MedWorm.com provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest items from the 'Autism Research' source. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:35:41 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5493326&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.231 This study examined ERP responses to spoken words to elucidate the effects of visual speech (the lip movements accompanying a spoken word) on the range of auditory speech processing stages from sound onset detection to semantic integration. The study also included an AV condition, which paired spoken words with a dynamic scrambled face in order to highlight AV effects specific to visual speech. Fourteen adolescent boys with ASD (15–17 years old) and 14 age‐ and verbal IQ‐matched TD boys participated. The ERP of the TD group showed a pattern and topography of AV interaction effects consistent with activity within the superior temporal plane, with two dissociable effects over frontocentral and centroparietal regions. The posterior effect (200–300 ms interval) was specifically sensi... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5493326 Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5493326 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5658064&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.236 Autism (AUT) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that, together with Asperger's syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder‐Not Otherwise Specified (PDD‐NOS), comprises the expanded classification of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). The heterogeneity of ASD underlies the need to identify biomarkers or clinical features that can be employed to identify meaningful subtypes of ASD, define specific etiologies, and inform intervention and treatment options. Previous studies have shown that disordered porphyrin metabolism, manifested principally as significantly elevated urinary concentrations of pentacarboxyl (penta) and coproporphyrins, is commonly observed among some children with ASD. Here, we extend these observations by specifically evaluating penta and coproporphyrins as biolo... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5658064 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5658064 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5579302&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.237 This study validates parental concerns for GID in children with ASD, as parents were sensitive to the existence, although not necessarily the nature, of GID. The strong association between constipation and language impairment highlights the need for vigilance by health‐care providers to detect and treat GID in children with ASD. Medications and diet, commonly thought to contribute to GID in ASD, were not associated with GID status. These findings are consistent with a hypothesis that GID in ASD represents pleiotropic expression of genetic risk factors. (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5579302 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5579302 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5493325&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.233 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5493325 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5493325 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5484910&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.240 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5484910 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5484910 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5484909&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.234 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5484909 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5484909 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5283132&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.228 AbstractThe authors examined pregnancy and obstetric complications in association with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children of participants from the Nurses' Health Study II, a prospective national cohort with information collected through biennial mailed questionnaires since 1989. Logistic regression was used to obtain crude and adjusted odds ratios for ASD, and by diagnostic subgroup. Seven hundred and ninety‐three cases were reported among 66,445 pregnancies. Pregnancy complications and obstetric suboptimality factors were assessed by maternal report of occurrence in first birth and, in secondary analyses, in any birth. Complications and a suboptimality score were significantly associated with having a child with ASD (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.26, 1.77, P<0.0001 for pregnancy complic... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5283132 Mon, 03 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5283132 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5467067&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.235 AbstractStructural alterations in brain morphology have been inconsistently reported in children compared to adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We assessed these differences by performing meta‐analysis on the data from 19 voxel‐based morphometry studies. Common findings across the age groups were grey matter reduction in left putamen and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and grey matter increases in the lateral PFC, while white matter decreases were seen mainly in the children in frontostriatal pathways. In the ASD sample, children/adolescents were more likely than adults to have increased grey matter in bilateral fusiform gyrus, right cingulate and insula. Results show that clear maturational differences exist in social cognition and limbic processing regions only in children/a... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5467067 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5467067 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5333106&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.223 In this study, we examine the extent to which children with ASD have abstracted the transitive (SVO) frame in English. Participants in a longitudinal study of language acquisition in children with autism (17 children with ASD averaging 41 months of age, 18 TD children averaging 28 months of age) were taught two novel verbs in transitive sentences and asked (via intermodal preferential looking) whether these verbs mapped onto novel causative vs. noncausative actions. Both groups consistently mapped the verbs onto the causative actions (i.e. they engaged in syntactic bootstrapping). Moreover, the children with ASD's performance on this task was significantly and independently predicted by both vocabulary and sentence‐processing measures obtained 8 months earlier. We conclude that many chil... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5333106 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5333106 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5302703&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.232 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5302703 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5302703 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5302702&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.229 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5302702 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5302702 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5247869&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.225 AbstractThe rooting reflex has long been studied by neurologists and developmentalists and is defined as an orientation toward tactile stimulation in the perioral region or visual stimulation near the face. Nearly, all previous reports of the visual rooting reflex (VRR) concern its presence in adults with neurological dysfunction. Previously, the VRR was reported to be present in a majority of individuals with autism and absent in control subjects. In the present larger study, we examined the presence of the VRR in 155 individuals with ASD and co‐occurring Intellectual Disability (ASD + ID: autism, N = 60; Pervasive Developmental Disorder‐Not Otherwise Specified (PDD_NOS), N = 95) and in a contrast group of 65 individuals with ID only. The VRR was present significantly more often in th... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5247869 Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5247869 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5205635&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.222 This study examined the hypotheses that this can be explained by differences in (i) planning processes or (ii) selective attention. Twenty‐two children with ASD and 21 TD controls matched for age (Mage = 13:7) and cognitive ability (MFSIQ = 96.42) were tested on an adapted version of Twenty Questions and two planning tasks. ASD participants could recognize effective questions as well as TD participants on a forced‐choice question discrimination task, but were observed to construct plans that were significantly less efficient. ASD performance was also specifically reduced when items could not be physically removed from the testing array, although this effect could be ameliorated by keeping a written record of participant questions during search. These findings indicate that ASD particip... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5205635 Thu, 08 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5205635 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5205634&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.224 This study examined the hypotheses that (1) sociodemographic risk factors in young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and/or intellectual disability (ID) significantly vary by disability type, and (2) measures of income (mean adjusted gross income, mean federal taxes paid, and mean tax exemptions) significantly increase between 1994 and 2002, and are lower in families with a child with ASD and/or ID compared with the general population. A multiple source surveillance system utilizing a retrospective record review was used to identify ASD and ID cases from a population of 26,108 eight‐year‐old children born in 1994 and living in Utah in 2002. ASD without ID (ASD‐only, n = 99) cases were significantly more likely to be male (P<0.01) and have mothers of White non‐Hispani... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5205634 Thu, 08 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5205634 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5205633&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.221 AbstractEvidence from behavioral and neuroimaging studies suggest that atypical amygdala function plays a critical role in the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The handful of psychophysiological studies examining amygdala function in ASD using classical fear conditioning paradigms have yielded discordant results. We recorded skin conductance response (SCR) during a simple discrimination conditioning task in 30 children and adolescents (ages 8–18) diagnosed with high‐functioning ASD and 30 age‐ and IQ‐matched, typically developing controls. SCR response in the ASD group was uniquely and positively associated with social anxiety; and negatively correlated with autism symptom severity, in particular with social functioning. Fear conditioning studies have tremendous pote... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5205633 Thu, 08 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5205633 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181496&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.210 In this study, we investigated whether multisensory processing deficits in ASD persist when semantically complex but nonsocial stimuli are presented in succession. Fifteen adult individuals with Asperger syndrome and 15 control persons participated in a visual‐audio priming task, which required the classification of sounds that were either primed by semantically congruent or incongruent preceding pictures of objects. As expected, performance on congruent trials was faster and more accurate compared with incongruent trials (crossmodal priming effect). The Asperger group, however, did not differ significantly from the control group. Our results do not support a general multisensory processing deficit, which is universal to the entire autism spectrum. Autism Res2011,4:xxx–xxx. © 2011 Int... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181496 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5181496 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181495&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.213 AbstractThe primary purpose of this study was to examine the underlying factor structure of the Parenting Stress Index‐Short Form (PSI‐SF) in a large cohort of parents of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A secondary goal was to examine relationships between PSI‐SF factors and autism severity, child behavior problems, and parental mental health variables that have been shown to be related to parental stress in previous research. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the three‐factor structure described in the PSI‐SF manual [Abidin, 1995]: parental distress, parent–child dysfunctional interaction, and difficult child. Results of the CFA indicated that the three‐factor structure was unacceptable when applied to the study sample. Thus, an exp... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181495 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5181495 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181494&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.215 AbstractMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used quite extensively for examining morphological changes in human and animal brains. One of the many advantages to examining mouse models of human autism is that we are able to examine single gene targets, like that of Neuroligin3 R451C knockin (NL3 KI), which has been directly implicated in human autism. The NL3 KI mouse model has marked volume differences in many different structures in the brain: gray matter structures, such as the hippocampus, the striatum, and the thalamus, were all found to be smaller in the NL3 KI. Further, many white matter structures were found to be significantly smaller, such as the cerebral peduncle, corpus callosum, fornix/fimbria, and internal capsule. Fractional anisotropy measurements in these structures w... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181494 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5181494 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181493&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.216 AbstractIn the absence of molecular biomarkers that can be used to diagnose ASD, current diagnostic tools depend upon clinical assessments of behavior. Research efforts with human subjects have successfully utilized standardized diagnostic instruments, which include clinician interviews with parents and direct observation of the children themselves [Risi et al., 2006]. However, because clinical instruments are semi‐structured and rely heavily on dynamic social processes and clinical skill, scores from these measures do not necessarily lend themselves directly to experimental investigations into the causes of ASD. Studies of the neurobiology of autism require experimental animal models. Mice are particularly useful for elucidating genetic and toxicological contributions to impairments in ... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181493 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5181493 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181492&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.217 AbstractThis within‐family study investigated whether mothers differentiate between children in their interactive behavior. Mothers were observed during a play and a task interaction separately with their child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (between 46 and 84 months old, M = 68) and with a younger sibling (between 29 and 67 months old, M = 48). Additionally, the social behavior of the children with ASD and their non‐ASD siblings was compared. Results show that mothers differentiated in their responsiveness but not in their initiatives toward the children. Children with ASD and their non‐ASD siblings were equally responsive but children with ASD were more imperative toward their caregiver. Several interpretations of these findings are discussed. Finally, it is concluded that fam... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181492 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5181492 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181491&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.218 AbstractThe Balb/c mouse is proposed as a model of human disorders with prominent deficits of sociability, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) that may involve pathophysiological disruption of NMDA receptor‐mediated neurotransmission. A standard procedure was used to measure sociability in 8‐week‐old male genetically inbred Balb/c and outbred Swiss Webster mice. Moreover, because impaired sociability may influence the social behavior of stimulus mice, we also measured the proportion of total episodes of social approach made by the stimulus mouse while test and stimulus mice were allowed to interact freely. Three raters with good inter‐rater agreement evaluated operationally defined measures of sociability chosen because of their descriptive similarity to deficits of social beh... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181491 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5181491 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158578&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.209 AbstractIt has been suggested that atypicalities in low‐level visual processing contribute to the expression and development of the unusual cognitive and behavioral profile seen in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, previous investigations have yielded mixed results. In the largest study of its kind (ASD n = 89; non‐ASD = 52; mean age 15 years 6 months) and testing across the spectrum of IQ (range 52–133), we investigated performance on three measures of basic visual processing: motion coherence, form‐from‐motion and biological motion (BM). At the group level, we found no evidence of differences between the two groups on any of the tasks, suggesting that there is no fundamental visual motion processing deficit in individuals with an ASD, at least by adolescence. However, w... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158578 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5158578 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5283131&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.230 AbstractAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is considered among the most heritable of all neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders, but identification of etiologically significant genetic markers and risk variants has been hampered by a lack of sufficiently large samples. Rapid phenotyping procedures, where self‐report measures are used instead of extensive clinical assessment, have been proposed as methods for amassing large genetic databases due to their hypothesized time‐efficiency and affordability. We assessed the diagnostic accuracy of potential rapid phenotyping procedures using the Social Communication Questionnaire and the Social Responsiveness Scale in a sample of 333 children who also received extensive phenotypic assessments. While the rapid phenotyping measures were able to... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5283131 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5283131 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5247868&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.227 AbstractIt has been proposed that people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have abnormal morphometry and development of the amygdala and hippocampus (AH). However, previous reports are inconsistent, perhaps because they included people of different ASD diagnoses, ages, and health. We compared, using magnetic resonance imaging, the in vivo anatomy of the AH in 32 healthy individuals with Asperger syndrome (12–47 years) and 32 healthy controls who did not differ significantly in age or IQ. We measured bulk (gray + white matter) volume of the AH using manual tracing (MEASURE). We first compared the volume of AH between individuals with Asperger syndrome and controls and then investigated age‐related differences. We compared differences in anatomy before, and after, correcting for whole ... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5247868 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5247868 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5205632&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.226 AbstractThe broader autism phenotype (BAP) was assessed in parents who have two or more children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (multiplex (MPX) autism), parents who have no more than one child with ASD (simplex autism), parents who have a child with developmental delay without ASD, and parents who have typically developing children. Clinicians, naive to parent group membership status, rated BAP characteristics from videotaped administration of the Broader Autism Phenotype Symptom Scale (BPASS). Differences among groups in BPASS scores in the four assessed domains (social motivation, conversational skills, expressiveness, and restricted interests) were examined using multivariate ANOVA and post hoc comparisons. Further, ratings of videotapes by observers naïve to family status were c... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5205632 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5205632 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181490&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.219 AbstractThyroid hormones substantially influence central nervous system development during gestation. We hypothesized that perturbations of early thyroid profiles may contribute to the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Thyroid pathways could provide a mechanism by which environmental factors that affect the thyroid system may impact autism occurrence or phenotypic expression. We investigated whether thyroxine (T4) levels at birth are associated with subsequent ASD, using two existing California study groups in multivariate analysis. One study group included children born in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1994, with cases identified through the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) and/or the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program of Northern California (244 cas... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181490 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5181490 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158577&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.214 AbstractAlthough face recognition deficits in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), including Asperger syndrome (AS), are widely acknowledged, the empirical evidence is mixed. This in part reflects the failure to use standardized and psychometrically sound tests. We contrasted standardized face recognition scores on the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT) for 34 individuals with AS with those for 42, IQ‐matched non‐ASD individuals, and age‐standardized scores from a large Australian cohort. We also examined the influence of IQ, autistic traits, and negative affect on face recognition performance. Overall, participants with AS performed significantly worse on the CFMT than the non‐ASD participants and when evaluated against standardized test norms. However, while 24% of par... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158577 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5158577 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5103271&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.220 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5103271 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5103271 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5103270&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.212 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5103270 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5103270 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5103269&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.208 AbstractA literature review was conducted on the genetic and developmental bases of autism in relation to genes and pathways associated with cancer risk. Convergent lines of evidence from four types of analysis: (1) recent theoretical studies on the causes of autism, (2) epidemiological studies, (3) genetic analyses linking autism with mutations in tumor suppressor genes and other cancer‐associated genes and pathways, and (4) contrasts with schizophrenia, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's disease indicate that autism may involve altered cancer risk. This evidence should motivate further epidemiological studies, and it provides useful insights into the nature of the genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors underlying the etiologies of autism, other neurological conditions, and carcinogen... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5103269 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5103269 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5036147&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.207 Conclusions: Our results do not provide evidence to support twinning as a risk factor in the development of autistic traits. Autism Res2011,4:xxx–xxx. © 2011 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5036147 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5036147 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5007841&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.211 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5007841 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5007841 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4975627&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.205 AbstractPrevious research indicates that individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) do not develop face expertise to the same extent as typical individuals. Yet it remains unclear whether this atypicality is specific to faces or related to more pervasive perceptual or cognitive deficits involved in the actual process of gaining expertise. To address this question, we examined the extent to which adults with ASC were capable of developing expertise with non‐face objects. To become experts, all participants completed a 2‐week training program with novel objects, known as Greebles. Level of expertise was assessed throughout training by measuring the ability to identify Greebles on an individual level. The perceptual strategies acquired as a result of expertise were measured through... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4975627 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4975627 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968340&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.204 AbstractWe discuss the recent push to develop support vector machines and other cluster analyses as a means for biological signatures as early screens for autism. These methods not only hold great promise but also require careful consideration prior to implementation. We outline three validity tests and potential methods for addressing them. Autism Res2011,4:xxx–xxx. © 2011 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968340 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4968340 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4902196&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.206 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4902196 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4902196 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4902195&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.203 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4902195 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4902195 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4704447&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.195 In conclusion, coding changes of the IL1RAPL1 gene do not appear to be associated with ASD in selected AGRE families with linkage evidence to the chromosome Xp22.11‐p21.2 region. Autism Res2011,4:xxx–xxx. © 2011 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4704447 Mon, 11 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4704447 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862340&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.202 This study further investigates findings of impairment in Gestalt, but not global processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) [Brosnan, Scott, Fox, & Pye, 2004]. Nineteen males with ASD and nineteen typically developing (TD) males matched by nonverbal ability, took part in five Gestalt perceptual grouping tasks. Results showed that performance differed according to grouping type. The ASD group showed typical performance for grouping by proximity and by alignment, impairment on low difficulty trials for orientation and luminance similarity, and general impairment for grouping by shape similarity. Group differences were also observed developmentally; for the ASD group, with the exception of grouping by shape similarity, perceptual grouping performance was poorer at lower than higher lev... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862340 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4862340 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4820637&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.201 AbstractRecent developments in the science of autism have provoked widespread unease among autism activists. Drawing on the findings of a major international gathering of researchers, ethicists, and activists, this paper presents the first major analysis of the ethical questions arising from this unease. We outline the scientific developments that have provoked the most discomfort, analyze the response to these developments from within and without the autism community, and trace the current state of the ethical debate. Having done so, we contend that these ethical questions are unlikely to be resolved as they depend on fundamentally conflicting assumptions about the nature and desirability of neurocognitive difference. We conclude by arguing for a new range of democratic mechanisms that co... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4820637 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4820637 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4767803&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.196 We examined three loci, serotonin transporter (SLC6A4), dopamine β‐hydroxylase (DBH), and the variable number of tandem repeat promoter of the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) for association with autism in participants from the Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE ) Study, the first large‐scale population‐based case–control investigation of both environmental and genetic contributions to autism risk. Among male children enrolled in the CHARGE study we tested associations between each of the three polymorphisms and autism (AU) (n = 119), or a combined group of autism and other autism spectrum disorders (AU+ASD, which includes an additional n = 53) as compared with typically developing controls (TD, n = 137). The case–control association analysis showed neit... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4767803 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4767803 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4733789&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.194 We report that a significant number of autistic children have serum levels of IgA antibodies above normal to the enzyme tissue transglutaminase II (TG2), and that expression of these antibodies to TG2 is linked to the (HLA)‐DR3, DQ2 and DR7, DQ2 haplotypes. TG2 is expressed in the brain, where it has been shown to be important in cell adhesion and synaptic stabilization. Thus, these children appear to constitute a subpopulation of autistic children who fall within the autism disease spectrum, and for whom autoimmunity may represent a significant etiological component of their autism. Autism Res2011,4:xxx–xxx. © 2011 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4733789 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4733789 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4704446&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.197 AbstractAutism is a pervasive, heterogeneous, neurodevelopmental disability characterized by impairments in verbal communications, reciprocal social interactions, and restricted repetitive stereotyped behaviors. Evidence suggests the involvement of multiple genetic factors in the etiology of autism, and extensive genome‐wide association studies have revealed several candidate genes that bear single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in non‐coding and coding regions. We have shown that a non‐conservative, non‐synonymous SNP in the glyoxalase I gene, GLOI, may be an autism susceptibility factor. The GLOI rs2736654 SNP is a C→A change that causes an Ala111Glu change in the Glo1 enzyme. To identify the significance of the SNP, we have conducted functional assays for Glo1. We now present... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4704446 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4704446 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4693161&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.200 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4693161 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4693161 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4693160&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.199 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4693160 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4693160 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4693159&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.192 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4693159 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4693159 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4693158&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.198 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4693158 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4693158 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4693157&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.193 AbstractWe investigated repetitive and stereotyped behavior (RSB) and its relationship to morphometric measures of the basal ganglia and thalami in 3‐ to 4‐year‐old children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 77) and developmental delay without autism (DD; n = 34). Children were assessed through clinical evaluation and parent report using RSB‐specific scales extracted from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), the Autism Diagnostic Interview, and the Aberrant Behavior Checklist. A subset of children with ASD (n = 45), DD (n = 14), and a group of children with typical development (TD; n = 25) were also assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. Children with ASD demonstrated elevated RSB across all measures compared to children with DD. Enlargement of the left and rig... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4693157 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4693157 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4532085&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.186 AbstractAutism is a neuro‐developmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interaction and communication as well as restricted interests or repetitive behaviors. Cytogenetic studies have implicated large chromosomal aberrations in the etiology of approximately 5–7% of autism patients, and the recent advent of array‐based techniques allows the exploration of submicroscopic copy number variations (CNVs). We genotyped a 14‐year‐old boy with autism, spherocytosis and other physical dysmorphia, his parents, and two non‐autistic siblings with the Illumina Human 1M Beadchip as part of a study of the molecular genetics of autism and determined copy number variants using the PennCNV algorithm. We identified and validated a de novo 1.5 Mb microdeletion of 14q23.2‐23.3 in ou... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4532085 Mon, 28 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4532085 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4532084&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.176 AbstractResearchers have recently hypothesized that autism spectrum disorders (ASD) may be partly characterized by physiological over‐arousal. One way to assess physiological arousal is through autonomic measures. Here heart period (HP) and parasympathetic activity measured by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were examined in adults with ASD and matched controls at rest and during performance of an emotional Stroop task. Resting HP and RSA were lower in adults with ASD than in matched controls, consistent with hypothesized over‐arousal in ASD. However, dividing the ASD group on the basis of antipsychotic medication usage revealed that group differences in autonomic arousal may be related to the effects of these medications or their correlates. Autonomic adjustments for Stroop perform... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4532084 Mon, 28 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4532084 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4507154&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.187 AbstractAbout 80% of cases with autism express intellectual disability. Both in autism and in mental retardation without autism the majority of the cases are males, suggesting a X‐chromosomal effect. In fact, some molecular evidence has been obtained for a common genetic background for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and X‐linked mental retardation (XLMR). In several genome‐wide scans (GWS), evidence for linkage at X‐chromosome has been reported including the GWS of Finnish ASD families with the highest multipoint lod score (MLS) of 2.75 obtained close to DXS7132 at Xq11.1. To further dissect the relationship between autism and genes implicated in XLMR, we have fine‐mapped Xq11.1‐q21.33 and analyzed five candidate genes in the region. We refined the region using 26 microsatelli... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4507154 Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4507154 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4455164&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.183 AbstractThe purpose of this study is to examine the phonological and other vocal productions of children, 18–36 months, with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to compare these productions to those of age‐matched and language‐matched controls. Speech samples were obtained from 30 toddlers with ASD, 11 age‐matched toddlers and 23 language‐matched toddlers during either parent–child or clinician–child play sessions. Samples were coded for a variety of speech‐like and nonspeech vocalization productions. Toddlers with ASD produced speech‐like vocalizations similar to those of language‐matched peers, but produced significantly more atypical nonspeech vocalizations when compared to both control groups. Toddlers with ASD show speech‐like sound production that is linked to th... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4455164 Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4455164 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676563&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.191 AbstractWe offer a neurobiologic theory based on animal work that helps account for the conspicuous male predominance in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In young male animals, testosterone (TST) binds to androgen receptors (AR) in brainstem neurons responsible for enhancing brain arousal. As a consequence, arousal‐related neurotransmitters bombard the amygdala hypersensitized by TST acting though AR. Arousal‐related inputs are known to prime amygdaloid mechanisms for fear and anxiety, with resultant social avoidance. We hypothesize that similar mechanisms contribute to autism's male predominance and to its defining impaired social skills. The theory rests on two key interacting factors: the molecular effects of TST in genetically vulnerable boys in combination with environmental stres... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676563 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4676563 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4610731&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.177 Conclusions: Results support the contention that individuals with ASDs are slower learners. Based on neurobiology and on the results of computational modeling, one interpretation of this pattern of findings is that impairments are related to deficits in flexible updating of reinforcement history as mediated by the orbito‐frontal cortex, with spared functioning of the basal ganglia. This hypothesis about the pathophysiology of learning in ASDs can be tested using functional magnetic resonance imaging. (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4610731 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4610731 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4532083&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.188 This study highlights the presence of abnormal findings in the PCC, which appear to be developmental in nature and could affect the local processing of social–emotional behaviors as well as functioning of interrelated areas. (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4532083 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4532083 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4507153&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.189 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4507153 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4507153 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4482665&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.182 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4482665 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4482665 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4482664&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.190 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4482664 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4482664 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4482663&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.181 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4482663 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4482663 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4482662&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.185 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4482662 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4482662 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4371887&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.180 AbstractElevated whole blood serotonin 5‐HT, or hyperserotonemia, is a common biomarker in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The integrin β3 receptor subunit gene (ITGB3) is a quantitative trait locus for whole blood 5‐HT levels. Recent work shows that integrin β3 interacts with the serotonin transporter (SERT) in both platelets and in the midbrain. Furthermore, multiple studies have now reported gene–gene interaction between the integrin β3 and SERT genes in association with ASD. Given the lack of previous data on the impact of integrin β3 on brain or behavioral phenotypes, we sought to compare mice with decreased or absent expression of the integrin β3 receptor subunit (Itgb3 + / − and −/ −) with wildtype littermate controls in behavioral tasks relevant to ASD. These mice ... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4371887 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4371887 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4371886&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.173 AbstractThe Autism Tissue Program (ATP), a science program of Autism Speaks, provides researchers with access to well‐characterized postmortem brain tissues. Researchers access these tissues through a peer‐reviewed, project‐based approval process, and obtain related clinical information from a secure, online informatics portal. However, few of these samples have DNA banked from other sources (such as a blood sample from the same individual), hindering genotype–phenotype correlation and interpretation of gene expression data derived from the banked brain tissue. Here, we describe an initiative to extract DNA from Brodmann Area 19, and genotype these samples using both the Affymetrix Genome‐Wide Human SNP Array 6.0 and the Illumina Human1M‐Duo DNA Analysis BeadChip genome‐wide ... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4371886 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4371886 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4313836&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.175 AbstractAutism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by impairments in reciprocal social communication, and stereotyped verbal and nonverbal behaviors. In approximately 10–25% of the affected individuals, a genetic mutation associated with the condition can be identified. Recently, mutations altering synapse formation, cellular/synaptic growth rate and regulation of excitatory and inhibitory currents were identified in patients with intellectual disability, typical autism, Asperger syndrome or neurological syndromes associated with autistic traits. Following these genetic findings, mouse models carrying mutations similar to those identified in patients have been generated. These models offer the opportunity to investigate in vivo the physiological and behavioral consequences of the ... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4313836 Wed, 05 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4313836 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4245211&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.159 AbstractConversational or “co‐speech” gestures play an important role in communication, facilitating turntaking, providing visuospatial information, clarifying subtleties of emphasis, and other pragmatic cues. Consistent with other pragmatic language deficits, individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are said to produce fewer conversational gestures, as specified in many diagnostic measures. Surprisingly, while research shows fewer deictic gestures in young children with ASD, there is a little empirical evidence addressing other forms of gesture. The discrepancy between clinical and empirical observations may reflect impairments unrelated to frequency, such as gesture quality or integration with speech. Adolescents with high‐functioning ASD (n=15), matched on age, gender, a... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4245211 Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4245211 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225043&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.157 AbstractAutism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in three core areas—language, social interaction and restricted/repetitive behaviours. It is generally accepted that genetics plays a large role in the aetiology of autism, but the exact mechanism is still unknown. We recently published evidence of an association between autism and the ITGA4 gene [Conroy et al., 2008]. Two genomic regions have shown evidence of linkage to autism in multiple studies— 2q31‐q33 and 17q21‐q22. Both of these regions harbour multiple integrin subunit genes. We tested markers in ITGA3, ITGA6, ITGAV and ITGB3 for association with autism in the Irish autism sample. No markers in ITGA3, ITGA6, ITGAV and ITGB3 were found to be associated with autism. Three 3‐marker haplotypes in IT... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225043 Fri, 03 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4225043 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225044&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.162 AbstractBackground: Biological measurements that distinguish individuals with autism from typically developing individuals and those with other developmental and neuropsychiatric disorders must demonstrate very high performance to have clinical value as potential imaging biomarkers. We hypothesized that further study of white matter microstructure (WMM) in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) and temporal stem (TS), two brain regions in the temporal lobe containing circuitry central to language, emotion, and social cognition, would identify a useful combination of classification features and further understand autism neuropathology. Methods: WMM measurements from the STG and TS were examined from 30 high‐functioning males satisfying full criteria for idiopathic autism aged 7–28 years and ... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225044 Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4225044 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4455163&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.184 AbstractStructural and sequence variation have been described in several members of the contactin (CNTN) and contactin‐associated protein (CNTNAP) gene families in association with neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism. Using array comparative genome hybridization (CGH), we identified a maternally inherited ∼535 kb deletion at 3p26.3 encompassing the 5′ end of the contactin 4 gene (CNTN4) in a patient with autism. Based on this finding and previous reports implicating genomic rearrangements of CNTN4 in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and 3p− microdeletion syndrome, we undertook sequencing of the coding regions of the gene in a local ASD cohort in comparison with a set of controls. Unique missense variants were identified in 4 of 75 unrelated individuals with ASD, as wel... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4455163 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4455163 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4436635&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.178 AbstractPervasive developmental disorder—not otherwise specified (PDD‐NOS) is the most common and least satisfactory of the PDD diagnoses. It is not formally operationalized, which limits its reliability and has hampered attempts to assess its validity. We aimed, first, to improve the reliability and replicability of PDD‐NOS by operationalizing its DSM‐IV‐TR description and, second, to test its validity through comparison with autistic disorder (AD) and Asperger's disorder (AsD). In a sample of 256 young people (mean age = 9.1 years) we used Developmental, Diagnostic and Dimensional (3Di) algorithmic analysis to classify DSM‐IV‐TR AD (n = 97), AsD (n = 93) and PDD‐NOS (n = 66). Groups were compared on independent measures of core PDD symptomatology, associated autistic feat... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4436635 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4436635 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399406&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.168 AbstractFragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited form of intellectual disability in humans. In addition to cognitive impairment, patients may exhibit hyperactivity, attention deficits, social difficulties and anxiety, and autistic‐like behaviors. The degree to which patients display these behaviors varies considerably and is influenced by family history, suggesting that genetic modifiers play a role in the expression of behaviors in FXS. Several studies have examined behavior in a mouse model of FXS in which the Fmr1 gene has been ablated. Most of those studies were done in Fmr1 knockout mice on a pure C57BL/6 or FVB strain background. To gain a better understanding of the effects of genetic background on behaviors resulting from the loss of Fmr1 gene expression, we generate... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399406 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4399406 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4371885&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.179 AbstractPeople with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) process visual information in a manner that is distinct from typically developing individuals. They may be less sensitive to people's goals and, more generally, focus on visual details instead of the entire scene. To examine these differences, people with and without ASD were asked to detect changes in dynamic scenes with multiple elements. Participants viewed a brief video of a person or an inanimate object (the “figure”) moving from one object to another; after a delay, they reported whether a second video was the same or different. Possible changes included the figure, the object the figure was moving from, or the object the figure was moving toward (the “goal”). We hypothesized that individuals with ASD would be less sensitive... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4371885 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4371885 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4313835&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.174 In this study, we developed and established the feasibility of an objective method of response through a series of multiple‐choice questions. Sixteen adults with autism and 15 typically developing adults took part, matched for age and intelligence. The adults with autism were less accurate as a group at categorizing the Frith‐Happé animations by the presence or absence of mental and physical interactions. Furthermore, they were less able to select the correct emotions that are typically attributed to the triangles in the mental state animations. This new objective method for assessing the understanding of the animations succeeded in being as sensitive as the original subjective method in detecting the mentalizing difficulties in autism, as well as being quicker and easier to administe... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4313835 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4313835 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4281206&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.171 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4281206 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4281206 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4281205&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.158 AbstractAsperger disorder (ASP) is one of the autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and is differentiated from autism largely on the absence of clinically significant cognitive and language delays. Analysis of a homogenous subset of families with ASP may help to address the corresponding effect of genetic heterogeneity on identifying ASD genetic risk factors. To examine the hypothesis that common variation is important in ASD, we performed a genome‐wide association study (GWAS) in 124 ASP families in a discovery data set and 110 ASP families in a validation data set. We prioritized the top 100 association results from both cohorts by employing a ranking strategy. Novel regions on 5q21.1 (P = 9.7 × 10−7) and 15q22.1–q22.2 (P = 7.3 × 10−6) were our most significant findings in the combin... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4281205 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4281205 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4281204&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.156 Conclusions: The current report supports a role for CD38 in conferring risk for ASD. Notably, our study shows that this gene is not only associated with low functioning ASD but that CD38 expression is markedly reduced in LBC derived from ASD subjects compared to “unaffected” parents, strengthening the connection between oxytocin and ASD. (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4281204 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4281204 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4245210&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.160 AbstractPrevious studies indicate that prenatal exposure to infections is a possible pathway through which autism spectrum disorders (ASD) could be initiated. We investigated whether immunoglobulin levels in archived specimens obtained from newborns subsequently diagnosed with ASD are different from levels in newborn specimens from controls. Children with ASD born in six California counties in 1994 were ascertained through records of the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) and Kaiser Permanente; controls were randomly selected using birth certificates. Archived newborn blood specimens were obtained from the California Genetic Disease Screening Program (GDSP) for N = 213 cases and N = 265 controls and assayed to determine levels of total IgG, antigen‐specific IgG to sele... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4245210 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4245210 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4241600&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.161 This study compared the performance of 22 parents/adult siblings of individuals with ASD (“relatives” group), 26 adults with ASD, and 26 typically developing adults on tasks of face discrimination, facial expression recognition and judging eye‐gaze direction. Relatives of individuals with ASD were less able to discriminate subtle differences between faces than typically developing adults, but were more sensitive to such differences than adults with ASD. Furthermore, relatives were significantly worse at identifying expressions of fear and disgust than typically developing adults and failed to show the typical sensitivity to direct compared with averted eye‐gaze direction—a strikingly similar pattern to that observed in adults with ASD. These findings show that atypical patterns o... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4241600 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4241600 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4229142&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.172 AbstractCandidate risk genes for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been identified, but the challenge of determining their contribution to pathogenesis remains. We previously identified two ASD risk genes encoding the receptor tyrosine kinase MET and the urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (PLAUR), which is thought to modulate availability of the MET ligand. We also reported a role for Met signaling in cortical interneuron development in vitro and a reduction of these neurons in uPAR (mouse ortholog of PLAUR) null mice, suggesting that disruption of either gene impacts cortical development similarly. Here, we modify this conclusion, reporting that interneuron numbers are unchanged in the neocortex of Metfx/fx/ Dlx5/6cre mice, in which Met is ablated from cells arising from the ventr... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4229142 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4229142 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225042&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.169 AbstractIdentifying genes involved in social behavior is important for autism research. Williams–Beuren syndrome (WBS) is a developmental syndrome with unique neurocognitive features, including low IQ, deficits in visuospatial and visual‐motor abilities, hypersensitivity to sounds, hypersociability, and increased general anxiety. The syndrome is caused by a recurrent hemizygous deletion of the 7q11.23 region, containing about 28 genes. One of genes in the region, GTF2I, has been implicated in the hypersociability and visuospatial deficits of WBS based on genotype–phenotype correlation studies of patients with atypical deletions. In order to clarify the involvement of GTF2I in neurocognitive function, especially social behavior, we have developed and characterized Gtf2i‐deficient mi... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225042 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4225042 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4175532&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.170 This study examined the relationship between the broader autism phenotype (BAP) and depressed mood in mothers of children with and without autism spectrum disorders (ASD). One hundred and sixty‐five mothers (71 with an ASD child and 94 with a non‐ASD child) completed a survey of child autism severity (ASD mothers only), parenting stress, BAP, and depression. Mothers of children with ASD reported greater depressed mood, higher parenting stress, and more characteristics associated with the BAP than mothers of children without ASD. For mothers of children with ASD, the BAP uniquely predicted number of depressive symptoms after controlling for child autism severity and parenting stress. In the full sample, the relationship between group status and depressed mood was no longer significant a... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4175532 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4175532 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4097623&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.165 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4097623 Thu, 30 Sep 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4097623 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4097622&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.167 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4097622 Thu, 30 Sep 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4097622 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4097621&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.166 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4097621 Thu, 30 Sep 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4097621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4036407&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.164 Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4036407 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4036407 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4012874&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.151 Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4012874 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4012874 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3899239&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.153 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3899239 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3899239 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3895704&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.154 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3895704 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3895704 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3895703&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.150 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3895703 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3895703 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3895702&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.149 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3895702 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3895702 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3753649&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.141 Dysfunction of cerebral cortex in autism is thought to involve alterations in inhibitory neurotransmission. Here, we screened, in prefrontal cortex (PFC) of 15 subjects diagnosed with autism and 15 matched controls the expression of 44 transcripts that are either preferentially expressed in gamma-aminobutyric acidergic interneurons of the mature cortex or important for the development of inhibitory circuitry. Significant alterations in the autism cohort included decreased expression (-45%) of RPP25 (15q24.1), which is located within the autism susceptibility locus, 15q22-26. RPP25, which encodes the 25 kDa subunit of ribonuclease P involved in tRNA and pre-ribosomal RNA processing, was developmentally regulated in cerebral cortex with peak levels of expression during late fetal development... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3753649 Wed, 14 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3753649 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3746598&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.146 Conclusions: Adults with Asperger syndrome have widespread significant differences from controls in white matter microstructural integrity. (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3746598 Mon, 12 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3746598 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3714049&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.142 Restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) observed during the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule [ADOS: Lord et al., 2000] were examined in a longitudinal data set of 455 toddlers and preschoolers (age 8-56 months) with clinical diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD; autism, n=121 and pervasive developmental disorders - not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), n=71), a nonspectrum disorder (NS; n=90), or typical development (TD; n=173). Even in the relatively brief semi-structured observations, GEE analyses of the severity and prevalence of RRBs differentiated children with ASD from those with NS and TD across all ages. RRB total scores on the ADOS were stable over time for children with ASD and NS; however, typically developing preschoolers showed lower RRB scores than typically deve... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3714049 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3714049 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3714052&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.143 Empathizing-Systemizing theory posits a continuum of cognitive traits extending from autism into normal cognitive variation. Covariance data on empathizing and systemizing traits have alternately suggested inversely dependent, independent, and sex-dependent (one sex dependent, the other independent) structures. A total of 144 normal undergraduates (65 men, 79 women) completed the Reading the Mind in the Eyes, Embedded Figures, and Benton face recognition tests, the Autism Spectrum Quotient, and measures of digit length ratio and field of study; some also completed tests of motion coherence threshold (64) and go/no-go motor inhibition (128). Empathizing and systemizing traits were independent in women, but largely dependent in men. In men, level of systemizing skill required by field of stu... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3714052 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3714052 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3714051&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.144 This article summarizes this discussion. In immune-mediated diseases, antibodies can contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease and are sometimes the force that drives the disease process. This concept has not been established for autism. In autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), antibodies are found to react with double-stranded DNA. These antibodies also cross-react with N-methyl-D aspartate receptors. Many SLE patients suffer neurologic syndromes of the central nervous system (CNS). Similarly individuals infected with Group A streptococcus (GAS) have antibodies against the GAS carbohydrate, which cross-react with tubulin and lysoganglioside GM1 on neurons. During the acute stage of infection, GAS-infected patients develop Syndenham chorea where the disease p... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3714051 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3714051 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3714050&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.145 In conclusion, routine screening for abnormal urinary CR and GAA could be considered in ASD diagnostic protocols; however, individuals positive for CDS are likely to be rare in an ASD cohort. (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3714050 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3714050 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3644634&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.137 Successful social behavior requires the accurate detection of other people's movements. Consistent with this, typical observers demonstrate enhanced visual sensitivity to human movement relative to equally complex, nonhuman movement [e.g., Pinto & Shiffrar, ]. A psychophysical study investigated visual sensitivity to human motion relative to object motion in observers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants viewed point-light depictions of a moving person and, for comparison, a moving tractor and discriminated between coherent and scrambled versions of these stimuli in unmasked and masked displays. There were three groups of participants: young adults with ASD, typically developing young adults, and typically developing children. Across masking conditions, typical observers showe... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3644634 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3644634 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3885211&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.152 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3885211 Mon, 31 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3885211 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3876528&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.155 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3876528 Mon, 31 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3876528 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3854438&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.139 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3854438 Mon, 31 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3854438 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3854437&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.138 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3854437 Mon, 31 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3854437 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3854436&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.134 Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3854436 Mon, 31 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3854436 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3854435&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.133 Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3854435 Mon, 31 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3854435 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3854434&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.130 Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3854434 Mon, 31 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3854434 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3603463&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.131 The current study investigated the relationships between internalizing and externalizing (I-E) behaviors and family variables, including both parenting stress and quality of attachment relations, in children aged 8-12 with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or with typical development. Compared to the group with typical development, children with ASD exhibited significantly greater levels of psychopathology as assessed by the Child Behavior Checklist [Achenbach, 1991], and parents of children with ASD exhibited higher parenting stress as assessed by the Parenting Stress Index [Abidin, 1995]. In a hierarchical multiple regression analysis, parenting stress emerged as the most important predictor of children's I-E problems. Results are discussed in light of the two groups' simil... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3603463 Wed, 26 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3603463 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3603464&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.130 Previous research [Ropar & Mitchell, ] has shown that autistic individuals are somewhat immune to biases induced by top-down processes, particularly the influence of previous knowledge on perception. In order to test this hypothesis within perception, 18 participants with autism who had measured intelligence in the normal range were compared against 18 matched controls in their susceptibility to the Shepard illusion. The illusion consists in misperceiving the shape of a parallelogram in the presence of depth cues. It is attributed [Mitchell, Ropar, Ackroyd, & Rajendran, ] to the effect of top-down constraints within perception. The task involved adjusting a stimulus to the dimensions of a template on a computer screen. Both groups were susceptible to the illusion and the illusion effect wa... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3603464 Tue, 25 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3603464 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3577209&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.132 This study was performed to confirm our previous results. We reviewed the charts of individuals who had PTEN clinical sequencing performed at our institution from January 2008 to July 2009. There were 93 subjects tested from our institution during that period. PTEN mutations were found in 2/39 (5.1%) ASD patients and 2/51 (3.9%) MR/DD patients. Three additional patients without mutations had no diagnostic information. Multiple relatives of individuals with a PTEN mutation had macrocephaly, MR, or early onset cancer (breast, renal, and prostate). Of those relatives tested, all had the familial PTEN mutation. None of the affected relatives had previously been diagnosed with Cowden or Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome. We noted in our previous study several adult relatives without any finding... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3577209 Tue, 18 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3577209 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3563872&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.134 A pervasive integration deficit could provide a powerful and elegant account of cognitive processing in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, in the case of visual Gestalt grouping, typically assessed by tasks that require participants explicitly to introspect on their own grouping perception, clear evidence for such a deficit remains elusive. To resolve this issue, we adopt an index of Gestalt grouping from the object-based attention literature that does not require participants to assess their own grouping perception. Children with ASD and mental- and chronological-age matched typically developing children (TD) performed speeded orientation discriminations of two diagonal lines. The lines were superimposed on circles that were either grouped together or segmented on the basis of colo... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3563872 Thu, 13 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3563872 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3555959&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.140 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3555959 Tue, 11 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3555959 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3555961&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.133 This study examined the potential relationship between maternal mood symptoms and depression and anxiety in their children with ASD. Participants were 31 10- to 17-year-old children with an ASD diagnosis that was supported by gold-standard measures and their biological mothers. Mothers completed the Autism Comorbidity Interview to determine whether the child with ASD met criteria for any depressive or anxiety diagnoses and a questionnaire of their own current mood symptoms. As expected, many children with ASD met criteria for lifetime diagnoses of depressive (32%) and anxiety disorders (39%). Mothers' report of their own current mood symptoms revealed averages within the normal range, though there was significant variability. Approximately 75% of children with ASD could be correctly classi... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3555961 Mon, 10 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3555961 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3555960&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.136 Conclusion: Conception during the summer months was associated with an over-representation of children with ASD in this UK birth cohort. There was also an association between ASD and spring births. Further investigation of seasonal influences on the aetiology of autism is required to identify possible factors in the environment, and their mechanisms and timings. (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3555960 Mon, 10 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3555960 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3511449&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.127 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3511449 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3511449 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3511448&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.126 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3511448 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3511448 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3511447&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.135 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3511447 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3511447 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3511446&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.128 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3511446 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3511446 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3511445&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.129 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3511445 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3511445 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3456627&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.125 This study tested the ability to discriminate gender from facial features, namely eyes and mouths, by comparing accuracy scores of 17 children with autism and 15 adults with autism to 17 typically developing children and 15 typically developing adults. Results indicated that all participants regardless of diagnosis discriminated gender more accurately from eyes than from mouths. However, results indicated that compared to adults without autism, adults with autism were significantly worse at discriminating gender from eyes. (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3456627 Fri, 09 Apr 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3456627 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3429060&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.122 The social motivation hypothesis of autism posits that infants with autism do not experience social stimuli as rewarding, thereby leading to a cascade of potentially negative consequences for later development. While possible downstream effects of this hypothesis such as altered face and voice processing have been examined, there has not been a direct investigation of social reward processing in autism. Here we use functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine social and monetary rewarded implicit learning in children with and without autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Sixteen males with ASD and sixteen age- and IQ-matched typically developing (TD) males were scanned while performing two versions of a rewarded implicit learning task. In addition to examining responses to reward, we invest... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3429060 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3429060 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3424754&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.123 Fifteen adolescents and young adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and 18 age- and IQ-matched adults with typical development (TD) completed a serial reaction time task (SRT) to examine possible motor-linked implicit learning impairments in persons with ASD. Measures were taken to decrease the role of explicit learning in the SRT. Results showed that participants with ASD demonstrated intact motor-linked implicit learning. Furthermore, the motor-linked implicit learning appeared to take place at a similar rate across trials in the group with ASD compared to the group with TD. These results suggest that persons with ASD are successful in implicit learning of motor-linked behavior. The results of this study, coupled with past findings, suggest that people with ASD may... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3424754 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3424754 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3424755&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.124 This study combined parent and observational measures to examine the association between aberrant sensory features and restricted, repetitive behaviors in children with autism (N=67) and those with developmental delays (N=42). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to empirically validate three sensory constructs of interest: hyperresponsiveness, hyporesponsiveness, and sensory seeking. Examining the association between the three derived sensory factor scores and scores on the Repetitive Behavior Scales - Revised revealed the co-occurrence of these behaviors in both clinical groups. Specifically, high levels of hyperresponsive behaviors predicted high levels of repetitive behaviors, and the relationship between these variables remained the same controlling for mental age. We primarily found... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3424755 Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3424755 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3411045&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.119 Zhao et al. [] in their "Unified Theory of Autism" hypothesized that incidence of autism in males could be explained by essentially two types of family structures: majority of autism cases are from low-risk autism families with de novo mutations, and a minority of cases are from high-risk multiplex families, where risk to male offspring approximates 50% consistent with a dominant model and high penetrance. Using the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) data set, Zhao et al. identified 86 high-risk families with likely dominant transmission. As genotype data are now available for many members of the AGRE resource, the objective of this manuscript was to determine if dominant linkage evidence for an autism predisposition gene exists in these 86 high-risk families. HumanHap550K Illumina SN... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3411045 Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3411045 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3290752&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.121 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3290752 Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3290752 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3290751&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.120 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3290751 Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3290751 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3290750&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.117 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3290750 Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3290750 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3290749&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.118 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3290749 Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3290749 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3254336&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.116 Reports on autism and parental age have yielded conflicting results on whether mothers, fathers, or both, contribute to increased risk. We analyzed restricted strata of parental age in a 10-year California birth cohort to determine the independent or dependent effect from each parent. Autism cases from California Department of Developmental Services records were linked to State birth files (1990-1999). Only singleton births with complete data on parental age and education were included (n=4,947,935, cases=12,159). In multivariate logistic regression models, advancing maternal age increased risk for autism monotonically regardless of the paternal age. Compared with mothers 25-29 years of age, the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for mothers 40+ years was 1.51 (95% CI: 1.35-1.70), or compared with ... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3254336 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3254336 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3156376&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.111 Motivated by auditory and speech deficits in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), the frequency dependence of superior temporal gyrus (STG) 50 msec (M50) and 100 msec (M100) neuromagnetic auditory evoked field responses in children with ASD and typically developing controls were evaluated. Whole-cortex magnetoencephalography (MEG) was obtained from 17 typically developing children and 25 children with ASD. Subjects were presented tones with frequencies of 200, 300, 500, and 1,000 Hz, and left and right STG M50 and M100 STG activity was examined. No M50 latency or amplitude Group differences were observed. In the right hemisphere, a Group×Frequency ANOVA on M100 latency produced a main effect for Group (P=0.01), with an average M100 latency delay of 11 msec in children with ASD. In addition, o... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3156376 Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3156376 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3142421&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.110 Prenatal environmental exposures are among the risk factors being explored for associations with autism. We applied a new procedure combining multiple scan cluster detection tests to identify geographically defined areas of increased autism incidence. This procedure can serve as a first hypothesis-generating step aimed at localized environmental exposures, but would not be useful for assessing widely distributed exposures, such as household products, nor for exposures from nonpoint sources, such as traffic.Geocoded mothers' residences on 2,453,717 California birth records, 1996-2000, were analyzed including 9,900 autism cases recorded in the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) database through February 2006 which were matched to their corresponding birth records. We analy... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3142421 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3142421 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4036408&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.163 Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4036408 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4036408 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3876530&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.148 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3876530 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3876530 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3876529&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.147 (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3876529 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3876529 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3100691&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.109 Conclusion: This genotype-blind, prospective pharmacogenetic study found the group of subjects with associated with the lowest platelet 5-HT uptake from previous study had the smallest reduction in ABC-Irritability scores after open label treatment with escitalopram. Replication is necessary to confirm these findings. (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3100691 Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3100691 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3082323&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.106 Conclusion: Although algorithms generated from regression analyses produced greater clinical utility for specific samples, the PDD-based algorithm resulted in greater stability across samples. (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3082323 Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3082323 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3075369&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.112 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3075369 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3075369 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3071001&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.103 Recent estimates suggest that 31% of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) meet diagnostic criteria for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and another 24% of children with ASD exhibit subthreshold clinical ADHD symptoms. Presence of ADHD symptoms in the context of ASD could have a variety of effects on cognition, autistic traits, and adaptive/maladaptive behaviors including: exacerbating core ASD impairments; adding unique impairments specific to ADHD; producing new problems unreported in ASD or ADHD; having no clear impact; or producing some combination of these scenarios. Children with ASD and co-morbid ADHD symptoms (ASD+ADHD; n=21), children with ASD without ADHD (ASD; n=28), and a typically developing control group (n=21) were included in the study; all groups we... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3071001 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3071001 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3071002&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.102 This study compared the object descriptions of school-age children with high-functioning autism (HFA) with those of a matched group of typically developing children. Descriptions were elicited in a referential communication task where shared information was manipulated, and in a guessing game where clues had to be provided about the identity of an object that was hidden from the addressee. Across these tasks, increasingly complex levels of audience design were assessed: (1) the ability to give adequate descriptions from one's own perspective, (2) the ability to adjust descriptions to an addressee's perspective when this differs from one's own, and (3) the ability to provide indirect yet identifying descriptions in a situation where explicit labeling is inappropriate. Results showed that th... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3071002 Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3071002 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3044618&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.101 This study used the Rey Osterreith Complex Figure (ROCF) task and an objective scoring system to examine local/global processing approaches to its reproduction in 37 individuals diagnosed with high-functioning autism (HFA) compared to 49 age-, IQ-, and gender-matched typically developing controls (TD). The sample was divided into children (aged 8-14 years) and adolescents/adults (aged 15-47 years) to assess age effects. Results showed no difference in overall performance on the ROCF between HFA and TD children. TD participants displayed improved organizational and planning skills with age and a shift to global processing approaches, but there were no differences in performance between children and adolescents/adults with HFA. There was no evidence of enhanced local processing in either HFA... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3044618 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3044618 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2984685&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.104 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2984685 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 2984685 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2984684&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.105 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2984684 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 2984684 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2984683&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.100 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2984683 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 2984683 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2958736&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.98 In order to disentangle genetic and environmental contributions to cortical anomalies in children with autism, we investigated cortical folding patterns in a cohort of 14 monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs who displayed a range of phenotypic discordance for autism, and 14 typically developing community controls. Cortical folding was assessed with the gyrification index, which was calculated on high resolution anatomic MR images. We found that the cortical folding patterns across most lobar regions of the cerebral cortex was highly discordant within MZ twin pairs. In addition, children with autism and their co-twins exhibited increased cortical folding in the right parietal lobe, relative to age- and gender-matched typical developing children. Increased folding in the right parietal lobe was assoc... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2958736 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 2958736 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2954392&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.97 Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and postmortem neuropathological studies have implicated the cerebellum in the pathophysiology of autism. Controversy remains, however, concerning the nature and the consistency of cerebellar alterations. MRI studies of the cross-sectional area of the vermis have found both decreases and no difference in autism groups. Volumetric analysis of the vermis, which is less prone to "plane of section artifacts" may provide a more reliable assessment of size differences but few such studies exist in the literature. Here we present the results of a volumetric analysis of the structure of the whole cerebellum and its components in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Structural MRI's were acquired from 62 male participants (7.5 to 18.5 years-old) ... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2954392 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 2954392 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2939153&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.96 Chromosomal breaks and rearrangements have been observed in conjunction with autism and autistic spectrum disorders. A chromosomal inversion has been previously reported in autistic siblings, spanning the region from approximately 7q22.1 to 7q31. This family is distinguished by having multiple individuals with autism and associated disabilities. The region containing the inversion has been strongly implicated in autism by multiple linkage studies, and has been particularly associated with language defects in autism as well as in other disorders with language components. Mapping of the inversion breakpoints by FISH has localized the inversion to the region spanning approximately 99-108.75 Mb of chromosome 7. The proximal breakpoint has the potential to disrupt either the coding sequence or ... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2939153 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0100 2939153 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2939154&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.93 This study used a natural category, faces, to further examine prototype formation in high-functioning individuals with autism. High-functioning children (age 8-13 years) and adults with autism (age 17-53 years) and matched controls were tested in a facial prototype formation task that has been used to test prototype formation abilities in typically developing infants and adults [Strauss, ]. Participants were familiarized to a series of faces depicting subtle variations in the spatial distance of facial features, and were then given a forced choice familiarity test between the mean prototype and the mode prototype. Overall, individuals in the autism group were significantly less likely to select the mean prototype face. Even though the children with autism showed this difference in prototyp... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2939154 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0100 2939154 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2912071&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.99 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2912071 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2912071 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2901572&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.95 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2901572 Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2901572 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2781911&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.91 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2781911 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2781911 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2781910&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.90 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2781910 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2781910 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2781909&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.94 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2781909 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2781909 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2737537&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.92 No Abstract (Source: Autism Research) Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2737537 Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2737537 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2733929&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.89 Although widespread alterations in cortical structure have been documented in individuals with autism, the functional implications of these alterations remain to be determined. Here, we adopted a novel inter-subject correlation (inter-SC) and intra-subject correlation (intra-SC) technique to quantify the reliability of the spatio-temporal responses of functional MR activity in adults with autism during free-viewing of a popular audio-visual movie. Whereas these complex stimuli evoke highly reliable shared response time courses in typical individuals, cortical activity was more variable across individuals with autism (low inter-SC). Interestingly, when we measured the responses within an autistic individual across repeated presentations of the movie, we observed a unique, idiosyncratic resp... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2733929 Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2733929 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2699502&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.87 This study screened two cohorts, an Autistic Disorder cohort from South Carolina and a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) cohort from Italy, for the presence of the C allele variant in rs1858830. A significant increase in the C allele variant frequency was found in the South Carolina Autistic Disorder patients as compared to South Carolina Controls ([chi]2=5.8, df=1, P=0.02). In the South Carolina cohort, a significant association with Autistic Disorder was found when comparing the CC and CG genotypes to the GG genotype (odds ratio (OR)=1.64; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.12-2.40; [chi]2=6.5, df=1, P=0.01) in cases and controls. In the Italian cohort, no significant association with PDD was found when comparing the CC or CG genotype to the GG genotype (OR=1.20; 95% CI=0.56-2.56; [chi]... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2699502 Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2699502 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2660574&cid=s_37712_172_f&fid=37712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1002%252Faur.88 The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC; BA 24) via its extensive limbic and high order association cortical connectivity to prefrontal cortex is a key part of an important circuitry participating in executive function, affect, and socio-emotional behavior. Multiple lines of evidence, including genetic and imaging studies, suggest that the ACC and gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA) system may be affected in autism. The benzodiazepine binding site on the GABAA receptor complex is an important target for pharmacotherapy and has important clinical implications. The present multiple-concentration ligand-binding study utilized 3H-muscimol and 3H-flunitrazepam to determine the number (Bmax), binding affinity (Kd), and distribution of GABAA receptors and benzodiazepine binding sites, respectively, in the... Autism Research journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2660574 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2660574