1. Clawson A, Clayson PE, South M, Bigler ED, Larson MJ. {{An Electrophysiological Investigation of Interhemispheric Transfer Time in Children and Adolescents with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2013 (Jul 26)
Little is known about the functional impact of putative deficits in white-matter connectivity across the corpus callosum (CC) in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). We utilized the temporal sensitivity of event-related potentials to examine the interhemispheric transfer time (IHTT) of basic visual information across the CC in youth with high-functioning ASD relative to healthy controls. We conducted two experiments: a visual letter matching experiment (n = 46) and a visual picture matching experiment, (n = 48) and utilized both electrophysiological (N1 and P1 amplitudes and latencies) and behavioral [response times (RTs), error rates] indices of IHTT. There were no significant group differences on either experiment for RTs, error rates, or N1 and P1 latencies, suggesting that on basic tasks the timing of information flow across the CC may not be altered in high functioning ASD.
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2. Dadds MR, Macdonald E, Cauchi A, Williams K, Levy F, Brennan J. {{Nasal Oxytocin for Social Deficits in Childhood Autism: A Randomized Controlled Trial}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2013 (Jul 26)
The last two decades have witnessed a surge in research investigating the application of oxytocin as a method of enhancing social behaviour in humans. Preliminary evidence suggests oxytocin may have potential as an intervention for autism. We evaluated a 5-day ‘live-in’ intervention using a double-blind randomized control trial. 38 male youths (7-16 years old) with autism spectrum disorders were administered 24 or 12 international units (depending on weight) intranasal placebo or oxytocin once daily over four consecutive days. The oxytocin or placebo was administered during parent-child interaction training sessions. Parent and child behaviours were assessed using parent reports, clinician ratings, and independent observations, at multiple time points to measure side-effects; social interaction skills; repetitive behaviours; emotion recognition and diagnostic status. Compared to placebo, intranasal oxytocin did not significantly improve emotion recognition, social interaction skills, or general behavioral adjustment in male youths with autism spectrum disorders. The results show that the benefits of nasal oxytocin for young individuals with autism spectrum disorders may be more circumscribed than suggested by previous studies, and suggest caution in recommending it as an intervention that is broadly effective.
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3. Deschamps PK, Coppes L, Kenemans JL, Schutter DJ, Matthys W. {{Electromyographic Responses to Emotional Facial Expressions in 6-7 Year Olds with Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2013 (Jul 26)
This study aimed to examine facial mimicry in 6-7 year old children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to explore whether facial mimicry was related to the severity of impairment in social responsiveness. Facial electromyographic activity in response to angry, fearful, sad and happy facial expressions was recorded in twenty 6-7 year old children with ASD and twenty-seven typically developing children. Even though results did not show differences in facial mimicry between children with ASD and typically developing children, impairment in social responsiveness was significantly associated with reduced fear mimicry in children with ASD. These findings demonstrate normal mimicry in children with ASD as compared to healthy controls, but that in children with ASD the degree of impairments in social responsiveness may be associated with reduced sensitivity to distress signals.
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4. Ghanizadeh A, Moghimi-Sarani E. {{A randomized double blind placebo controlled clinical trial of N-Acetylcysteine added to risperidone for treating autistic disorders}}. {BMC Psychiatry};2013 (Jul 25);13(1):196.
BACKGROUND: This study examined the efficacy and safety of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) augmentation for treating irritability in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). METHOD: Forty children and adolescents met diagnostic criteria for ASD according to DSM-IV. They were randomly allocated into one of the two groups of NAC (1200mg/day)+risperidone or placebo+risperidone. NAC and placebo were administered in the form of effervescent and in two divided doses for 8 weeks. Irritability subscale score of Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) was considered as the main outcome measure. Adverse effects were also checked. RESULTS: The mean score of irritability in the NAC+risperidone and placebo+risperidone groups at baseline was 13.2(5.3) and 16.7(7.8), respectively. The scores after 8 weeks were 9.7(4.1) and 15.1(7.8), respectively. Repeated measures of ANOVA showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups after 8 weeks. The most common adverse effects in the NAC+risperidone group were constipation (16.1%), increased appetite (16.1%), fatigue (12.9%), nervousness (12.9%), and daytime drowsiness (12.9%). There was no fatal adverse effect. CONCLUSIONS: Risperidone plus NAC more than risperidone plus placebo decreased irritability in children and adolescents with ASD. Meanwhile, it did not change the core symptoms of autism. Adverse effects were not common and NAC was generally tolerated well.Trial regirtration: This trial was registered at http://www.irct.ir. The registration number of this trial was IRCT201106103930N6.
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5. Hebron J, Humphrey N. {{Exposure to bullying among students with autism spectrum conditions: A multi-informant analysis of risk and protective factors}}. {Autism};2013 (Jul 25)
Research has consistently shown that children and young people with autism spectrum conditions are more likely to be bullied than those with other or no special educational needs. The aim of this study was to examine risk and protective factors that could help to explain variation in exposure to bullying within this group. A sample of 722 teachers and 119 parents reported on their child’s experience of being bullied. This response variable was regressed onto a range of explanatory variables representing individual and contextual factors. The teacher- and parent-rated regression models were statistically significant, explaining large proportions of variance in exposure to bullying. Behaviour difficulties and increased age were associated with bullying in both models. Positive relationships and attending a special school were associated with a decrease in bullying in the teacher model, with use of public/school transport predicting an increase. In the parent model, special educational needs provision at School Action Plus (as opposed to having a Statement of Special Educational Needs) was a significant risk factor, and higher levels of parental engagement and confidence were associated with reductions in bullying. These findings are discussed in relation to the autism spectrum conditions literature, and opportunities for intervention are considered.
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6. Kroger A, Bletsch A, Krick C, Siniatchkin M, Jarczok TA, Freitag CM, Bender S. {{Visual event-related potentials to biological motion stimuli in autism spectrum disorders}}. {Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci};2013 (Jul 24)
Atypical visual processing of biological motion contributes to social impairments in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the exact temporal sequence of deficits of cortical biological motion processing in ASD has not been studied to date.We used 64-channel EEG to study event-related potentials associated with human motion perception in 17 children and adolescents with ASD and 21 typical controls. A spatio-temporal source analysis was performed to assess the brain structures involved in these processes. We expected altered activity already during early stimulus processing and reduced activity during subsequent biological motion specific processes in ASD.In response to both, random and biological motion, the P100 amplitude was decreased suggesting unspecific deficits in visual processing, and the occipito-temporal N200 showed atypical lateralization in ASD suggesting altered hemispheric specialization. A slow positive deflection after 400ms, reflecting top-down processes, and human motion specific dipole activation differed slightly between groups, with reduced and more diffuse activation in the ASD-group. The latter could be an indicator of a disrupted neuronal network for biological motion processing in ADS. Furthermore, early visual processing (P100) seem to be correlated with biological motion-specific activation. This emphasizes the relevance of early sensory processing for higher order processing deficits in ASD.
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7. Long SS. {{No association between the number of vaccine antigens and risk of autism spectrum disorders}}. {J Pediatr};2013 (Aug);163(2):309-311.
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8. Lydon S, Healy O, O’Reilly M, McCoy A. {{A systematic review and evaluation of response redirection as a treatment for challenging behavior in individuals with developmental disabilities}}. {Res Dev Disabil};2013 (Jul 22);34(10):3148-3158.
Response redirection is widely used in clinical practice as a treatment for repetitive behavior or stereotypy in persons with developmental disabilities. However, to date the procedure has received comparatively little empirical evaluation. The current review sought to examine the literature describing the efficacy of response redirection alone, response interruption and redirection (RIRD), and multi-element treatment packages incorporating response redirection, as interventions for challenging behavior in individuals with developmental disabilities. Additionally, the status of response redirection, and RIRD, as evidence-based practice was evaluated in accordance with Reichow’s (2011) recently developed criteria. Results indicated that interventions involving response redirection or RIRD typically led to large decreases in challenging behavior but did not result in behavioral suppression. On the basis of the current literature and in accordance with Reichow’s criteria, interventions incorporating response redirection do not yet constitute evidence-based practice. The implications of these findings, for both research and practice, are discussed.
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9. Memari AH, Ziaee V, Shayestehfar M, Ghanouni P, Mansournia MA, Moshayedi P. {{Cognitive flexibility impairments in children with autism spectrum disorders: Links to age, gender and child outcomes}}. {Res Dev Disabil};2013 (Jul 22);34(10):3218-3225.
There are still many questions about the cognitive flexibility in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that remain unanswered. The goal of current study was to evaluate cognitive flexibility patterns and their demographic, clinical and behavioral correlates in large sample of children with ASD. A total of 123 children (94 boys and 29 girls) with ASD aged 7-14 years were assessed on the Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST). Findings showed that gender but not age was associated with the cognitive flexibility performance in ASD. Individuals who had more parent-reported language deficits, lower level of intelligence and education, and showed lower daily sleep time or more engagement in solitary instead of social daily activities were more likely to demonstrate perseveration. Findings provide tentative evidence of a link between cognitive flexibility deficits and sociodemographic or clinical child outcomes in ASD.
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10. Parr AD, Hunter ST. {{Enhancing work outcomes of employees with autism spectrum disorder through leadership: Leadership for employees with autism spectrum disorder}}. {Autism};2013 (Jul 25)
The focus of this study was to identify leader behaviors that elicit successful engagement of employees with autism spectrum disorder, a population that is powerfully emerging into the workplace. The ultimate goal was to improve the quality of life of employees with autism spectrum disorder by facilitating an environment leading to their success. Through a series of interviews with 54 employees with autism spectrum disorder, results indicated that leadership has a great effect on employee attitudes and performance, and that the notion of leadership preferences is quite complex culminating in several important behaviors rather than one superior leadership theory. Implications and future research directions are discussed.
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11. Stephenson J, Limbrick L. {{A Review of the Use of Touch-Screen Mobile Devices by People with Developmental Disabilities}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2013 (Jul 26)
This article presents a review of the research on the use of mobile touch-screen devices such as PDAs, iPod Touches, iPads and smart phones by people with developmental disabilities. Most of the research has been on very basic use of the devices as speech generating devices, as a means of providing video, pictorial and/or audio self-prompting and for leisure activities such as listening to music and watching videos. Most research studies were small-n designs that provided a preponderant level of research evidence. There is a clear need for more research with younger participants and with a much wider range of apps, including educational apps.
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12. Zakareia FA, Al-Ayadhi LY. {{Evaluation of plasma soluble fatty acid synthase levels among Saudi autistic children. Relation to disease severity}}. {Neurosciences (Riyadh)};2013 (Jul);18(3):242-247.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of an apoptotic marker soluble fatty acid synthase (s-Fas) antigen in children with autism and its correlation to disease severity. METHODS: The study was conducted between May 2011 and April 2012 at the Department of Physiology and Autism Research and Treatment Center (ARTC) at King Khalid University Hospital and King Saud University (KSU) in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Sixty children were enrolled, 20 as controls, 20 mild, and 20 with severe autism. Plasma samples were analyzed for s-Fas. RESULTS: The levels of s-Fas were significantly higher in autistic children compared with control children (p<0.05). Furthermore, this increase was significantly more pronounced in children with severe autism as compared with mild autism, and there was a positive correlation between s-Fas levels and severe autism (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The s-Fas level is high in Saudi children with severe autism, and can be considered an indicator of disease severity. These findings may offer a new therapeutic or diagnostic tool for children suffering from severe autism.
