1. Erdmann J. {{Broad collaborations bring new energy to autism therapeutics}}. {Chem Biol};2011 (Feb 25);18(2):142-143.
2. Hileman CM, Henderson H, Mundy P, Newell L, Jaime M. {{Developmental and Individual Differences on the P1 and N170 ERP Components in Children With and Without Autism}}. {Dev Neuropsychol};2011 (Feb);36(2):214-236.
The P1 and N170 components, two event-related potentials sensitive to face processing, were examined in response to faces and vehicles for children with autism and typical development. P1 amplitude decreased, P1 latency decreased, and N170 amplitude became more negative with age. Children with typical development had larger P1 amplitudes for inverted faces than upright faces, but children with autism did not show this pattern. Children with autism had longer N170 latencies than children with typical development. Smaller P1 amplitudes and more negative N170 amplitudes for upright faces were associated with better social skills for children with typical development.
3. Kushki A, Chau T, Anagnostou E. {{Handwriting Difficulties in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Scoping Review}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2011 (Feb 25)
Functional handwriting involves complex interactions among physical, cognitive and sensory systems. Impairments in many aspects of these systems are associated with Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), suggesting a heightened risk of handwriting difficulties in children with ASD. This scoping review aimed to: (1) survey the existing evidence about potential contributions to compromised handwriting function in children with ASD, and (2) map out the existing studies documenting handwriting difficulties in children with ASD. The current evidence implicates impairments in fine motor control and visual-motor integration as likely contributors to handwriting difficulties in children with ASD, though the role of the latter is not well-understood. Moreover, diminished overall legibility and compromised letter formation are emerging points of convergence among existing studies of handwriting quality in children with ASD.
4. Moruzzi S, Ogliari A, Ronald A, Happe F, Battaglia M. {{The Nature of Covariation Between Autistic Traits and Clumsiness: A Twin Study in a General Population Sample}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2011 (Feb 23)
While social impairment, difficulties with communication, and restricted repetitive behaviors are central features of Autism Spectrum Disorders, physical clumsiness is a commonly co-occuring feature. In a sample of 398 twin pairs (aged 8-17 years) from the Italian Twin Registry we investigated the nature of the co-variation between a psychometric index of Clumsiness and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) Autistic scale. Bivariate twin analyses showed that a genetic etiological overlap, rather than direct causation, is a plausible explanation for the association between clumsiness and autistic-like traits, as measured by indices derived from the parent-rated CBCL scale. Additive genetic influences that impinge upon clumsiness/motor problem and autistic-like traits coincided remarkably, with a genetic correlation of 0.63.
5. Robinson EB, Munir K, McCormick MC, Koenen KC, Santangelo SL. {{Brief Report: No Association Between Parental Age and Extreme Social-Communicative Autistic Traits in the General Population}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2011 (Feb 25)
This is the first investigation of the relationship between parental age and extreme social-communicative autistic traits in the general population. The parents of 5,246 children in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) completed the Social and Communication Disorders Checklist (SCDC). The association between parental age and SCDC scores was assessed in the full sample and among high scoring individuals (e.g. top 5%, 1%). There was no association between parental age and social-communicative autistic traits in the general population. Neither maternal nor paternal age was associated with extreme scores. These findings suggest that advanced parental age does not confer increased risk for extreme social and communication impairment assessed quantitatively.
6. Tamiji J, Crawford DA. {{The neurobiology of lipid metabolism in autism spectrum disorders}}. {Neurosignals};2010;18(2):98-112.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in communication and reciprocal social interaction, coupled with repetitive behavior, which typically manifests by 3 years of age. Multiple genes and early exposure to environmental factors are the etiological determinants of the disorder that contribute to variable expression of autism-related traits. Increasing evidence indicates that altered fatty acid metabolic pathways may affect proper function of the nervous system and contribute to autism spectrum disorders. This review provides an overview of the reported abnormalities associated with the synthesis of membrane fatty acids in individuals with autism as a result of insufficient dietary supplementation or genetic defects. Moreover, we discuss deficits associated with the release of arachidonic acid from the membrane phospholipids and its subsequent metabolism to bioactive prostaglandins via phospholipase A(2)-cyclooxygenase biosynthetic pathway in autism spectrum disorders. The existing evidence for the involvement of lipid neurobiology in the pathology of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism is compelling and opens up an interesting possibility for further investigation of this metabolic pathway.
7. Wallace GL, Case LK, Harms MB, Silvers JA, Kenworthy L, Martin A. {{Diminished Sensitivity to Sad Facial Expressions in High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders is Associated with Symptomatology and Adaptive Functioning}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2011 (Feb 24)
Prior studies implicate facial emotion recognition (FER) difficulties among individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD); however, many investigations focus on FER accuracy alone and few examine ecological validity through links with everyday functioning. We compared FER accuracy and perceptual sensitivity (from neutral to full expression) between 42 adolescents with high functioning (IQ > 80) ASD and 31 typically developing adolescents (matched on age, IQ, sex ratio) across six basic emotions and examined links between FER and symptomatology/adaptive functioning within the ASD group. Adolescents with ASD required more intense facial expressions for accurate emotion identification. Controlling for this overall group difference revealed particularly diminished sensitivity to sad facial expressions in ASD, which was uniquely correlated with ratings of autism-related behavior and adaptive functioning.
8. White SJ, Saldana D. {{Performance of Children with Autism on the Embedded Figures Test: A Closer Look at a Popular Task}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2011 (Feb 25)
The Embedded Figures Test assesses weak central coherence and individuals with autism are commonly assumed to perform superiorly; however, the evidence for this claim is somewhat mixed. Here, two large (N = 45 and 62) samples of high-functioning children (6-16 years) with autism spectrum disorder performed similarly to typically-developing children on accuracy and reaction time measures; this could not be attributed to insufficient power. Inconsistent past findings are most likely due to methodological and analysis techniques, as well as heterogeneity in central coherence within autism spectrum disorders. While this task has been useful in establishing weak central coherence as a cognitive theory in autism, inconsistent past findings and its inability to disentangle global and local processing suggest that it should be used with caution in the future.
