level of normally developed children at their chronological age, more eating problems and more persistent oral habits yet no correlation to dental health could be shown. Caries experience of autistic children was lower than in the control group, maintaining good oral hygiene is difficult for autistic children yet their gingival health was found to be good.
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9. Sarrett JC, Rommelfanger KS. {{Commentary: Attention to Eyes Is Present but in Decline in 2-6-Month-Old Infants Later Diagnosed with Autism}}. {Frontiers in public health}. 2015;3:272.
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10. Sedgewick F, Hill V, Yates R, Pickering L, Pellicano E. {{Gender Differences in the Social Motivation and Friendship Experiences of Autistic and Non-autistic Adolescents}}. {Journal of autism and developmental disorders}. 2015 Dec 23.
This mixed-methods study examined gender differences in the social motivation and friendship experiences of adolescent boys and girls with autism relative to those without autism, all educated within special education settings. Autistic girls showed similar social motivation and friendship quality to non-autistic girls, while autistic boys reported having both qualitatively different friendships and less motivation for social contact relative to boys without autism and to girls with and without autism. Semi-structured interviews with the adolescents corroborated these findings, with one exception: autistic girls reported high levels of relational aggression within their friendships, suggesting that girls on the autism spectrum in particular may struggle with identifying and dealing with conflict in their social lives.
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11. Zhou H, Zhang LL, Yan WL, Xu X, Wang Y. {{[Construct validity of the Autism Spectrum Rating Scale of the Revised Chinese Version]}}. {Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics}. 2015 Dec;17(12):1282-5.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the construct validity of the Autism Spectrum Rating Scale of Revised Chinese Version (RC-ASRS). METHODS: Seven hundred and one children aged 6-12 years old were recruited from one primary school in the Minhang District of Shanghai. The parents of the children completed the RC-ASRS questionnaire. Mpuls 6.0 Software was used to conduct the construct validity analysis. RESULTS: A total of 671 questionnaires (95.7%) were retrieved, involving 368 boys (54.8%) and 303 girls (45.2%). The 3 factor structure of the RC-ASRS had better model fitting indices, 0.051 for root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), 0.889 for comparative fit index (CFI) and 0.884 for Tucker-Lewis index (TLI), compared with the original ASRS, 0.060 for RMSEA, 0.829 for CFI and 0.823 for TLI. CONCLUSIONS: The RC-ASRS may serve as a reliable and valid tool for screening autistic symptoms in China.
