1. {{Correction for Chen et al., MeCP2 binds to non-CG methylated DNA as neurons mature, influencing transcription and the timing of onset for Rett syndrome}}. {Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A};2015 (Apr 27)
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2. Magiati I, Ong C, Lim XY, Tan JW, Ong AY, Patrycia F, Fung DS, Sung M, Poon KK, Howlin P. {{Anxiety symptoms in young people with autism spectrum disorder attending special schools: Associations with gender, adaptive functioning and autism symptomatology}}. {Autism};2015 (Apr 27)
Anxiety-related problems are among the most frequently reported mental health difficulties in autism spectrum disorder. As most research has focused on clinical samples or high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder, less is known about the factors associated with anxiety in community samples across the ability range. This cross-sectional study examined the association of gender, age, adaptive functioning and autism symptom severity with different caregiver-reported anxiety symptoms. Participants were caregivers of 241 children (6-18 years old) with autism spectrum disorder attending special schools in Singapore. Measures included the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale and assessments of overall emotional, behavioural and adaptive functioning. Caregivers reported more anxiety symptoms in total, but fewer social anxiety symptoms, than Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale Australian/Dutch norms. There were no gender differences. Variance in total anxiety scores was best explained by severity of repetitive speech/stereotyped behaviour symptoms, followed by adaptive functioning. Severity of repetitive speech/behaviour symptoms was a significant predictor of separation anxiety, generalized anxiety, panic/agoraphobia and obsessive-compulsive subscale symptoms, but not of social phobia and physical injury fears. Adaptive functioning and chronological age predicted social phobia and generalized anxiety symptoms only. Severity of social/communication autism symptoms did not explain any anxiety symptoms, when the other variables were controlled for. Findings are discussed in relation to the existing literature. Limitations and possible implications for prevention, assessment and intervention are also discussed.
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3. O’Haire ME, McKenzie SJ, Beck AM, Slaughter V. {{Animals may act as social buffers: Skin conductance arousal in children with autism spectrum disorder in a social context}}. {Dev Psychobiol};2015 (Apr 27)
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience high rates of social stress and anxious arousal. Preliminary evidence suggests that companion animals can act as buffers against the adverse effects of social stress in adults. We measured continuous physiological arousal in children with ASD and typically developing (TD) children in a social context during four conditions: (a) a baseline of reading silently, (b) a scripted classroom activity involving reading aloud, (c) free play with peers and toys, and (d) free play with peers and animals (guinea pigs). Our results confirmed heightened arousal among children with ASD compared to TD children in all conditions, except when the animals were present. Children with ASD showed a 43% decrease in skin conductance responses during free play with peers in the presence of animals, compared to toys. Thus, animals may act as social buffers for children with ASD, conferring unique anxiolytic effects. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol.
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4. Romero-Martinez A, Gonzalez-Bono E, Salvador A, Moya-Albiol L. {{Declarative verbal memory impairments in middle-aged women who are caregivers of offspring with autism spectrum disorders: The role of negative affect and testosterone}}. {Memory};2015 (Apr 27):1-10.
Caring for offspring diagnosed with a chronic psychological disorder such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is used in research as a model of chronic stress. This chronic stress has been reported to have deleterious effects on caregivers’ cognition, particularly in verbal declarative memory. Moreover, such cognitive decline may be mediated by testosterone (T) levels and negative affect, understood as depressive mood together with high anxiety and anger. This study aimed to compare declarative memory function in middle-aged women who were caregivers for individuals with ASD (n = 24; mean age = 45) and female controls (n = 22; mean age = 45), using a standardised memory test (Rey’s Auditory Verbal Learning Test). It also sought to examine the role of care recipient characteristics, negative mood and T levels in memory impairments. ASD caregivers were highly sensitive to proactive interference and verbal forgetting. In addition, they had higher negative affect and T levels, both of which have been associated with poorer verbal memory performance. Moreover, the number of years of caregiving affected memory performance and negative affect, especially, in terms of anger feelings. On the other hand, T levels in caregivers had a curvilinear relationship with verbal memory performance; that is, increases in T were associated with improvements in verbal memory performance up to a certain point, but subsequently, memory performance decreased with increasing T. Chronic stress may produce disturbances in mood and hormonal levels, which in turn might increase the likelihood of developing declarative memory impairments although caregivers do not show a generalised decline in memory. These findings should be taken into account for understanding the impact of cognitive impairments on the ability to provide optimal caregiving.
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5. Salomone E, Beranova S, Bonnet-Brilhault F, Briciet Lauritsen M, Budisteanu M, Buitelaar J, Canal-Bedia R, Felhosi G, Fletcher-Watson S, Freitag C, Fuentes J, Gallagher L, Garcia Primo P, Gliga F, Gomot M, Green J, Heimann M, Jonsdottir SL, Kaale A, Kawa R, Kylliainen A, Lemcke S, Markovska-Simoska S, Marschik PB, McConachie H, Moilanen I, Muratori F, Narzisi A, Noterdaeme M, Oliveira G, Oosterling I, Pijl M, Pop-Jordanova N, Poustka L, Roeyers H, Roge B, Sinzig J, Vicente A, Warreyn P, Charman T. {{Use of early intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorder across Europe}}. {Autism};2015 (Apr 27)
Little is known about use of early interventions for autism spectrum disorder in Europe. Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder aged 7 years or younger (N = 1680) were recruited through parent organisations in 18 European countries and completed an online survey about the interventions their child received. There was considerable variation in use of interventions, and in some countries more than 20% of children received no intervention at all. The most frequently reported interventions were speech and language therapy (64%) and behavioural, developmental and relationship-based interventions (55%). In some parts of Europe, use of behavioural, developmental and relationship-based interventions was associated with higher parental educational level and time passed since diagnosis, rather than with child characteristics. These findings highlight the need to monitor use of intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder in Europe in order to contrast inequalities.
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6. Schilit Nitenson A, Stackpole EE, Truszkowski TL, Midroit M, Fallon JR, Bath KG. {{Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein Regulates Olfactory Sensitivity But Not Odorant Discrimination}}. {Chem Senses};2015 (Apr 27)
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common cause of inherited intellectual disability and is characterized by cognitive impairments and altered sensory function. It is caused by absence of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), an RNA-binding protein essential for normal synaptic plasticity and function. Animal models have provided important insights into mechanisms through which loss of FMRP impacts cognitive and sensory development and function. While FMRP is highly enriched in the developing and adult olfactory bulb (OB), its role in olfactory sensory function remains poorly understood. Here, we used a mouse model of FXS, the fmr1 -/y mouse, to test whether loss of FMRP impacts olfactory discrimination, habituation, or sensitivity using a spontaneous olfactory cross-habituation task at a range of odorant concentrations. We demonstrated that fmr1 -/y mice have a significant decrease in olfactory sensitivity compared with wild type controls. When we controlled for differences in sensitivity, we found no effect of loss of FMRP on the ability to habituate to or spontaneously discriminate between odorants. These data indicate that loss of FMRP significantly alters olfactory sensitivity, but not other facets of basal olfactory function. These findings have important implications for future studies aimed at understanding the role of FMRP on sensory functioning.
