Pubmed (TSA) du 18/01/26
1. de Queiroz SAL, Guimarães DO, Ferreira LA, Martinelli L, Werly RMM, Amorim RF, Holzbach L, Badaró R, Santos AAB, Vasquez EC, Silva RS. Kefir-derived probiotic mixture for children with autism spectrum disorder: a double-blind randomized clinical trial. BMC Pediatr;2026 (Jan 17)
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2. Goodrich AJ, Bennett DH, Kleeman MJ, Tancredi DJ, Ludeña YJ, Hertz-Picciotto I, Schmidt RJ. Fine and ultrafine particulate matter components and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Environ Int;2026 (Jan 13);208:110068.
BACKGROUND: Particulate matter (PM) composition varies by source components and size. While studies show prenatal and early life exposure to total PM(2.5) mass to be associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), little is known about the role of ultrafine (PM(0.1)) and fine PM specific components, especially PM(0.1). OBJECTIVES: We investigated associations between prenatal and early life exposure to size-resolved PM components and ASD in the CHARGE case-control study. METHODS: We analyzed 1,281 children (751 ASD, 530 typically developing) from the CHARGE study (enrolled 2003-2020). Daily PM(0.1) and PM(2.5) component concentrations were estimated using a chemical transport model with 4- or 24-km km resolution (for 95% and 5% of addresses, respectively) and bias correction. Daily exposures were averaged over preconception, pregnancy, and the first year of life, and log transformed. Using logistic regression, we estimated PM(0.1) odds ratios (ORs) for ASD per interquartile range (IQR) increase in each component, adjusting for confounders, PM(2.5) remainder, and NO(2). RESULTS: First-year PM(0.1) iron, manganese, black carbon, and sodium were consistently associated with increased odds of ASD (OR (95% CI): 1.60 (1.21, 2.12), 1.27 (1.04, 1.55), 1.54 (1.00, 2.38), and 1.92 (1.24, 2.99), respectively). Similar results were observed with first-year PM(0.1-2.5) iron and manganese (OR (95% CI): 1.54 (1.13, 2.09) and 1.46 (1.07, 2.01), respectively). DISCUSSION: Our findings suggest that exposure to specific PM components during early life, especially in the ultrafine fraction, contribute to ASD risk, with less consistent evidence for prenatal exposures, underscoring the importance of particle composition and exposure timing.
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3. Han J, Zhan Y, Guo Y. Comment on « Developmental differences in neural correlates of semantic processing and executive performances between autistic boys and non-autistic boys ». J Formos Med Assoc;2026 (Jan 16)
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4. Keating CT, Sowden-Carvalho S, H OD, Cook JL. Mismatching Expressions: Spatiotemporal and Kinematic Differences in Autistic and Non-Autistic Facial Expressions. Autism Res;2026 (Jan 18)
Preliminary studies suggest there are differences in the facial expressions produced by autistic and non-autistic individuals. However, it is unclear what specifically is different, whether such differences remain after controlling for facial morphology and alexithymia, and whether production differences relate to perception differences. Therefore, we (1) comprehensively compared the spatiotemporal and kinematic properties of autistic and non-autistic expressions after controlling these factors, and (2) examined the contribution of production-related variables to emotion perception. We used facial motion capture to record 2448 cued and 2448 spoken expressions of anger, happiness, and sadness from autistic and matched non-autistic adults. Subsequently, we extracted the activation and jerkiness of numerous facial landmarks across time, generating over 265 million datapoints. Participants also completed an emotion recognition task. Autistic participants relied more on the mouth, and less on the eyebrows, to signal anger than their non-autistic peers. For happiness, autistic participants showed a less exaggerated smile that also did not « reach the eyes. » For sadness, autistic participants tended to produce a downturned expression by raising their upper lip more than their non-autistic peers. Alexithymia predicted less differentiated angry and happy expressions. For non-autistic individuals, those who produced more precise spoken expressions had greater emotion recognition accuracy. No production-related factors contributed to autistic emotion recognition. This mismatch could explain why autistic people find it difficult to recognize non-autistic expressions, and vice versa; autistic and non-autistic faces may be essentially « speaking a different language » when conveying emotion. This study compared the facial expressions produced by autistic and non‐autistic people. Our findings demonstrate that autistic and non‐autistic adults produce different angry, happy, and sad facial expressions, even after accounting for other interfering factors. This mismatch in facial expressions could explain why autistic people find it difficult to recognize non‐autistic expressions, and vice versa; autistic and non‐autistic faces may be essentially “speaking a different language” when it comes to conveying emotion. As such, what have previously been thought of as intrinsic emotion recognition “deficits” for autistic people may be more accurately described as difficulties resulting from cross‐neurotype interactions (i.e., interactions between autistic and non‐autistic people, as opposed to interactions between two autistic people). Further research is needed to test the impact of expressive differences on emotion recognition for autistic and non‐autistic people. eng
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5. Ma G, Luo Q, Li J, Shi H, Chen Y, Song Y. Story worlds as social armor: Novel reading habits attenuate the autistic-traits to social anxiety pathway. Acta Psychol (Amst);2026 (Jan 16);263:106255.
OBJECTIVE: Autistic traits are common in school-age children and frequently co-occur with social anxiety, which can precipitate behavioral problems. Guided by Social Motivation Theory and the Reading-Empathy framework, we tested whether children’s self-directed novel-reading habits (NRH) buffer the pathway from autistic symptoms to behavioral problems via social anxiety. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was completed by 1240 pupils aged 8-15 years from mainstream schools in Luzhou, China. Measures included the Childhood Autism Rating Scale, Social Anxiety Scale for Children, Child Behavior Checklist (behavior-problem indices) and a five-item NRH inventory. PROCESS Model 59 with 5000 bootstrap samples estimated a moderated-mediation model, controlling for age, sex and socio-economic status. All instruments displayed adequate internal consistency (Cronbach’s α ≥ 0.82) and procedures complied with institutional ethics approval. RESULTS: Autistic symptoms showed a strong positive association with social anxiety (β = 0.2925, p < 0.001) and, through social anxiety, influenced behavioral problems. Direct effects on behavior remained significant after covariate adjustment. NRH significantly weakened the autistic-symptom→social-anxiety slope; the index of moderated mediation confirmed a buffering effect on the indirect pathway from autistic traits to behavioral problems (IMM = -0.0229, 95% CI [-0.03, -0.01]). CONCLUSION: Consistent with Social Motivation Theory, higher autistic traits elevate children's social anxiety and, indirectly, their behavioral difficulties. Frequent engagement with long-form fiction provides an alternative social-cognitive practice context that dampens anxiety reactivity to autistic traits, thereby reducing downstream behavioral risk. Encouraging immersive, self-chosen novel reading may therefore complement conventional social-skills and emotion-regulation programmes for autistic youth within ordinary classroom literacy practice.
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6. Prinsen J, Daniels N, Moerkerke M, Boets B, Alaerts K. Impact of chronic oxytocin on gaze and pupil dynamics during live dyadic interactions in children with autism. Psychoneuroendocrinology;2026 (Jan 10);186:107745.
Reciprocal gaze, the mutual exchange of eye contact, plays a key role in human communication and bonding, yet it is often experienced as challenging for individuals with autism. In recent years, administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin is increasingly considered a novel approach for supporting social experiences in children with autism, but insights regarding its effects on mutual gaze or pupil dynamics remain limited-particularly regarding how chronic, repeated dosing impacts these processes. This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial examined the effects of four weeks of chronic intranasal oxytocin administration on gaze behavior and pupil dynamics during live dyadic interactions in school-aged children with autism (aged 8-12 years, 15 oxytocin, 20 placebo). While the overall duration of fixations toward the face remained unchanged, oxytocin altered the distribution of gaze, resulting in a more balanced pattern of looking toward and away from the face of a live interaction partner, an effect observed only in the oxytocin group and not in the placebo group. In addition, the four-week oxytocin administration period induced a relative increase in pupil dilation, an index of sympathetic arousal and attentional engagement, with this heightened autonomic responsivity showing a moderate association with children’s self-reported feelings of secure attachment. Together, these findings indicate that repeated oxytocin administration may modulate gaze parameters in live social interactions in children with autism. While cautiously encouraging, future work will be needed to further delineate whether these changes meaningfully reflect ameliorated experience and comfort in social settings.
