Pubmed (TSA) du 23/08/26
1. Alaskar MK, Alonazi M, Ben Bacha A, Alamri AM, Abuaish S, Aloudah HS, Alahmed MF, AlMnaizel AT, El-Ansary AK. A comparative study of the impact of maternal immune activation and valproic acid on autism-like behavior in rats. Transl Neurosci. 2026; 17(1): 20250402.
OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to evaluate the behavioral consequences of maternal immune activation (MIA) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), in comparison to valproic acid (VPA), a widely used and reliable inducer of autism-like features in rats when administered during prenatal development. At the behavioral level, we further assessed the potential ameliorative effects of a standardized polyphenol-rich extract derived from the leaves of Cynara cardunculus L. (artichoke), used as a prebiotic – either independently or in combination with a probiotic mixture and/or omega-3 (ω3) fatty acids. METHODS: Wistar albino rats prenatally exposed to LPS or VPA were evaluated for social behavior using the three-chamber social interaction test. Beginning at 7 days of age, male rat pups received specific doses of the artichoke as prebiotic (AR), probiotics (Pro), and ω3 supplements, depending on group assignment. A total of 54 neonatal male rats were divided into nine experimental groups: (1) Control group: received normal saline; (2) VPA-0 group: prenatally exposed to VPA only; (3) VPA-AR group: prenatally exposed to VPA, postnatally treated with AR; (4) VPA-AR.Pro group: prenatally exposed to VPA, postnatally treated with AR + Pro; (5) VPA.AR-AR group: received AR during gestation (protectively), and postnatal AR after VPA exposure; (6) LPS-0 group: prenatally exposed to LPS only; (7) LPS-AR group: prenatally exposed to LPS, postnatally treated with AR; (8) LPS-AR.Pro.ω3 group: prenatally exposed to LPS, postnatally treated with AR + Pro + ω3; (9) LPS.AR-AR group: received AR during gestation (protectively), and postnatal AR after LPS exposure. RESULTS: LPS and prenatal VPA exposure significantly impair social interactions and promoting stereotypic-like behaviors. Notably, both pre- and postnatal administration of artichoke extract demonstrated significant potential in improving these behavioral deficits. MIA and prenatal VPA exposure have detrimental effects on neurobehavioral development, particularly impairing social interactions and promoting stereotypic-like behaviors consistent with ASD. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide evidence for the beneficial role of artichoke-derived prebiotics, alone or in combination with probiotics and ω3, in improving ASD-like symptoms in rodent models of autism.
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2. Laporta-Hoyos O, Fernández-Andújar M, Reid L, Oporto-Alonso M, Ballester-Plané J, Carrascal-Zuluaga A, Hoyo MG, Ferraiolo J, Påhlman M, Himmelmann K, Bishop S, Pueyo R. Autism spectrum disorder assessment in cerebral palsy and other early-onset motor conditions: A scoping review. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2026.
AIM: To map diagnostic procedures and standardized instruments reportedly used to identify autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in people with cerebral palsy or other early-onset motor conditions (EOMC) including Rett syndrome and muscular dystrophy. METHOD: This review followed the scoping review methodology of the JBI and is reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL Complete, and ERIC databases were searched in December 2022 and updated in February 2025. Studies specifying ASD diagnostic criteria and/or instruments used to assess ASD in people with EOMC were eligible. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were screened and data extracted by two reviewers per publication. RESULTS: Eighty-eight selected studies included 97 544 people with EOMC. Assessment currently seems feasible only in a subset of people with motor issues. Participants presenting severe motor impairments were underrepresented. Many authors reported challenges when performing ASD assessments. Some adaptations were reported for screening-questionnaires, but their validities were untested. A few standardized instruments showed promising psychometric properties in small samples with EOMC, but their diagnostic validity is not established. INTERPRETATION: There is a critical need for consensus guidelines on ASD assessment practices for people with cerebral palsy and other EOMC, as well as for validated screening and diagnostic tools.
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3. Martinez Olondo P, de Kerchove d’Exaerde A. Animal models of autism spectrum disorder: Bridging biology to behaviour. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2026.
The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has risen over the decades, reflecting improved awareness and evolving diagnostic practice. ASD is characterized by clinical and biological heterogeneity, with diverse genetic and environmental risk factors converging on disruption of synaptic function, circuits, and behaviour. This complexity limits mechanistic inference from human studies and underscores the importance of animal models for establishing causal relationships between risk mechanisms and ASD-relevant phenotypes. In this review, we outline the framework used to evaluate the relevance of animal models-construct, face, and predictive validity-and summarize the behavioural paradigms used to assess core ASD-related domains in rodents, including social interaction and communication, restricted and repetitive behaviours, and cognitive flexibility. We then examine mouse models of ASD, encompassing genetically engineered lines and inbred and idiopathic strains, discussing their mechanistic contributions, limitations, and sources of phenotypic variability. In addition, we briefly review environmental models and complementary animal species, which provide insights into distinct aspects of ASD biology. Collectively, the available models reveal convergent molecular and circuit mechanisms underlying ASD-related phenotypes. When interpreted within a framework and supported by standardized behavioural and physiological approaches, these models constitute a powerful platform for elucidating ASD pathophysiology and for guiding the preclinical development of targeted therapeutic strategies.
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4. McKinney WS, Schmitt LM, Ruberg JR, Coffman M, Reisinger D, Shaffer RC. Families’ Neighborhood Resources Predict Treatment Response for Regulating Together, a Group Therapy for Emotion Dysregulation in Autistic Youth. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2026: 10445463261477348.
INTRODUCTION: Autistic youth often face difficulties with emotion dysregulation (ED) and associated challenging behaviors. The Regulating Together (RT) group therapy was developed to treat ED in autistic youth ages 8-18 years and has been shown to be feasible, acceptable, and efficacious at reducing ED. Results from other clinical trials suggest the efficacy of behavioral therapies may vary based on family- or neighborhood-level social determinants of health (SDOH: « the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks »; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). The extent to which these factors modify treatment response for RT is not known. This knowledge may help identify characteristics of treatment responders, inform implementation strategies to maximize real-world effectiveness, and guide decisions around treatment assignment and dosing. METHODS: This is an exploratory, secondary analysis of our previously reported in-person (N = 37) and telehealth (N = 26) nonrandomized trials of RT. Participants included 63 autistic youth (79.3% male; mean age = 12.8 years, SD = 2.9, range = 8-18) and caregivers. ED and related constructs (e.g., cognitive inflexibility) were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and 5- and 10-week follow-up visits. Neighborhood-level SDOH were indexed using the Child Opportunity Index based on participants’ home addresses. Linear mixed-effects models tested whether neighborhood opportunity moderated treatment response. RESULTS: Neighborhood opportunity was unrelated to baseline clinical characteristics. However, neighborhood opportunity moderated treatment outcomes: reductions in irritability and emotional reactivity were greatest among families in neighborhoods with fewer opportunities. DISCUSSION: Our finding of an amplified treatment response among families living in neighborhoods with fewer resources aligns with results from clinical trials for disruptive behaviors and internalizing disorders in typically developing youth. Possible explanations for this include families’ limited prior access to behavioral health services, secondary reductions in caregiver stress, or high satisfaction with RT. These results challenge assumptions about diminished efficacy in low-resource settings and underscore the importance of considering contextual factors in future trials to enhance real-world impact.
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5. Sukenik N, Guetta S, Tubul-Lavy G, Bauminger-Zviely N. Peer familiarity and lexical diversity in autistic and typically developing preschoolers during free play. J Commun Disord. 2026; 123: 106687.
Differences in social communication may shape how autistic children use language with different interaction partners. This study examined lexical diversity during free play interactions with a friend and an acquaintance among 50 preschoolers (21 autistic and 29 typically developing). Each child participated in separate play sessions with the two partners. Overall, autistic children produced less lexically diverse language than TD children. TD children also demonstrated greater lexical diversity with friends than with acquaintances, whereas no systematic partner effect emerged for the autistic group. However, individual profiles based on total word production provided a more nuanced picture: most autistic children varied their verbal output across partners, but the direction of this difference was heterogeneous, with some producing more words with a friend and others with an acquaintance. Thus, autistic children’s verbal output appeared sensitive to the interaction partner, although not in the relatively consistent direction observed among TD children. Associations between verbal abilities and lexical diversity were found only during interactions with acquaintances. These findings suggest that social context relates to children’s language production in different ways across and within diagnostic groups and may inform individualized peer mediated interventions by supporting the selection of interaction partners who facilitate each child’s communication, followed by practice across multiple partners to promote flexible language use and generalization.
