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Fucà E, Costanzo F, Vicari S. Characterising repetitive behaviours in children and adolescents with Down syndrome. JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH : JIDR 2024. [PMID: 39105267 DOI: 10.1111/jir.13179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 07/09/2024] [Accepted: 07/19/2024] [Indexed: 08/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals with intellectual disability, including people with Down syndrome (DS), often exhibit restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRBs). However, RRBs have not been deeply characterised in children and adolescents with DS. METHOD The study encompassed a cohort of 151 participants aged 4 to 18 years with DS. RRBs were assessed utilising the Repetitive Behaviour Scale-Revised. Additionally, data pertaining to cognitive and adaptive functioning, linguistic abilities, sleep patterns and emotional/behavioural issues were gathered. RESULTS Self-injurious behaviours were reported less frequently whereas parents most commonly endorsed items related to behaviours associated with the need for sameness and ritualistic behaviours. We observed very few gender differences, whereas some age-related differences emerged, with adolescents exhibiting higher scores in items related with higher-level RRBs. The analysis of the association between RRBs and clinical features revealed that RRBs were associated with parent-reported sleep difficulties, as well as with internalising and externalising problems. We also observed a negative correlation with IQ whereas associations with adaptive skills emerged mainly for lower-level RRBs, such as motor stereotypies. Finally, RRBs were negatively associated with linguistic abilities, both expressive and receptive. CONCLUSIONS RRBs in children and adolescents with DS are of significant clinical interest due to their associations with various clinical dimensions. Therefore, psychological and neuropsychiatric assessment should include an accurate evaluation of RRBs for young people with DS.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Fucà
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - F Costanzo
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - S Vicari
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
- Department of Life Science and Public Health, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy
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2
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Saleem S, Habib SH. Effect of Infra Low Frequency (ILF) neurofeedback training on EEG in children with autism spectrum disorders. Pak J Med Sci 2024; 40:1397-1402. [PMID: 39092067 PMCID: PMC11255799 DOI: 10.12669/pjms.40.7.8246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Objective To investigate whether Infra-low frequency Neurofeedback (ILF-NFB) training can improve brain electrical activity in children with autism spectrum disorders ASD. Method This single arm pre and post intervention study was carried out at IBMS (Institute of Basic Medical Sciences), Khyber Medical University, Peshawar and Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU), Islamabad from January 2021 to December 2022. A purposive sampling technique was used. Thirty-five ASD children (male=24; female=11; 7-17 years) were provided with 30 sessions of infra low frequency (ILF) neurofeedback training for 15-20 minutes, during 10 weeks. Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) scoring was done and electroencephalogram (EEG) activity was compared before and after ILF-NF training sessions. Results Around 62.9% participants had mild-moderate autism and 37.1% had severe autism. Wilcoxon Signed rank test revealed a significant decline in delta (Pre-test=47.31±19.22, Post-test=22.07±6.83; p=<0.001), theta (Pre-test=24.75±16.62, Post-test=12.37±3.59; p=<0.001) and alpha (Pre-test=12.01±9.81, Post-test=4.03±1.61; p=< 0.001) waves. Mann Whitney U test exhibited no significant gender differences in EEG pattern before and after neurofeedback except in theta waves (p=0.03) before the intervention. Conclusion Decline in delta, theta, beta and alpha waves propose that ILF-NF training can be effective in improving the EEG activity. ILF-NFB can be perceived as a valuable non-invasive, non-pharmacological intervention for improving EEG pattern via reintegration of brain activity resulting in increased the attention and focus, enhanced mental stability and cognitive engagement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shemaila Saleem
- Shemaila Saleem, MBBS, MPH, MPhil. Department of Physiology, Federal Medical College, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Medical University (SZABMU), Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Syed Hamid Habib
- Syed Hamid Habib, MBBS, PhD, PGD, DHPE, CHR, CRSM, CME. Department of Physiology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan
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Duan K, Eyler L, Pierce K, Lombardo MV, Datko M, Hagler DJ, Taluja V, Zahiri J, Campbell K, Barnes CC, Arias S, Nalabolu S, Troxel J, Ji P, Courchesne E. Differences in regional brain structure in toddlers with autism are related to future language outcomes. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5075. [PMID: 38871689 PMCID: PMC11176156 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48952-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Language and social symptoms improve with age in some autistic toddlers, but not in others, and such outcome differences are not clearly predictable from clinical scores alone. Here we aim to identify early-age brain alterations in autism that are prognostic of future language ability. Leveraging 372 longitudinal structural MRI scans from 166 autistic toddlers and 109 typical toddlers and controlling for brain size, we find that, compared to typical toddlers, autistic toddlers show differentially larger or thicker temporal and fusiform regions; smaller or thinner inferior frontal lobe and midline structures; larger callosal subregion volume; and smaller cerebellum. Most differences are replicated in an independent cohort of 75 toddlers. These brain alterations improve accuracy for predicting language outcome at 6-month follow-up beyond intake clinical and demographic variables. Temporal, fusiform, and inferior frontal alterations are related to autism symptom severity and cognitive impairments at early intake ages. Among autistic toddlers, brain alterations in social, language and face processing areas enhance the prediction of the child's future language ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kuaikuai Duan
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
| | - Lisa Eyler
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- VISN 22 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, 92161, USA
| | - Karen Pierce
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Michael V Lombardo
- Laboratory for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems @UniTn, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, 38068, Italy
| | - Michael Datko
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Donald J Hagler
- Center for Multimodal Imaging and Genetics, Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Vani Taluja
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Javad Zahiri
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Kathleen Campbell
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Cynthia Carter Barnes
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Steven Arias
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Srinivasa Nalabolu
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Jaden Troxel
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Peng Ji
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Eric Courchesne
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
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Gros G, Miranda Marcos R, Latrille A, Saitovitch A, Gollier-Briant F, Fossati P, Schmidt L, Banaschewski T, Barker GJ, Bokde ALW, Desrivières S, Grigis A, Garavan H, Gowland P, Heinz A, Brühl R, Martinot JL, Paillère Martinot ML, Artiges E, Nees F, Papadopoulos Orfanos D, Poustka L, Hohmann S, Holz N, Fröhner JH, Smolka MN, Vaidya N, Walter H, Whelan R, Schumann G, Lemaitre H, Vulser H. Whole-brain gray matter maturation trajectories associated with autistic traits from adolescence to early adulthood. Brain Struct Funct 2024; 229:15-29. [PMID: 37819410 PMCID: PMC10827811 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-023-02710-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
A growing number of evidence supports a continued distribution of autistic traits in the general population. However, brain maturation trajectories of autistic traits as well as the influence of sex on these trajectories remain largely unknown. We investigated the association of autistic traits in the general population, with longitudinal gray matter (GM) maturation trajectories during the critical period of adolescence. We assessed 709 community-based adolescents (54.7% women) at age 14 and 22. After testing the effect of sex, we used whole-brain voxel-based morphometry to measure longitudinal GM volumes changes associated with autistic traits measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) total and sub-scores. In women, we observed that the SRS was associated with slower GM volume decrease globally and in the left parahippocampus and middle temporal gyrus. The social communication sub-score correlated with slower GM volume decrease in the left parahippocampal, superior temporal gyrus, and pallidum; and the social cognition sub-score correlated with slower GM volume decrease in the left middle temporal gyrus, the right ventromedial prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortex. No longitudinal association was found in men. Autistic traits in young women were found to be associated with specific brain trajectories in regions of the social brain and the reward circuit known to be involved in Autism Spectrum Disorder. These findings support both the hypothesis of an earlier GM maturation associated with autistic traits in adolescence and of protective mechanisms in women. They advocate for further studies on brain trajectories associated with autistic traits in women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Gros
- Control-Interoception-Attention Team, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière Paris, Brain Institute, Inserm/CNRS/Sorbonne University, UMR 7225/U1127, Paris, France
- Department of Adult Psychiatry, Centre du Neurodéveloppement Adulte, AP-HP.Sorbonne Université, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, 47-83 Boulevard de L'Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Ruben Miranda Marcos
- Control-Interoception-Attention Team, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière Paris, Brain Institute, Inserm/CNRS/Sorbonne University, UMR 7225/U1127, Paris, France
- Department of Adult Psychiatry, Centre du Neurodéveloppement Adulte, AP-HP.Sorbonne Université, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, 47-83 Boulevard de L'Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Anthony Latrille
- Institut Des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CNRS, CEA, Université de Bordeaux, 33076, Bordeaux, France
| | - Ana Saitovitch
- Department of Pediatric Radiology, Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, AP-HP, Université Paris Cité, Imagine Institute, INSERM U1299, UMR 1163, Paris, France
| | - Fanny Gollier-Briant
- Unité Diagnostique Autisme Ados-Jeunes Adultes (UD3A), CHU and Universite de Nantes, Fondation FondaMental, Nantes, Créteil, France
| | - Philippe Fossati
- Control-Interoception-Attention Team, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière Paris, Brain Institute, Inserm/CNRS/Sorbonne University, UMR 7225/U1127, Paris, France
- Department of Adult Psychiatry, Centre du Neurodéveloppement Adulte, AP-HP.Sorbonne Université, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, 47-83 Boulevard de L'Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Liane Schmidt
- Control-Interoception-Attention Team, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière Paris, Brain Institute, Inserm/CNRS/Sorbonne University, UMR 7225/U1127, Paris, France
| | - Tobias Banaschewski
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Central Institute of Mental Health, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Gareth J Barker
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Arun L W Bokde
- Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Sylvane Desrivières
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, SGDP Centre, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Antoine Grigis
- NeuroSpin, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France
| | - Hugh Garavan
- Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 05405, USA
| | - Penny Gowland
- Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, UK
| | - Andreas Heinz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Rüdiger Brühl
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Braunschweig, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jean-Luc Martinot
- Institut National de La Santé Et de La Recherche Médicale, INSERM U 1299 "Trajectoires Développementales and Psychiatrie", University Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, Centre Borelli, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France
| | - Marie-Laure Paillère Martinot
- Institut National de La Santé Et de La Recherche Médicale, INSERM U 1299 "Trajectoires Développementales and Psychiatrie", University Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, Centre Borelli, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, AP-HP. Sorbonne University, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France
| | - Eric Artiges
- Institut National de La Santé Et de La Recherche Médicale, INSERM U 1299 "Trajectoires Développementales and Psychiatrie", University Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, Centre Borelli, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France
- Psychiatry Department, EPS Barthélémy Durand, Etampes, France
| | - Frauke Nees
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Central Institute of Mental Health, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
- Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Central Institute of Mental Health, Heidelberg University, Square J5, Mannheim, Germany
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medical Center Schleswig Holstein, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
| | | | - Luise Poustka
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sarah Hohmann
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Nathalie Holz
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Central Institute of Mental Health, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Juliane H Fröhner
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Michael N Smolka
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Nilakshi Vaidya
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Stratified Medicine (PONS), Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Henrik Walter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Robert Whelan
- School of Psychology and Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Gunter Schumann
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Stratified Medicine (PONS), Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS), Institute for Science and Technology of Brain-Inspired Intelligence (ISTBI), Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hervé Lemaitre
- Institut Des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CNRS, CEA, Université de Bordeaux, 33076, Bordeaux, France
| | - Hélène Vulser
- Control-Interoception-Attention Team, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière Paris, Brain Institute, Inserm/CNRS/Sorbonne University, UMR 7225/U1127, Paris, France.
- Department of Adult Psychiatry, Centre du Neurodéveloppement Adulte, AP-HP.Sorbonne Université, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, 47-83 Boulevard de L'Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France.
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Cha WJ, Kim K. Diminished emotion recognition with reduced face gaze in complex situation in individuals with broad autism phenotype. Int J Clin Health Psychol 2023; 23:100399. [PMID: 37577162 PMCID: PMC10413062 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2023.100399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Background/objective Individuals with broad autism phenotype (BAP) showed a diminished ability to recognize emotion. This study aims to examine whether their decline in emotion recognition ability could be more clearly identified as task complexity increased and whether their decline could be influenced by their eye-gaze patterns. Method 41 individuals with BAP and 40 healthy controls performed two types of emotion recognition tasks. After confirming conditions wherein the BAP group did not perform well compared to the control group, we compared gaze proportion on faces and context between groups when performing the conditions. Results The more difficult the task, the clearer the significant relationships between the level of autistic traits and emotion recognition ability. The BAP group showed lower accuracy compared to the control group when a face with mild emotional intensity was presented with context. In terms of gaze proportion, the BAP group looked less at faces when recognizing emotions compared to the control group. Conclusion These findings indicate that diminished emotion recognition ability in individuals with BAP may be influenced by face gaze.
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Affiliation(s)
- Woo-Jin Cha
- Department of Psychology, Chung-Ang University, 84, Heukseok-ro, Dongjak-gu, Seoul 06974, Republic of Korea
| | - Kiho Kim
- Department of Psychology of Counseling, Sejong Cyber University, Cheonho-daero 680, Gwangjingu, Seoul 04992, Republic of Korea
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Neufeld J, Maier S, Revers M, Reisert M, Kuja-Halkola R, Tebartz van Elst L, Bölte S. Reduced brain connectivity along the autism spectrum controlled for familial confounding by co-twin design. Sci Rep 2023; 13:13124. [PMID: 37573391 PMCID: PMC10423238 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39876-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies on brain connectivity correlates of autism have often focused on selective connections and yielded inconsistent results. By applying global fiber tracking and utilizing a within-twin pair design, we aimed to contribute to a more unbiased picture of white matter connectivity in association with clinical autism and autistic traits. Eighty-seven twin pairs (n = 174; 55% monozygotic; 24 with clinical autism) underwent diffusion tensor imaging. Linear regressions assessed within-twin pair associations between structural brain connectivity of anatomically defined brain regions and both clinical autism and autistic traits. These were explicitly adjusted for IQ, other neurodevelopmental/psychiatric conditions and multiple testing, and implicitly for biological sex, age, and all genetic and environmental factors shared by twins. Both clinical autism and autistic traits were associated with reductions in structural connectivity. Twins fulfilling diagnostic criteria for clinical autism had decreased brainstem-cuneus connectivity compared to their co-twins without clinical autism. Further, twins with higher autistic traits had decreased connectivity of the left hippocampus with the left fusiform and parahippocampal areas. These associations were also significant in dizygotic twins alone. Reduced brainstem-cuneus connectivity might point towards alterations in low-level visual processing in clinical autism while higher autistic traits seemed to be more associated with reduced connectivity in networks involving the hippocampus and the fusiform gyrus, crucial especially for processing of faces and other (higher order) visual processing. The observed associations were likely influenced by both genes and environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janina Neufeld
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research; Department of Women's and Children's Health & Stockholm Health Care Services, Karolinska Institutet & Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Simon Maier
- Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Medical Center University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Mirian Revers
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research; Department of Women's and Children's Health & Stockholm Health Care Services, Karolinska Institutet & Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Marco Reisert
- Department of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Medical Center of the University of Freiburg, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Physics, Medical Center of the University of Freiburg, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ralf Kuja-Halkola
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ludger Tebartz van Elst
- Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Medical Center University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Sven Bölte
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research; Department of Women's and Children's Health & Stockholm Health Care Services, Karolinska Institutet & Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
- Curtin Autism Research Group, Curtin School of Allied Health, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia
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Fucic A, Mantovani A, Vena J, Bloom MS, Sincic N, Vazquez M, Aguado-Sierra J. Impact of endocrine disruptors from mother's diet on immuno-hormonal orchestration of brain development and introduction of the virtual human twin tool. Reprod Toxicol 2023; 117:108357. [PMID: 36863570 DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2023.108357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023]
Abstract
Diet has long been known to modify physiology during development and adulthood. However, due to a growing number of manufactured contaminants and additives over the last few decades, diet has increasingly become a source of exposure to chemicals that has been associated with adverse health risks. Sources of food contaminants include the environment, crops treated with agrochemicals, inappropriate storage (e.g., mycotoxins) and migration of xenobiotics from food packaging and food production equipment. Hence, consumers are exposed to a mixture of xenobiotics, some of which are endocrine disruptors (EDs). The complex interactions between immune function and brain development and their orchestration by steroid hormones are insufficiently understood in human populations, and little is known about the impact on immune-brain interactions by transplacental fetal exposure to EDs via maternal diet. To help to identify the key data gaps, this paper aims to present (a) how transplacental EDs modify immune system and brain development, and (b) how these mechanisms may correlate with diseases such as autism and disturbances of lateral brain development. Attention is given to disturbances of the subplate, a transient structure of crucial significance in brain development. Additionally, we describe cutting edge approaches to investigate the developmental neurotoxicity of EDs, such as the application of artificial intelligence and comprehensive modelling. In the future, highly complex investigations will be performed using virtual brain models constructed using sophisticated multi-physics/multi-scale modelling strategies based on patient and synthetic data, which will enable a greater understanding of healthy or disturbed brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Fucic
- Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Ksaverska C 2, Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - A Mantovani
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Rome, Italy
| | - J Vena
- Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - M S Bloom
- Global and Community Health, George Mason University, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - N Sincic
- Medical School, University of Zagreb, Salata 3, Croatia
| | - M Vazquez
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Plaça Eusebi Güell, 1-3, Barcelona 08034, Spain
| | - J Aguado-Sierra
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Plaça Eusebi Güell, 1-3, Barcelona 08034, Spain
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Moseley RL, Atkinson C, Surman R, Greville-Harris M, May L, Vuillier L. Sex-specific mechanisms for eating disorder risk in men and women with autistic traits: the role of alexithymia. J Eat Disord 2023; 11:18. [PMID: 36765413 PMCID: PMC9912205 DOI: 10.1186/s40337-023-00746-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A poorly understood relationship exists between eating disorders (ED) and autism spectrum conditions (ASC: henceforth 'autism'). ED are more prevalent in autistic people and people with high autistic traits, and autistic features are prognostic of longer illness. Aiming to understand what increases the risk of ED in relation to autism and autistic traits, previous research has implicated alexithymia as a causal mechanism in this relationship. These studies could not, however, disentangle whether alexithymia explains the relationship between ED pathology and autistic traits directly or through its impact on anxious/depressive symptoms, which in turn result in higher ED symptomatology. Moreover, despite evidence for sex differences in the aetiology of ED, little research has examined the impact of sex on these relationships. METHODS Focusing on the association between autistic traits and ED psychopathology, we examined independent mediating effects of alexithymia and anxious/depressive symptoms, as well as sequential mediation effects where alexithymia affects ED psychopathology via its impact on anxious/depressive symptoms. Participants were 198 men and 265 women with formally diagnosed and suspected ED, who completed an online survey of standardised scales. RESULTS In men, higher autistic traits were associated with ED psychopathology sequentially via greater alexithymia and through that, greater depressive/anxious symptoms. In women, alexithymia mediated the relationship between autistic traits and ED psychopathology both directly and sequentially through its impact on anxious/depressive symptoms. Interestingly, depressive/anxious symptoms also mediated that relationship independently from alexithymia. CONCLUSIONS While cross-sectional, these findings suggest that the relationship between autistic traits and ED symptomatology is mediated by other variables. In support of its proposed role in the aetiology of ED, alexithymia was directly associated with ED symptoms in women. It also affected ED symptoms indirectly, in all participants, via its effect on depressive/anxious symptoms. Interventions focusing on alexithymia may facilitate recovery not only via their effect on ED, but via their effect on other forms of state psychopathology which contribute to the maintenance and development of ED. Sex differences, however, reflect that alternative therapeutic targets for men and women may be beneficial.
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Affiliation(s)
- R L Moseley
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK.
| | - C Atkinson
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
| | - R Surman
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
| | | | - L May
- Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust, Poole, UK
| | - L Vuillier
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
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9
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Zhong NH, Grimm RP, Kanne SM, Mazurek MO. Measurement invariance of the Autism Impact Measure (AIM) across sex in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res 2023; 16:154-163. [PMID: 36341720 PMCID: PMC10099563 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Measurement invariance, or the degree to which an instrument measures constructs consistently across subgroups, is critical for appropriate interpretations of measures. Given sex differences in the phenotypic and clinical presentation of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it is particularly important to examine measurement invariance in autism instruments to ensure that ASD measures are not biased toward the more common male ASD phenotype. This study represents an important preliminary investigation evaluating the measurement equivalence of the Autism Impact Measure (AIM) across children and adolescents with ASD. The results indicated that the AIM demonstrated measurement invariance at the configural, metric, and scalar levels across sex in all five domains, including Repetitive Behavior, Communication, Atypical Behavior, Social Reciprocity, and Peer Interaction. These results suggest that ASD core symptoms assessed by the AIM were similar among male and female groups. In addition, the latent means for all five factors were not statistically significantly different across sex groups, revealing no systematic differences on any of the AIM subscales for males and females. Overall, this study showed that the AIM detects core ASD symptoms across all five areas equivalently in males and females and is not biased toward males with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole H Zhong
- School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | | | - Stephen M Kanne
- Weill Cornell Medical College and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, USA
| | - Micah O Mazurek
- School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
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10
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Saure E, Castrén M, Mikkola K, Salmi J. Intellectual disabilities moderate sex/gender differences in autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH : JIDR 2023; 67:1-34. [PMID: 36444668 DOI: 10.1111/jir.12989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Girls/women with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are suggested to exhibit different symptom profiles than boys/men with ASD. Accumulating evidence suggests that intellectual disability (ID) may affect sex/gender differences in ASD. However, a systematic review and meta-analysis on this topic is missing. METHODS Two databases (MEDLINE and PsycINFO) were used to search for studies reporting sex/gender differences (girls/women versus boys/men) in social communication and interaction, restrictive and repetitive behaviour and interests (RRBIs), sensory processing, and linguistic and motor abilities in ASD. The final sample consisted of 79 studies. The meta-analysis was performed with Review Manager using a random-effects model. Participants with ASD without and with ID were analysed as separate subgroups, and the effects in these two subgroups were also compared with each other. RESULTS Girls/women with ASD without ID displayed fewer RRBIs, more sensory symptoms and less problems in linguistic abilities than their boys/men counterparts. In contrast, girls/women with ASD with ID displayed more social difficulties and RRBIs, poorer linguistic abilities and more motor problems than boys/men with ASD with ID. Comparisons of groups of participants with ASD without ID versus participants with ASD with ID confirmed differences in sex/gender effects on social difficulties, sensory processing, linguistic abilities and motor abilities. CONCLUSIONS Our results clearly suggest that the female phenotype of ASD is moderated by ID. Among individuals with ASD with ID, girls/women seem to be more severely affected than boys/men, whereas among individuals with ASD without ID, girls/women with ASD may have less symptoms than boys/men. Such phenotypic differences could be a potential cause of underrecognition of girls/women with ASD, and it is also possible that observed phenotypic differences may reflect underdiagnosing of girls/women with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Saure
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- BABA Center and Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - M Castrén
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - K Mikkola
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - J Salmi
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
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11
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Dixon TA, Muotri AR. Advancing preclinical models of psychiatric disorders with human brain organoid cultures. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:83-95. [PMID: 35948659 PMCID: PMC9812789 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01708-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Psychiatric disorders are often distinguished from neurological disorders in that the former do not have characteristic lesions or findings from cerebrospinal fluid, electroencephalograms (EEGs), or brain imaging, and furthermore do not have commonly recognized convergent mechanisms. Psychiatric disorders commonly involve clinical diagnosis of phenotypic behavioral disturbances of mood and psychosis, often with a poorly understood contribution of environmental factors. As such, psychiatric disease has been challenging to model preclinically for mechanistic understanding and pharmaceutical development. This review compares commonly used animal paradigms of preclinical testing with evolving techniques of induced pluripotent cell culture with a focus on emerging three-dimensional models. Advances in complexity of 3D cultures, recapitulating electrical activity in utero, and disease modeling of psychosis, mood, and environmentally induced disorders are reviewed. Insights from these rapidly expanding technologies are discussed as they pertain to the utility of human organoid and other models in finding novel research directions, validating pharmaceutical action, and recapitulating human disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Anthony Dixon
- grid.266100.30000 0001 2107 4242Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 USA
| | - Alysson R. Muotri
- grid.266100.30000 0001 2107 4242Department of Pediatrics and Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of California San Diego, School of Medicine, Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA), Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, Archealization Center (ArchC), La Jolla, CA 92037 USA
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12
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Torres-Pérez JV, Anagianni S, Mech AM, Havelange W, García-González J, Fraser SE, Vallortigara G, Brennan CH. baz1b loss-of-function in zebrafish produces phenotypic alterations consistent with the domestication syndrome. iScience 2022; 26:105704. [PMID: 36582821 PMCID: PMC9793288 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
BAZ1B is a ubiquitously expressed nuclear protein with roles in chromatin remodeling, DNA replication and repair, and transcription. Reduced BAZ1B expression disrupts neuronal and neural crest development. Variation in the activity of BAZ1B has been proposed to underly morphological and behavioral aspects of domestication through disruption of neural crest development. Knockdown of baz1b in Xenopus embryos and Baz1b loss-of-function (LoF) in mice leads to craniofacial defects consistent with this hypothesis. We generated baz1b LoF zebrafish using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to test the hypothesis that baz1b regulates behavioral phenotypes associated with domestication in addition to craniofacial features. Zebrafish with baz1b LoF show mild underdevelopment at larval stages and distinctive craniofacial features later in life. Mutant zebrafish show reduced anxiety-associated phenotypes and an altered ontogeny of social behaviors. Thus, in zebrafish, developmental deficits in baz1b recapitulate both morphological and behavioral phenotypes associated with the domestication syndrome in other species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose V. Torres-Pérez
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
- Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, Biologia Funcional i Antropologia física, Fac. de CC. Biològiques, Universitat de València, C/ Dr. Moliner 50, Burjassot, València 46100, Spain
- Corresponding author
| | - Sofia Anagianni
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Aleksandra M. Mech
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - William Havelange
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Judit García-González
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Scott E. Fraser
- Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Caroline H. Brennan
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
- Corresponding author
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13
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Devika K, Mahapatra D, Subramanian R, Ramana Murthy Oruganti V. Dense Attentive GAN-based One-Class Model for Detection of Autism and ADHD. JOURNAL OF KING SAUD UNIVERSITY - COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCES 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jksuci.2022.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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14
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Incorporation of Telepsychiatry for Patients with Developmental Disorders into Routine Clinical Practice-A Survey of Specialty Clinics Adapting to Telepsychiatry During the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Autism Dev Disord 2022; 52:5280-5284. [PMID: 35575840 PMCID: PMC9109664 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05593-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
In 2020, a nationwide shift to telepsychiatry occurred in the wake of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and lockdowns. To assess the rates of telepsychiatry appointment attendance pre- and post-lockdown, we conducted a national, multi-site survey of appointments in 2020 compared to a similar time period in 2019, at outpatient child psychiatry clinics that specialize in the treatment of patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or Developmental Disabilities (DD). ASD/DD clinics rapidly shifted to telepsychiatry, returning to pre-pandemic appointment numbers and completion rates within months. We advocate for the continued funding of this care model, discuss the substantial benefits physicians, patients and families have found in using telepsychiatry, and suggest ways to improve future access for ASD/DD telepsychiatry.
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15
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Bigras C, Villatte B, Duda V, Hébert S. The electrophysiological markers of hyperacusis: a scoping review. Int J Audiol 2022:1-11. [PMID: 35549972 DOI: 10.1080/14992027.2022.2070083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Hyperacusis is known as a reduced tolerance to sounds perceived as normal to the majority of the population. There is currently no agreed definition, diagnostic tool, or objective measure of its occurrence. The purpose of this review is to catalogue the research to date on the use of auditory evoked potentials (AEP) to assess hyperacusis. DESIGN A step-by-step methodology was conducted following guidelines. Four databases were searched. A total of 3343 papers were identified. A final yield of 35 articles were retained for analysis. RESULTS The analysis identified four types of aetiologies to describe the hyperacusic population in AEP studies; developmental disorders (n = 19), neurological disorders (n = 3), induced hearing damage (n = 8) and idiopathic aetiology (n = 5). Electrophysiological measures were of short (n = 16), middle (n = 13) and long (n = 19) latencies, believed to reflect the activity of the ascending and descending pathways of the auditory system from periphery to cortex. CONCLUSIONS The results of this review revealed the potential use of electrophysiological measures for further understanding the mechanisms of hyperacusis. However, according to the disparity of concepts to define hyperacusis, definitions and populations need to be clarified before biomarkers specific to hyperacusis can be identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Bigras
- School of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada.,Center of Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), Montreal, Canada
| | - Bérangère Villatte
- School of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada.,Center of Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), Montreal, Canada
| | - Victoria Duda
- School of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada.,Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire en réadaptation (CRIR), Montreal, Canada
| | - Sylvie Hébert
- School of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada.,Center of Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), Montreal, Canada
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16
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Chronister J, Chou CC, Chen YJI, Wu YJ. Received Social Support Scale for Persons with Serious Mental Illness: Preliminary scale development and validation study. Rehabil Psychol 2022; 67:139-151. [PMID: 35049323 PMCID: PMC10450999 DOI: 10.1037/rep0000429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE This study investigated the psychometric properties of a newly developed Received Social Support Scale for Persons with Serious Mental Illness (rSSS-SMI). The rSSS-SMI measures three support domains: Day-to-Day Living support, Mental Health Support, and Adherence Support. RESEARCH METHOD/DESIGN (a) to examine the item quality of the rSSS-SMI, (b) to investigate the construct validity and verify the dimensionality of the rSSS-SMI, and (c) to investigate the reliability and validity of the rSSS-SMI scores. A sample of 267 community-based case management service recipients with SMI completed the rSSS-SMI and three additional scales (Interpersonal Support Evaluation List-Short Form [ISEL-12]; Symptom Checklist-6 [SCL-6]; Satisfaction with Life Scale [SWLS]). RESULTS Three items were dropped from the scale resulting in a 21-item scale. Confirmatory factor analysis and Item Response Theory analyses revealed our proposed three-factor model fit the data best, with average loadings at .74 (SD = .09). The three-factor model had higher item discrimination and item difficulty parameters than the one-factor model. The rSSS-SMI achieved strong internal consistency with estimates of .94 (full scale), .83 (Day-to-Day Living Support), .84 (Mental Health Support) and .76 (Adherence Support). The three-week interval test-retest reliability coefficient was .59. Convergent and discriminant validity evidence revealed a small, positive correlation between the rSSS-SMI and perceived support (ISEL-12) and symptom distress (SCL-6) and a small, negative, nonsignificant relationship with life satisfaction (SWLS). CONCLUSION This study provides preliminary reliability and validity evidence for the rSSS-SMI and confirms our proposed three-factor structure (Day-to-Day Living Support, Mental Health Support, Adherence Support). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Chih-Chin Chou
- Department of Child and Family Studies, University of South Florida
| | - Yi-Jui Iva Chen
- Department of Child and Family Studies, University of South Florida
| | - Yi-Jhen Wu
- TU Dortmund, The Center for Research on Education and School Development
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17
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Gehdu BK, Gray KLH, Cook R. Impaired grouping of ambient facial images in autism. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6665. [PMID: 35461345 PMCID: PMC9035147 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10630-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Ambient facial images depict individuals from a variety of viewing angles, with a range of poses and expressions, under different lighting conditions. Exposure to ambient images is thought to help observers form robust representations of the individuals depicted. Previous results suggest that autistic people may derive less benefit from exposure to this exemplar variation than non-autistic people. To date, however, it remains unclear why. One possibility is that autistic individuals possess atypical perceptual learning mechanisms. Alternatively, however, the learning mechanisms may be intact, but receive low-quality perceptual input from face encoding processes. To examine this second possibility, we investigated whether autistic people are less able to group ambient images of unfamiliar individuals based on their identity. Participants were asked to identify which of four ambient images depicted an oddball identity. Each trial assessed the grouping of different facial identities, thereby preventing face learning across trials. As such, the task assessed participants’ ability to group ambient images of unfamiliar people. In two experiments we found that matched non-autistic controls correctly identified the oddball identities more often than our autistic participants. These results imply that poor face learning from variation by autistic individuals may well be attributable to low-quality perceptual input, not aberrant learning mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bayparvah Kaur Gehdu
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - Katie L H Gray
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Richard Cook
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK. .,Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK.
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18
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Tian J, Gao X, Yang L. Repetitive Restricted Behaviors in Autism Spectrum Disorder: From Mechanism to Development of Therapeutics. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:780407. [PMID: 35310097 PMCID: PMC8924045 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.780407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication, social interaction, and repetitive restricted behaviors (RRBs). It is usually detected in early childhood. RRBs are behavioral patterns characterized by repetition, inflexibility, invariance, inappropriateness, and frequent lack of obvious function or specific purpose. To date, the classification of RRBs is contentious. Understanding the potential mechanisms of RRBs in children with ASD, such as neural connectivity disorders and abnormal immune functions, will contribute to finding new therapeutic targets. Although behavioral intervention remains the most effective and safe strategy for RRBs treatment, some promising drugs and new treatment options (e.g., supplementary and cell therapy) have shown positive effects on RRBs in recent studies. In this review, we summarize the latest advances of RRBs from mechanistic to therapeutic approaches and propose potential future directions in research on RRBs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Li Yang
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), Beijing, China
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19
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Wu C, Zheng H, Wu H, Tang Y, Li F, Wang D. Age-related Brain Morphological Alteration of Medication-naive Boys With High Functioning Autism. Acad Radiol 2022; 29 Suppl 3:S28-S35. [PMID: 33160862 DOI: 10.1016/j.acra.2020.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2020] [Revised: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVE To investigate age-related brain morphological changes of boys with high functioning autism (HFA). MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-six medication-naive boys with HFA and 48 age-matched typically developing boys (4-12 years old) were included in this study. Structural brain images were processed with FreeSurfer to calculate the brain morphometric features including regional volume, surface area, average cortical thickness, and Gaussian curvature. General linear model was used to identify significant effects of diagnosis and age-by-diagnosis interaction. Correlations between age and the brain morphometric variables of significant clusters were explored. RESULTS Primarily, most of the regions with statistically significant intergroup differences were located in the temporal lobe gyri. Importantly, the volume of bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG) and the average cortical thickness of the right STG demonstrated significantly age-related intergroup differences. Further age-stratified analysis also revealed morphological alterations of STG among subgroups of preschool and school-aged children with or without HFA. CONCLUSION The findings demonstrated abnormal age-related volume and cortical thickness atrophy of the STG in HFA children, which reflect brain development trajectories of ASD may initiate to diverge from early overgrowth in childhood period. The anatomical localization of specific brain regions would help us better understand the neurobiology alterations of HFA patients and indicate the effect of age should be carefully delineated and examined in future studies about HFA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenqing Wu
- Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Hui Zheng
- Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Haoting Wu
- Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Yun Tang
- Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Fei Li
- Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Dengbin Wang
- Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
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20
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Cheng X, Li Y, Cui X, Cheng H, Li C, Fu L, Jiang J, Hu Z, Ke X. Atypical Neural Responses of Cognitive Flexibility in Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Front Neurosci 2022; 15:747273. [PMID: 34975368 PMCID: PMC8719598 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.747273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Impaired cognitive flexibility has been repeatedly demonstrated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There is strong evidence for genetic involvement in ASD. First-degree relatives of individuals with ASD may show mild deficits in cognitive inflexibility. The present study investigated cognitive flexibility and its neuroelectrophysiological mechanisms in first-degree relatives of individuals with ASD to assess its potential familiality. Forty-five biological parents of individuals/children with ASD (pASD) and thirty-one biological parents of typically developing individuals/children (pTD), matched by gender, age, and IQ, were enrolled. The broad autism phenotype questionnaire (BAPQ) and cognitive flexibility inventory (CFI) were used to quantitatively assess autistic traits and cognitive flexibility in daily life, respectively. The task-switching paradigm was used to evaluate the behavioral flexibility in a structured assessment situation. Event-related potentials (ERPs) induced by this paradigm were also collected. Results showed that compared with the pTD group, the pASD group had lower CFI scores (t = −2.756, p < 0.01), while both groups showed an equivalent “switch cost” in the task-switching task (p > 0.05). Compared with the pTD group, the pASD group induced greater N2 amplitude at F3, F4, Fz, and C4 (F = 3.223, p < 0.05), while P3 amplitude and latency did not differ between the two groups. In addition, there was a significant negative correlation between the CFI total scores and BAPQ total scores in the pASD group (r = −0.734, p < 0.01). After controlling for age and IQ, the N2 amplitude in the frontal lobe of pASD was negatively correlated with the CFI total scores under the repetition sequence (r = −0.304, p = 0.053). These results indicated that pASD had deficit in cognitive flexibility at the self-reported and neurological levels. The cognitive flexibility difficulties of parents of children with ASD were related to autistic traits. These findings support that cognitive flexibility is most likely a neurocognitive endophenotype of ASD, which is worthy of further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Cheng
- The Child Mental Health Research Center, Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.,Department of Child Psychiatry, Ningbo Kangning Hospital, Ningbo, China
| | - Yu Li
- The Child Mental Health Research Center, Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xiwen Cui
- The Child Mental Health Research Center, Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Hong Cheng
- Physical Diagnostic Department, Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Chunyan Li
- The Child Mental Health Research Center, Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Linyan Fu
- The Child Mental Health Research Center, Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jiying Jiang
- The Child Mental Health Research Center, Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhenyu Hu
- Department of Child Psychiatry, Ningbo Kangning Hospital, Ningbo, China
| | - Xiaoyan Ke
- The Child Mental Health Research Center, Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
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21
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Wilder L, Semendeferi K. Infant Brain Development and Plasticity from an Evolutionary Perspective. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-76000-7_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
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22
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Prokopenko D, Lee S, Hecker J, Mullin K, Morgan S, Katsumata Y, Weiner MW, Fardo DW, Laird N, Bertram L, Hide W, Lange C, Tanzi RE. Region-based analysis of rare genomic variants in whole-genome sequencing datasets reveal two novel Alzheimer's disease-associated genes: DTNB and DLG2. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:1963-1969. [PMID: 35246634 PMCID: PMC9126808 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01475-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a genetically complex disease for which nearly 40 loci have now been identified via genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We attempted to identify groups of rare variants (alternate allele frequency <0.01) associated with AD in a region-based, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) association study (rvGWAS) of two independent AD family datasets (NIMH/NIA; 2247 individuals; 605 families). Employing a sliding window approach across the genome, we identified several regions that achieved association p values <10-6, using the burden test or the SKAT statistic. The genomic region around the dystobrevin beta (DTNB) gene was identified with the burden and SKAT test and replicated in case/control samples from the ADSP study reaching genome-wide significance after meta-analysis (pmeta = 4.74 × 10-8). SKAT analysis also revealed region-based association around the Discs large homolog 2 (DLG2) gene and replicated in case/control samples from the ADSP study (pmeta = 1 × 10-6). In conclusion, in a region-based rvGWAS of AD we identified two novel AD genes, DLG2 and DTNB, based on association with rare variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitry Prokopenko
- grid.32224.350000 0004 0386 9924Genetics and Aging Research Unit and The Henry and Allison McCance Center for Brain Health, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA USA ,grid.38142.3c000000041936754XHarvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA
| | - Sanghun Lee
- grid.411982.70000 0001 0705 4288Department of Medical Consilience, Graduate School, Dankook University, Yongin, South Korea ,grid.38142.3c000000041936754XDepartment of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA USA
| | - Julian Hecker
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XHarvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA ,grid.62560.370000 0004 0378 8294Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA USA
| | - Kristina Mullin
- grid.32224.350000 0004 0386 9924Genetics and Aging Research Unit and The Henry and Allison McCance Center for Brain Health, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA USA
| | - Sarah Morgan
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XHarvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA ,grid.239395.70000 0000 9011 8547Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA USA
| | - Yuriko Katsumata
- grid.266539.d0000 0004 1936 8438Department of Biostatistics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY USA ,grid.266539.d0000 0004 1936 8438Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY USA
| | | | - Michael W. Weiner
- grid.266102.10000 0001 2297 6811Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA USA
| | - David W. Fardo
- grid.266539.d0000 0004 1936 8438Department of Biostatistics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY USA ,grid.266539.d0000 0004 1936 8438Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY USA
| | - Nan Laird
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XDepartment of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA USA
| | - Lars Bertram
- grid.4562.50000 0001 0057 2672Lübeck Interdisciplinary Platform for Genome Analytics, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany ,grid.5510.10000 0004 1936 8921Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Winston Hide
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XHarvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA ,grid.239395.70000 0000 9011 8547Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA USA
| | - Christoph Lange
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XDepartment of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA USA
| | - Rudolph E. Tanzi
- grid.32224.350000 0004 0386 9924Genetics and Aging Research Unit and The Henry and Allison McCance Center for Brain Health, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA USA ,grid.38142.3c000000041936754XHarvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA
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Habata K, Cheong Y, Kamiya T, Shiotsu D, Omori IM, Okazawa H, Jung M, Kosaka H. Relationship between sensory characteristics and cortical thickness/volume in autism spectrum disorders. Transl Psychiatry 2021; 11:616. [PMID: 34873147 PMCID: PMC8648722 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01743-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2021] [Revised: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) exhibit atypical sensory characteristics, impaired social skills, deficits in verbal and nonverbal communication, and restricted and repetitive behaviors. The relationship between sensory characteristics and brain morphological changes in ASD remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the association between brain morphological changes and sensory characteristics in individuals with ASD using brain image analysis and a sensory profile test. Forty-three adults with ASD and 84 adults with typical development underwent brain image analysis using FreeSurfer. The brain cortex was divided into 64 regions, and the cortical thickness and volume of the limbic system were calculated. The sensory characteristics of the participants were evaluated using the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (AASP). Correlation analysis was performed for cortical thickness, limbic area volume, and AASP scores. In the ASD group, there was a significant positive correlation between visual sensory sensitivity scores and the right lingual cortical thickness (r = 0.500). There were also significant negative correlations between visual sensation avoiding scores and the right lateral orbitofrontal cortical thickness (r = -0.513), taste/smell sensation avoiding scores and the right hippocampal volume (r = -0.510), and taste/smell sensation avoiding scores and the left hippocampal volume (r = -0.540). The study identified associations among the lingual cortical thickness, lateral orbitofrontal cortical thickness, and hippocampal volume and sensory characteristics. These findings suggest that brain morphological changes may trigger sensory symptoms in adults with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaie Habata
- grid.163577.10000 0001 0692 8246Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan
| | - Yongjeon Cheong
- grid.452628.f0000 0004 5905 0571Cognitive Science Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, South Korea
| | - Taku Kamiya
- grid.163577.10000 0001 0692 8246Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan
| | - Daichi Shiotsu
- grid.163577.10000 0001 0692 8246Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan
| | - Ichiro M. Omori
- grid.163577.10000 0001 0692 8246Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan
| | - Hidehiko Okazawa
- grid.163577.10000 0001 0692 8246Biomedical Imaging Research Center, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan ,grid.163577.10000 0001 0692 8246Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan ,grid.163577.10000 0001 0692 8246Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, University of Fukui, Japan, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan
| | - Minyoung Jung
- Cognitive Science Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, South Korea.
| | - Hirotaka Kosaka
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan. .,Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan. .,Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, University of Fukui, Japan, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan.
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24
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KALAYCI BM, NALBANT K, AKDEMİR D. Autistic Traits and Social Responsiveness: The Relationship Between Autistic Traits and Comorbid Psychiatric Symptoms in Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa. Noro Psikiyatr Ars 2021; 58:283-288. [PMID: 34924788 PMCID: PMC8665292 DOI: 10.29399/npa.27175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION It is known that patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) display social difficulties like social responsiveness and high levels of autistic behaviors such as rigidity, narrow interests of food and weight; however it is not clear whether they have comorbid Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) or it is about acute phase of illness. In this study it is aimed to investigate autistic traits and social responsiveness in adolescents with AN. METHODS Study group was consisted of 39 female AN patients aged between 12-18 years. Control group was consisted of 34 female adolescents who did not have any psychiatric disorder. K-SADS-PL was applied to all participants in order to detect the psychiatric disorders. Autism traits and social responsiveness were evaluated using Social Responsiveness Scale. All adolescents of the study were administered The Eating Attitude Test, Beck Depression Inventory, Screen for Child Anxiety and Related Disorders, Maudsley Obsesive Compulsive Inventory. RESULTS Results of the study indicated that adolescents with AN had higher symptoms of depression, anxiety and autism-like symptom clusters; and lower social responsiveness. Psychiatric comorbidities were not associated with these difficulties. CONCLUSION The results show that AN patients have an impairment of social responsiveness, the impairment seems to be associated with AN regardless of psychiatric comorbidities. Despite these two disorders are considered unrelated, they have several traits in common. These results suggest that there may be a common pathogenesis between ASD and AN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bilge Merve KALAYCI
- Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Yenimahalle Trainig and Research Hospital, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Kevser NALBANT
- Hacettepe University, Medical Faculty, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Devrim AKDEMİR
- Hacettepe University, Medical Faculty, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ankara, Turkey
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25
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Zhou Q, Tian Y, Xu C, Wang J, Jin Y. Prenatal and postnatal traffic pollution exposure, DNA methylation in Shank3 and MeCP2 promoter regions, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 and sociability in rats' offspring. Clin Epigenetics 2021; 13:180. [PMID: 34565458 PMCID: PMC8474908 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-021-01170-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Road traffic air pollution is linked with an increased risk of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). The aim of this study is to assess the effect of exposure to prenatal or postnatal traffic-related air pollution combining concomitant noise pollution on ASD-related epigenetic and behavioral alternations on offspring. Methods A 2 × 2 factorial analysis experiment was designed. Wistar rats were exposed at different sites (L group: green space; H group: crossroads) and timings (E group: full gestation; P group: 21 days after birth) at the same time, and air pollutants of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particles (PM2.5) were meanwhile sampled. On postnatal day 25, brains from offspring of each group were extracted to determine the levels of DNA methylation in Shank3 (three parts: Shank3_01, Shank3_02, Shank3_03) and MeCP2 (two parts: MeCP2_01, MeCP2_02) promoter regions, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 after three-chamber social test. Meanwhile, the Shank3 and MeCP2 levels were quantified. Results The concentrations of PM2.5 (L: 58.33 µg/m3; H: 88.33 µg/m3, P < 0.05) and NO2 (L: 52.76 µg/m3; H: 146.03 µg/m3, P < 0.01) as well as the intensity of noise pollution (L: 44.4 dB (A); H: 70.1 dB (A), P < 0.001) differed significantly from 18:00 to 19:00 between experimental sites. Traffic pollution exposure (P = 0.006) and neonatal exposure (P = 0.001) led to lower weight of male pups on PND25. Male rats under early-life exposure had increased levels of Shank3 (Shank3_02: timing P < 0.001; site P < 0.05, Shank3_03: timing P < 0.001) and MeCP2 (MeCP2_01: timing P < 0.001, MeCP2_02: timing P < 0.001) methylation and H3K4me3 (EL: 11.94 µg/mg; EH: 11.98; PL: 17.14; PH: 14.78, timing P < 0.05), and reduced levels of H3K27me3 (EL: 71.07 µg/mg; EH: 44.76; PL: 29.15; PH: 28.67, timing P < 0.001; site P < 0.05) in brain compared to those under prenatal exposure. There was, for female pups, a same pattern of Shank3 (Shank3_02: timing P < 0.001; site P < 0.05, Shank3_03: timing P < 0.001) and MeCP2 (MeCP2_01: timing P < 0.05, MeCP2_02: timing P < 0.001) methylation and H3K4me3 (EL: 11.27 µg/mg; EH: 11.55; PL: 16.11; PH: 15.44, timing P < 0.001), but the levels of H3K27me3 exhibited an inverse trend concerning exposure timing. Hypermethylation at the MeCP2 and Shank3 promoter was correlated with the less content of MeCP2 (female: EL: 32.23 ng/mg; EH: 29.58; PL: 25.01; PH: 23.03, timing P < 0.001; site P < 0.05; male: EL: 31.05 ng/mg; EH: 32.75; PL: 23.40; PH: 25.91, timing P < 0.001) and Shank3 (female: EL: 5.10 ng/mg; EH: 5.31; PL: 4.63; PH: 4.82, timing P < 0.001; male: EL: 5.40 ng/mg; EH: 5.48; PL: 4.82; PH: 4.87, timing P < 0.001). Rats with traffic pollution exposure showed aberrant sociability preference and social novelty, while those without it behaved normally. Conclusions Our findings suggest early life under environmental risks is a crucial window for epigenetic perturbations and then abnormalities in protein expression, and traffic pollution impairs behaviors either during pregnancy or after birth. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13148-021-01170-x.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinfeng Zhou
- Environmental Epigenetics Laboratory, Department of Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 310058, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu Tian
- Environmental Epigenetics Laboratory, Department of Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 310058, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Chenlu Xu
- Environmental Epigenetics Laboratory, Department of Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 310058, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Juling Wang
- Environmental Epigenetics Laboratory, Department of Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 310058, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Yongtang Jin
- Environmental Epigenetics Laboratory, Department of Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 310058, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China. .,Department of General Practice, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Medical College of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China.
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26
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Lainhart JE. Sex Differences in Cerebral Development in Autism. Biol Psychiatry 2021; 90:278-280. [PMID: 34384526 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Janet Elizabeth Lainhart
- Department of Psychiatry and the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin.
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27
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Park S, Haak KV, Cho HB, Valk SL, Bethlehem RAI, Milham MP, Bernhardt BC, Di Martino A, Hong SJ. Atypical Integration of Sensory-to-Transmodal Functional Systems Mediates Symptom Severity in Autism. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:699813. [PMID: 34489757 PMCID: PMC8417581 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.699813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A notable characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is co-occurring deficits in low-level sensory processing and high-order social interaction. While there is evidence indicating detrimental cascading effects of sensory anomalies on the high-order cognitive functions in ASD, the exact pathological mechanism underlying their atypical functional interaction across the cortical hierarchy has not been systematically investigated. To address this gap, here we assessed the functional organisation of sensory and motor areas in ASD, and their relationship with subcortical and high-order trandmodal systems. In a resting-state fMRI data of 107 ASD and 113 neurotypical individuals, we applied advanced connectopic mapping to probe functional organization of primary sensory/motor areas, together with targeted seed-based intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) analyses. In ASD, the connectopic mapping revealed topological anomalies (i.e., excessively more segregated iFC) in the motor and visual areas, the former of which patterns showed association with the symptom severity of restricted and repetitive behaviors. Moreover, the seed-based analysis found diverging patterns of ASD-related connectopathies: decreased iFCs within the sensory/motor areas but increased iFCs between sensory and subcortical structures. While decreased iFCs were also found within the higher-order functional systems, the overall proportion of this anomaly tends to increase along the level of cortical hierarchy, suggesting more dysconnectivity in the higher-order functional networks. Finally, we demonstrated that the association between low-level sensory/motor iFCs and clinical symptoms in ASD was mediated by the high-order transmodal systems, suggesting pathogenic functional interactions along the cortical hierarchy. Findings were largely replicated in the independent dataset. These results highlight that atypical integration of sensory-to-high-order systems contributes to the complex ASD symptomatology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shinwon Park
- Institute for Basic Science, Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea
| | - Koen V. Haak
- Donders Institute of Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Han Byul Cho
- Institute for Basic Science, Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea
| | - Sofie L. Valk
- Otto Hahn Group Cognitive Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Richard A. I. Bethlehem
- Department of Psychiatry, Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Brain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Michael P. Milham
- Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, United States
- Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute, New York, NY, United States
| | - Boris C. Bernhardt
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Seok-Jun Hong
- Institute for Basic Science, Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea
- Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, United States
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28
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Walsh MJM, Wallace GL, Gallegos SM, Braden BB. Brain-based sex differences in autism spectrum disorder across the lifespan: A systematic review of structural MRI, fMRI, and DTI findings. Neuroimage Clin 2021; 31:102719. [PMID: 34153690 PMCID: PMC8233229 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Revised: 06/02/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Females with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been long overlooked in neuroscience research, but emerging evidence suggests they show distinct phenotypic trajectories and age-related brain differences. Sex-related biological factors (e.g., hormones, genes) may play a role in ASD etiology and have been shown to influence neurodevelopmental trajectories. Thus, a lifespan approach is warranted to understand brain-based sex differences in ASD. This systematic review on MRI-based sex differences in ASD was conducted to elucidate variations across the lifespan and inform biomarker discovery of ASD in females We identified articles through two database searches. Fifty studies met criteria and underwent integrative review. We found that regions expressing replicable sex-by-diagnosis differences across studies overlapped with regions showing sex differences in neurotypical cohorts. Furthermore, studies investigating age-related brain differences across a broad age-span suggest distinct neurodevelopmental patterns in females with ASD. Qualitative comparison across youth and adult studies also supported this hypothesis. However, many studies collapsed across age, which may mask differences. Furthermore, accumulating evidence supports the female protective effect in ASD, although only one study examined brain circuits implicated in "protection." When synthesized with the broader literature, brain-based sex differences in ASD may come from various sources, including genetic and endocrine processes involved in brain "masculinization" and "feminization" across early development, puberty, and other lifespan windows of hormonal transition. Furthermore, sex-related biology may interact with peripheral processes, in particular the stress axis and brain arousal system, to produce distinct neurodevelopmental patterns in males and females with ASD. Future research on neuroimaging-based sex differences in ASD would benefit from a lifespan approach in well-controlled and multivariate studies. Possible relationships between behavior, sex hormones, and brain development in ASD remain largely unexamined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa J M Walsh
- College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, 975 S. Myrtle Ave, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Gregory L Wallace
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, The George Washington University, 2115 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
| | - Stephen M Gallegos
- College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, 975 S. Myrtle Ave, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - B Blair Braden
- College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, 975 S. Myrtle Ave, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.
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29
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Spain D, Mason D, J Capp S, Stoppelbein L, W White S, Happé F. "This may be a really good opportunity to make the world a more autism friendly place": Professionals' perspectives on the effects of COVID-19 on autistic individuals. RESEARCH IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS 2021; 83:101747. [PMID: 36570074 PMCID: PMC9760644 DOI: 10.1016/j.rasd.2021.101747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The COVID-19 (C-19) pandemic affects everyone. Autistic individuals may be at increased risk of experiencing difficulties coping with the impact of C-19 (e.g. due to unexpected changes to usual activities and routines, and the general sense of uncertainty). This preliminary study gathered the perspectives of health and social care professionals, and researchers, about: (1) vulnerability factors for coping with the pandemic; (2) the impact of the pandemic; (3) service provision during the pandemic; and (4) interventions to support reintegration during and post the pandemic. METHOD We conducted an online survey, comprising Likert-scale and free text responses. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively, and qualitative data thematically. RESULTS Thirty-seven participants, working in clinical, education and academic settings with autistic individuals, completed the survey. C-19 had substantially impacted service provision, causing major disruption or loss of services. Thematic analysis indicated six overarching themes: (1) vulnerability factors for coping with C-19 and lockdown; (2) positive and negative impact of lockdown (for autistic individuals, families and professionals); (3) public health response to C-19; (4) service provision during the pandemic; (5) inequalities; and (6) looking to the future. CONCLUSIONS Professionals, across disciplines and settings, must now work together with autistic individuals and their families, to understand the impact of these extraordinary circumstances and develop ways everyone can be supported more effectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debbie Spain
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, United Kingdom
- South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom
| | - David Mason
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, United Kingdom
| | - Simone J Capp
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Susan W White
- Center for Youth Development and Intervention, University of Alabama, United States
| | - Francesca Happé
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, United Kingdom
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30
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Lugo-Marín J, Gisbert-Gustemps L, Setien-Ramos I, Español-Martín G, Ibañez-Jimenez P, Forner-Puntonet M, Arteaga-Henríquez G, Soriano-Día A, Duque-Yemail JD, Ramos-Quiroga JA. COVID-19 pandemic effects in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their caregivers: Evaluation of social distancing and lockdown impact on mental health and general status. RESEARCH IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS 2021; 83:101757. [PMID: 33649707 PMCID: PMC7904459 DOI: 10.1016/j.rasd.2021.101757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Among the difficulties associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are those related to adaptation to changes and new situations, as well as anxious-depressive symptoms frequently related to excessive environmental requirements. The main objective of this research is to study the psychological impact of the lockdown due to the social emergency situation (COVID-19) in children/adolescents and adults diagnosed with ASD. Participants were 37 caregivers of children/adolescents with ASD, also 35 ASD adults and 32 informants. Evaluation was conducted through a web survey system and included standardized clinical questionnaires (CBCL and SCL-90-R), which were compared with results before lockdown start, and a brief self-reported survey addressing the subjective perception of changes in daily functioning areas. The results revealed a reduction of psychopathological symptoms in both age groups, but only reaching statistical significance in the adult group, except for Somatization, Anxiety, and Obsessive-Compulsive domains. ASD severity Level 2 showed greater improvement after lockdown onset in the children/adolescent group when compared to ASD Level 1 participants. Younger adults (18-25 yoa) reported greater improvement than older adults (=>25 yoa). Survey results indicate an improvement of feeding quality and a reduction in the number of social initiations during the lockdown. Adult ASD participants perceived a decrease in stress levels after the lockdown onset, whereas caregivers reported higher stress levels at the same point in both age groups. Limitations included the small number of participants and a heterogeneous evaluation window between measures. Pyschopathological status after two months of social distancing and lockdown seems to improve in ASD young adult population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Lugo-Marín
- Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Laura Gisbert-Gustemps
- Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictions, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Imanol Setien-Ramos
- Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictions, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Gemma Español-Martín
- Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictions, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pol Ibañez-Jimenez
- Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictions, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Mireia Forner-Puntonet
- Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictions, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gara Arteaga-Henríquez
- Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictions, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Biomedical Network Research Centre on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Albert Soriano-Día
- Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | | | - Josep Antoni Ramos-Quiroga
- Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictions, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Biomedical Network Research Centre on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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31
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Deng Z, Wang S. Sex differentiation of brain structures in autism: Findings from a gray matter asymmetry study. Autism Res 2021; 14:1115-1126. [PMID: 33769688 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is diagnosed much more often in males than females. This male predominance has prompted a number of studies to examine how sex differences are related to the neural expression of ASD. Different theories, such as the "extreme male brain" theory, the "female protective effect" (FPE) theory, and the gender incoherence (GI) theory, provide different explanations for the mixed findings of sex-related neural expression of ASD. This study sought to clarify whether either theory applies to the brain structure in individuals with ASD by analyzing a selective high-quality data subset from an open data resource (Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange I and II) including 35 males/35 females with ASD and 86 male/86 female typical-controls (TCs). We examined the sex-related changes in ASD in gray matter asymmetry measures (i.e., asymmetry index, AI) derived from voxel-based morphometry using a 2 (diagnosis: ASD vs. TC) × 2 (sex: female vs. male) factorial design. A diagnosis-by-sex interaction effect was identified in the planum temporale/Heschl's gyrus: (i) compared to females, males exhibited decreased AI (indicating more leftward brain asymmetry) in the TC group, whereas AI was greater (indicating less leftward brain asymmetry) for males than for females in the ASD group; and (ii) females with ASD showed reduced AI (indicating more leftward brain asymmetry) compared to female TCs, whereas there were no differences between ASDs and TCs in the male group. This interaction pattern supports the FPE theory in showing greater brain structure changes (masculinization) in females with ASD. LAY SUMMARY: To understand the neural mechanisms underlying male predominance in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we investigated the sex differences in ASD-related alterations in brain asymmetry. We found greater changes in females with ASD compared with males with ASD, revealing a female protective effect. These findings provide novel insights into the neurobiology of sex differences in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhizhou Deng
- Department of Applied Psychology, Guangdong University of Finance and Economics, Guangzhou, China
| | - Suiping Wang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.,School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
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DeMayo MM, Harris AD, Song YJC, Pokorski I, Thapa R, Patel S, Ambarchi Z, Thomas EE, Hickie IB, Guastella AJ. Age-related parietal GABA alterations in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res 2021; 14:859-872. [PMID: 33634588 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, and is essential to the balance of cortical excitation and inhibition. Reductions in GABA are proposed to result in an overly excitatory cortex that may cause, or contribute to, symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study employed a cross-sectional design to explore GABA+ differences in ASD and the impact of age, comparing 4-12 year olds with ASD (N = 24) to typically developing children (N = 35). GABA+ concentration was measured using edited magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the left parietal lobe. This study used a mixed model to investigate group differences between children with ASD and typically developing children. There was a significant difference in GABA+ levels between the groups, a significant effect of age and interaction between age and diagnostic group. The ASD group showed an association between GABA+ and age, with GABA+ levels gradually increasing with age (r = 0.59, p = 0.003). Typically developing children did not show age-related change in GABA+ concentration (r = 0.09, p = 0.60). By the age of 9, children with ASD showed GABA+ levels that were comparable to their typically developing peers. This study suggests that children with ASD have initially lower levels of GABA+ in the left parietal lobe compared to typically developing children, and that these initially lower levels of GABA+ increase with age in ASD within this region. It is suggested that this developmental shift of GABA+ levels within the left parietal lobe provides a possible explanation for the previously found reductions in childhood that does not persist in adults. LAY SUMMARY: This study measured levels of GABA in the left parietal lobe using magnetic resonance spectroscopy in children with ASD and typically developing children. GABA levels were initially lower in the ASD group, and increased with age, while GABA did not change with age in the typically developing group. This suggests that alterations in GABA signaling may be associated with ASD in childhood. Autism Res 2021, 14: 859-872. © 2021 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals LLC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marilena M DeMayo
- Brain and Mind Centre, Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ashley D Harris
- Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.,Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Yun Ju C Song
- Brain and Mind Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Izabella Pokorski
- Brain and Mind Centre, Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Rinku Thapa
- Brain and Mind Centre, Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Shrujna Patel
- Brain and Mind Centre, Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Zahava Ambarchi
- Brain and Mind Centre, Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Emma E Thomas
- Brain and Mind Centre, Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ian B Hickie
- Brain and Mind Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Adam J Guastella
- Brain and Mind Centre, Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Carmona-Serrano N, Moreno-Guerrero AJ, Marín-Marín JA, López-Belmonte J. Evolution of the Autism Literature and the Influence of Parents: A Scientific Mapping in Web of Science. Brain Sci 2021; 11:74. [PMID: 33429923 PMCID: PMC7827242 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11010074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2020] [Revised: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Parents interventions are relevant to address autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The objective of this study is to analyze the importance and evolution of ASD and its relationship with the parents (ASD-PAR) in the publications indexed in Web of Science. For this, a bibliometric methodology has been used, based on a scientific mapping of the reported documents. We have worked with an analysis unit of 1381 documents. The results show that the beginnings of scientific production date back to 1971. There are two clearly differentiated moments in scientific production. A first moment (1971-2004), where the production volume is low. A second moment (2005-2019), where the volume of production increases considerably. Therefore, it can be said that the subject began to be relevant for the scientific community from 2005 to the present. The keyword match rate between set periods marks a high level of match between periods. It is concluded that the main focus of the research on ASD-PAR is on the stress that is generated in families with children with ASD, in addition to the family problems that the fact that these children also have behavior problems can cause.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Jesús López-Belmonte
- Department of Didactics and School Organization, University of Granada, 51001 Ceuta, Spain;
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Carmona-Serrano N, López-Belmonte J, López-Núñez JA, Moreno-Guerrero AJ. Trends in Autism Research in the Field of Education in Web of Science: A Bibliometric Study. Brain Sci 2020; 10:E1018. [PMID: 33371289 PMCID: PMC7767165 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10121018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is conceived as a neurodevelopmental disorder. The scientific literature welcomes studies that reflect the possible singularities that people with ASD may present both in their daily lives and at an educational level. The main objective of this study is to analyze the scientific production on the term autism in Web of Science, focused on the educational field, in order to identify the research trends in this field of study. The intention is to offer researchers who study autism in the educational field some clear research directions. A bibliometric-type methodology was developed using the scientific mapping technique. For this purpose, a performance analysis and a co-word analysis were carried out. Work was conducted with an analysis unit of 5512 documents. The results show that the volume of production has been irregular from the beginning to the present. The collection of documents on the subject began to be relevant, in terms of the volume of production, from 2007, and this has persisted to the present. It is concluded that there are two lines of research. The first is the line focused on mothers of children with ASD and the second is the line of research focused on young people with ASD. In addition, since 2012, new lines of research have been generated, focused on the diagnosis and inclusion of these students in educational centers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jesús López-Belmonte
- Department of Didactics and School Organization, University of Granada, 51001 Ceuta, Spain;
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Carmona-Serrano N, López-Belmonte J, Cuesta-Gómez JL, Moreno-Guerrero AJ. Documentary Analysis of the Scientific Literature on Autism and Technology in Web of Science. Brain Sci 2020; 10:E985. [PMID: 33327633 PMCID: PMC7765105 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10120985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Revised: 11/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The objective of the study is to track the progression of the scientific literature on autism and the technology applied to this disorder. A bibliometric methodology has been used, based on a co-word analysis. The Web of Science database was chosen to perform the analysis of the literature. A unit of analysis of 1048 publications was configured. SciMAT software was used mainly for document analysis. The results indicate that the first studies appeared in 1992, but it was not until 2009 that the research volume increased considerably. The area of knowledge where these studies were compiled was rehabilitation, which marks the truly therapeutic nature of this type of study. One of the authors with the most studies, as well as the most relevant research, was Sarkar, N. Manuscripts were usually research articles written in English. It could be concluded that research in this field of study focused mainly on interventions carried out through the use of technological resources, with students or young people who present with ASD. This line of research, although not the only one, was the most relevant and the one that had aroused the most interest among the scientific community.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jesús López-Belmonte
- Department of Didactics and School Organization, University of Granada, 51001 Ceuta, Spain;
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Qi S, Morris R, Turner JA, Fu Z, Jiang R, Deramus TP, Zhi D, Calhoun VD, Sui J. Common and unique multimodal covarying patterns in autism spectrum disorder subtypes. Mol Autism 2020; 11:90. [PMID: 33208189 PMCID: PMC7673101 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-020-00397-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The heterogeneity inherent in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents a substantial challenge to diagnosis and precision treatment. Heterogeneity across biological etiologies, genetics, neural systems, neurocognitive attributes and clinical subtypes or phenotypes has been observed across individuals with ASD. METHODS In this study, we aim to investigate the heterogeneity in ASD from a multimodal brain imaging perspective. The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) was used as a reference to guide functional and structural MRI fusion. DSM-IV-TR diagnosed Asperger's disorder (n = 79), pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified [PDD-NOS] (n = 58) and Autistic disorder (n = 92) from ABIDE II were used as discovery cohort, and ABIDE I (n = 400) was used for replication. RESULTS Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and superior/middle temporal cortex are the primary common functional-structural covarying cortical brain areas shared among Asperger's, PDD-NOS and Autistic subgroups. Key differences among the three subtypes are negative functional features within subcortical brain areas, including negative putamen-parahippocampus fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) unique to the Asperger's subtype; negative fALFF in anterior cingulate cortex unique to PDD-NOS subtype; and negative thalamus-amygdala-caudate fALFF unique to the Autistic subtype. Furthermore, each subtype-specific brain pattern is correlated with different ADOS subdomains, with social interaction as the common subdomain. The identified subtype-specific patterns are only predictive for ASD symptoms manifested in the corresponding subtypes, but not the other subtypes. CONCLUSIONS Although ASD has a common neural basis with core deficits linked to social interaction, each ASD subtype is strongly linked to unique brain systems and subdomain symptoms, which may help to better understand the underlying mechanisms of ASD heterogeneity from a multimodal neuroimaging perspective. LIMITATIONS This study is male based, which cannot be generalized to the female or the general ASD population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shile Qi
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA
| | - Robin Morris
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 30302, USA
| | - Jessica A Turner
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 30302, USA
| | - Zening Fu
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA
| | - Rongtao Jiang
- Brainnetome Center and National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Thomas P Deramus
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA
| | - Dongmei Zhi
- Brainnetome Center and National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Vince D Calhoun
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA.
| | - Jing Sui
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA.
- Brainnetome Center and National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
- Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Beijing, 100190, China.
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Ruigrok ANV, Lai MC. Sex/gender differences in neurology and psychiatry: Autism. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2020; 175:283-297. [PMID: 33008532 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-64123-6.00020-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Autism is a heterogenous set of early-onset neurodevelopmental conditions that are more prevalent in males than in females. Due to the high phenotypic, neurobiological, developmental, and etiological heterogeneity in the autism spectrum, recent research programs are increasingly exploring whether sex- and gender-related factors could be helpful markers to clarify the heterogeneity in autism and work toward a personalized approach to intervention and support. In this chapter, we summarize recent clinical and neuroscientific research addressing sex/gender influences in autism and explore how sex/gender-based investigations shed light on similar or different underlying neurodevelopmental mechanisms of autism by sex/gender. We review evidence that may help to explain some of the underlying sex-related biological mechanisms associated with autism, including genetics and the effects of sex steroid hormones in the prenatal environment. We conclude that current research points toward coexisting quantitative and, perhaps more evidently, qualitative sex/gender-modulation effects in autism across multiple neurobiological aspects. However, converging findings of specific neurobiological presentations and sex/gender-informed mechanisms cutting across the many subgroups within the autism spectrum are still lacking. Future research should use big data approaches and new stratification methods to decompose sex/gender-related heterogeneity in autism and work toward personalized, sex/gender-informed intervention and support for autistic people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber N V Ruigrok
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Meng-Chuan Lai
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Centre for Addiction and Mental Health & The Hospital for Sick Children, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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