1. {{[Comparative EEG study in normal and autistic children]}}. {Zh Vyssh Nerv Deiat Im I P Pavlova};2010 (Nov-Dec);60(6):657-666.
The work represents the results of a comparative study of spectral power as well as averaged coherence in alpha, beta and gamma EEG bands in 5-to-7-year-old autistic and healthy boys in the state of rest and under cognitive load (mental calculation). The mean age of the examined children was 6 years 4 months. In both healthy and autistic children, there was a clear-cut baseline frontal-occipital gradient of the alpha activity. Performance of the cognitive task led to enhancement of spectral power in the alpha1 band and shifting its maximum to the left hemisphere, did not change the activity in the alpha2 band, and considerably increased the spectral power in the alpha3 band. In healthy children, the spectral power and average coherence of the fast rhythms increased in the central and frontal areas of the left hemisphere. The right-side dominance of the spectral power of the alpha band was revealed in autistic children both in the baseline and during cognitive task. The spectral power of the gamma band was higher in autistic children than in healthy children in the baseline. The cognitive task did not change this fast activity in autistic children.
2. Cubo E, Saez Velasco S, Delgado Benito V, Ausin Villaverde V, Garcia Soto XR, Trejo Gabriel YGJM, Martin Santidrian A, Macarron JV, Cordero Guevara J, Benito-Leon J, Louis ED. {{[Psychometric attributes of the spanish version of A-TAC screening scale for autism spectrum disorders.]}}. {An Pediatr (Barc)};2011 (Mar 22)
BACKGROUND: As there are no biological markers for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), screening must focus on behaviour and the presence of a markedly abnormal development or a deficiency in verbal and non-verbal social interaction and communication. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the psychometric attributes of a Spanish version of the autism domain of the Autism-Tics, AD/HD and other Comorbidities Inventory (A-TAC) scale for ASD screening. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 140 subjects (43% male, 57% female) aged 6-16, with ASD (n=15), Mental Retardation (n=40), Psychiatric Illness (n=22), Tics (n=12) and controls (n=51), were included for ASD screening. The predictive validity, acceptability, scale assumptions, internal consistency, and precision were analysed. RESULTS: The internal consistency was high (alpha=0.93), and the standard error was adequate (1.13 [95% CI, -1.08 a 3.34]). The mean scores of the Autism module were higher in patients diagnosed with ASD and mental disability compared to the rest of the patients (P<.001). The area under the curve was 0.96 for the ASD group. CONCLUSION: The autism domain of the A-TAC scale seems to be a reliable, valid and precise tool for ASD screening in the Spanish school population.
3. Korvatska O, Estes A, Munson J, Dawson G, Bekris LM, Kohen R, Yu CE, Schellenberg GD, Raskind WH. {{Mutations in the TSGA14 gene in families with autism spectrum disorders}}. {Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet};2011 (Apr);156(3):303-311.
Linkage to 7q has been the most robust genetic finding in familial autism. A previous scan of multiplex families with autism spectrum disorders found a linkage signal of genome-wide significance at D7S530 on 7q32. We searched a candidate imprinted region at this location for genetic variants in families with positive linkage scores. Using exon resequencing, we identified three rare potentially pathogenic variants in the TSGA14 gene, which encodes a centrosomal protein. Two variants were missense mutations (c.664C>G; p.P206A and c.766T>G; p.C240G) that changed conserved residues in the same protein domain; the third variant (c.192+5G>A) altered splicing, which resulted in a protein with an internal deletion of 16 residues and a G33D substitution. These rare TSGA14 variants are enriched in the affected subjects (6/348 patients versus 2/670 controls, Fisher’s exact two tailed P = 0.022). This is the first report of a possible link of a gene with a centrosomal function with familial autism. (c) 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
4. Luyster RJ, Wagner JB, Vogel-Farley V, Tager-Flusberg H, Nelson Iii CA. {{Neural Correlates of Familiar and Unfamiliar Face Processing in Infants at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {Brain Topogr};2011 (Mar 26)
Examining the neural correlates associated with processing social stimuli offers a viable option to the challenge of studying early social processing in infants at risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The present investigation included 32 12-month olds at high risk for ASD and 24 low-risk control infants, defined on the basis of family history. Infants were presented with familiar and unfamiliar faces, and three components of interest were explored for amplitude and latency differences. The anticipated developmental effects of emerging hemispheric asymmetry for face-sensitive components (the N290 and P400) were observed, as were familiarity effects for a component related to attention (the Nc). Although there were no striking group differences in the neural response to faces, there was some evidence for a developmental lag in an attentional component for the high-risk group. The infant ASD endophenotype, though elusive, may be better defined through expanding the age of study and addressing change over time in response to varied stimuli.
5. Ronald A, Hoekstra RA. {{Autism spectrum disorders and autistic traits: A decade of new twin studies}}. {Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet};2011 (Apr);156(3):255-274.
Researchers continue to pursue a better understanding of the symptoms, comorbidities, and causes of autism spectrum disorders. In this article we review more than 30 twin studies of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and autistic traits published in the last decade that have contributed to this endeavor. These twin studies have reported on the heritability of autism spectrum disorders and autistic traits in different populations and using different measurement and age groups. These studies have also stimulated debate and new hypotheses regarding why ASDs show substantial symptom heterogeneity, and what causes their comorbidity with intellectual disability, language delay, and other psychiatric disorders such as ADHD. These studies also reveal that the etiology of autism and autistic traits assessed in the general population is more similar than different, which contributes to the question of where the boundary lies between autism and typical development. Recent findings regarding molecular genetic and environmental causes of autism are discussed in the relation to these twin studies. Lastly, methodological assumptions of the twin design are given consideration, as well as issues of measurement. Future research directions are suggested to ensure that this decade is as productive as the last in attempting to disentangle the causes of autism spectrum disorders. (c) 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
6. Solomon M, Miller M, Taylor SL, Hinshaw SP, Carter CS. {{Autism Symptoms and Internalizing Psychopathology in Girls and Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2011 (Mar 26)
Findings regarding phenotypic differences between boys and girls with ASD are mixed. We compared autism and internalizing symptoms in a sample of 8-18 year-old girls (n = 20) and boys (n = 20) with ASD and typically developing (TYP) girls (n = 19) and boys (n = 17). Girls with ASD were more impaired than TYP girls but did not differ from boys with ASD in autism symptoms. In adolescence, girls with ASD had higher internalizing symptoms than boys with ASD and TYP girls, and higher symptoms of depression than TYP girls. Girls ages 8-18 with ASD resemble boys with ASD and not TYP girls, and appear to be at increased risk for affective symptoms in the teen years.
7. Vavolizza RD, Schmeidler J, Ramoz N, Buxbaum JD, Smith CJ, Silverman JM. {{The Effect of an Autism-Associated Polymorphism in the STK39 Gene on the Autism Symptom Domains}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2011 (Mar 26)
