1. Damarla SR, Keller TA, Kana RK, Cherkassky VL, Williams DL, Minshew NJ, Just MA. {{Cortical underconnectivity coupled with preserved visuospatial cognition in autism: Evidence from an fMRI study of an embedded figures task}}. {Autism Res} (Aug 24)
Individuals with high-functioning autism sometimes exhibit intact or superior performance on visuospatial tasks, in contrast to impaired functioning in other domains such as language comprehension, executive tasks, and social functions. The goal of the current study was to investigate the neural bases of preserved visuospatial processing in high-functioning autism from the perspective of the cortical underconnectivity theory. We used a combination of behavioral, functional magnetic resonance imaging, functional connectivity, and corpus callosum morphometric methodological tools. Thirteen participants with high-functioning autism and 13 controls (age-, IQ-, and gender-matched) were scanned while performing an Embedded Figures Task. Despite the ability of the autism group to attain behavioral performance comparable to the control group, the brain imaging results revealed several group differences consistent with the cortical underconnectivity account of autism. First, relative to controls, the autism group showed less activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal and inferior parietal areas and more activation in visuospatial (bilateral superior parietal extending to inferior parietal and right occipital) areas. Second, the autism group demonstrated lower functional connectivity between higher-order working memory/executive areas and visuospatial regions (between frontal and parietal-occipital). Third, the size of the corpus callosum (an index of anatomical connectivity) was positively correlated with frontal-posterior (parietal and occipital) functional connectivity in the autism group. Thus, even in the visuospatial domain, where preserved performance among people with autism is observed, the neuroimaging signatures of cortical underconnectivity persist.
2. Fishman I, Yam A, Bellugi U, Lincoln A, Mills D. {{Contrasting patterns of language-associated brain activity in autism and Williams syndrome}}. {Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci} (Aug 27)
Two neurodevelopmental disorders, Williams syndrome (WS) and autism, are both commonly described as having opposite social profiles: social avoidance in autism vs hypersociability in individuals with WS. The goal of this study was to contrast the brain activity associated with language processing in these two populations, in order to understand the very likely interplay between the use of language and the sociability dimension, on which these disorders diverge. Towards this aim, the N400 component of the event-related potentials was used to quantify the processing of semantic integration in these two populations. Results revealed that individuals with WS showed a significantly larger N400 effect, as compared to both typical controls and individuals with autism, while the latter group demonstrated the smallest N400 effect. The findings demonstrate quite opposite profiles of neural correlates of language processing in WS and autism, mirroring their contrasting social phenotypes.
3. Gana S, Panizzon M, Fongaro D, Selicorni A, Memo L, Scandurra V, Vannucci C, Bigozzi M, Scordo MR. {{Nicolaides-Baraitser syndrome: two new cases with autism spectrum disorder}}. {Clin Dysmorphol} (Aug 27)
Nicolaides-Baraitser syndrome is a rare clinical condition characterized by mental retardation with impairment of expressive language, short stature, microcephaly, sparse hair, typical facial dysmorphisms, and interphalangeal joint swellings. To date 24 cases have been reported, most of them being sporadic. The genetic background of Nicolaides-Baraitser syndrome is unclear in terms of cause and mode of inheritance, one of the more probable explanations is de novo mutation of a dominant gene. Some reported patients presented autistic features, although in none of these patients was the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder formally made. We describe two unrelated patients with clinical features suggesting Nicolaides-Baraitser syndrome and, in addition, autism spectrum disorder is defined by the presence of the three cardinal core features: qualitative impairments in social, communicative, and behavioral development.
4. Patten E, Watson LR. {{Interventions Targeting Attention in Young Children with Autism}}. {Am J Speech Lang Pathol} (Aug 25)
Background The ability to focus and sustain one’s attention is critical for learning. Children with autism demonstrate unusual characteristics of attention from infancy. It is reasonable to assume that early anomalies in attention influence a child’s developmental trajectories. Therapeutic interventions for autism often focus on core features of autism such as communication and socialization while very few interventions specifically address attention. PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to provide clinicians a description of attention characteristics in children with autism and discuss interventions thought to improve attention. METHOD: Characteristics of attention in children with autism are presented. Next, intervention studies featuring measures of attention as an outcome variable for young children with autism are reviewed to present interventions that have empirical evidence for improvements in attention. Results are synthesized by strategy, specific feature of attention targeted and results for both habilitative goals and accommodations for attention. CONCLUSION: Although research is not extensive, several strategies to support attention in young children with autism have been investigated. The empirical findings regarding these strategies can inform evidence-based practice.
5. Yamasaki S, Yamasue H, Abe O, Suga M, Yamada H, Inoue H, Kuwabara H, Kawakubo Y, Yahata N, Aoki S, Kano Y, Kato N, Kasai K. {{Reduced Gray Matter Volume of Pars Opercularis Is Associated with Impaired Social Communication in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {Biol Psychiatry} (Aug 27)
BACKGROUND:: Recent literature suggests that the inferior frontal gyrus, especially its posterior portion, has an important role in imitation and social reciprocity and in the pathophysiology of their disturbance in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the structural abnormality of this region has not fully been clarified in subjects with ASD. METHODS:: Here we obtained magnetic resonance images from 13 right-handed men with high-functioning ASD (Asperger disorder [n = 10] or autism [n = 3]) and from 11 age-, parental socioeconomic background-, and intelligence quotient-matched right-handed typical men. A reliable manual tracing methodology was employed to measure the gray matter volume of the pars opercularis, corresponding to Brodmann area 44, and the pars triangularis, corresponding to Brodmann area 45. RESULTS:: A significant gray matter volume reduction of both the pars opercularis and triangularis was found bilaterally in the subjects with ASD compared with the typical control subjects. The effect size seemed to be larger for pars opercularis (1.25) than for pars triangularis (.90). The reduced volume of right as well as total pars opercularis showed a significant association with the increased severity of social communication problems in the ASD group. CONCLUSIONS:: The current findings support an important role of pars opercularis, a center of the mirror neuron system, in the pathophysiology of ASD.
