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Query: UMLS:C0004352 (autism)
 32,579 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This study investigated whether individuals with ASD (autistic spectrum disorders) are able to identify driving hazards, given their difficulties processing social information, Klin et al. (Archives of General Psychiatry 59: 809-816, 2002). Twenty-three adult males with ASD and 21 comparison participants viewed 10 video clips containing driving hazards. In half of the clips the source of the hazard was a visible person (social); in the other half the source was a car (non-social). Participants with ASD identified fewer social hazards than the comparison participants (U = 163.00, N = 44, p < .05) but not non-social. Participants with ASD were also slower to respond than comparison participants, F(1,40) = 4.93, p < .05. This suggests that, although people with ASD can perceive driving hazards they may have specific difficulty identifying them if they involve a person.
J Autism Dev Disord 2010 Apr
PMID:Brief report: driving hazard perception in autism. 1989 Jul 5

Using daily diary methods, mothers of adolescents and adults with ASD (n = 86) were contrasted with a nationally representative comparison group of mothers of similarly-aged unaffected children (n = 171) with respect to the diurnal rhythm of cortisol. Mothers of adolescents and adults with ASD were found to have significantly lower levels of cortisol throughout the day. Within the ASD sample, the son or daughter's history of behavior problems interacted with daily behavior problems to predict the morning rise of the mother's cortisol. A history of elevated behavior problems moderated the effect of behavior problems the day before on maternal cortisol level. Implications for interventions for both the mother and the individual with ASD are suggested.
J Autism Dev Disord 2010 Apr
PMID:Maternal cortisol levels and behavior problems in adolescents and adults with ASD. 1989 Jul 6

Restricted and repetitive behaviors in autism spectrum disorders have been conceptualized to reflect impaired executive functions. In the present study, we investigated the performance of 6-17-year-old children with and without an autism spectrum disorder on a dimension-change card sort task that explicitly indicated sorting rules on every trial. Diagnostic groups did not differ in speed of responses after the first rule switch or in speed or accuracy on blocks with mixed versus single sort rules. However, performance of the ASD group was significantly slower and less accurate overall than the typically-developing group. Furthermore, within the ASD group, poorer DCCS task performance did not predict more severe autism symptoms. Implications for the executive dysfunction theory of autism are discussed.
J Autism Dev Disord 2010 Apr
PMID:Performance of children with autism spectrum disorders on the dimension-change card sort task. 1989 Jul 7

A randomized control trial comparing two social-communication interventions in young children with autism examined far-transfer of the use of picture exchange to communicate. Thirty-six children were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions, one of which was the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). All children had access to picture symbols during assessments. Post-treatment measurement of the number of picture exchanges in a far-transfer, assessment context favored the PECS intervention. These findings were interpreted as support for the hypothesis that the PECS curriculum can successfully teach a generalized means of showing coordinated attention to object and person without requiring eye contact to children with ASD.
J Autism Dev Disord 2010 May
PMID:Brief Report: Randomized test of the efficacy of picture exchange communication system on highly generalized picture exchanges in children with ASD. 1990 96

This study examined the relationship between characteristics of the Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP) and nonverbal sensitivity, the ability to interpret nonverbal aspects of communication, in a non-clinical sample of college students. One hundred and two participants completed a self-report measure of the BAP, the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), and two tests of nonverbal sensitivity, the Test of Nonverbal Cue Knowledge (TONCK), and the Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy 2 (DANVA2). AQ score was correlated with TONCK performance and number of errors on the adult faces subtest of the DANVA2, but not adult paralanguage or postures. These findings suggest that characteristics of ASD in the general population are associated with differences in both explicit and implicit knowledge of nonverbal cues.
J Autism Dev Disord 2010 May
PMID:Broader autism phenotype and nonverbal sensitivity: evidence for an association in the general population. 1993 3

The molecular pathogenesis of ASD (autism spectrum disorder), one of the heritable neurodevelopmental disorders, is not well understood, although over 15 autistic-susceptible gene loci have been extensively studied. A major issue is whether the proteins that these candidate genes encode are involved in general function and signal transduction. Several mutations in genes encoding synaptic adhesion molecules such as neuroligin, neurexin, CNTNAP (contactin-associated protein) and CADM1 (cell-adhesion molecule 1) found in ASD suggest that impaired synaptic function is the underlying pathogenesis. However, knockout mouse models of these mutations do not show all of the autism-related symptoms, suggesting that gain-of-function in addition to loss-of-function arising from these mutations may be associated with ASD pathogenesis. Another finding is that family members with a given mutation frequently do not manifest autistic symptoms, which possibly may be because of gender effects, dominance theory and environmental factors, including hormones and stress. Thus epigenetic factors complicate our understanding of the relationship between these mutated genes and ASD pathogenesis. We focus in the present review on findings that ER (endoplasmic reticulum) stress arising from these mutations causes a trafficking disorder of synaptic receptors, such as GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) B-receptors, and leads to their impaired synaptic function and signal transduction. In the present review we propose a hypothesis that ASD pathogenesis is linked not only to loss-of-function but also to gain-of-function, with an ER stress response to unfolded proteins under the influence of epigenetic factors.
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PMID:Genetic factors and epigenetic factors for autism: endoplasmic reticulum stress and impaired synaptic function. 2000 73

The prevalence of autism, a neurodevelopmental condition resulting from genetic and environmental causes, has increased dramatically during the last decade. Among the potential environmental factors, hyperserotonemia during pregnancy and its effect on brain development could be playing a role in this prevalence raise. In the rodent model developed by Whitaker-Azmitia and colleagues, hyperserotonemia during fetal development results in a dysfunction of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis, affecting the amygdala as well as pro-social hormone oxytocin regulation. Dysfunction of the amygdala and abnormal oxytocin levels may underlie many clinical features of ASD. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) are the most widely used class of antidepressants drugs, and they are not contraindicated during pregnancy. In this paper, we hypothesize that increased serotonemia during pregnancy, including due to SSRI intake, could be one of the causes of the raising prevalence in autism. If our hypothesis is confirmed, it will not only shed light on one of the possible reason for autism prevalence, but also offer new preventive and treatment options.
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PMID:Serotonin, pregnancy and increased autism prevalence: is there a link? 2001 55

Major frontal lobe tracts and corpus callosum (CC) were investigated in 32 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, mean age: 5 years), 12 nonautistic developmentally impaired children (DI, mean age: 4.6 years), and 16 typically developing children (TD, mean age: 5.5 years) using diffusion tensor imaging tractography and tract-based spatial statistics. Various diffusion and geometric properties were calculated for uncinate fasciculus (UF), inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFO), arcuate fasciculus (AF), cingulum (Cg), CC, and corticospinal tract. Fractional anisotropy was lower in the right UF, right Cg and CC in ASD and DI children; in right AF in ASD children; and in bilateral IFO in DI children, compared with TD children. Apparent diffusion coefficient was increased in right AF in both ASD and DI children. The ASD group showed shorter length of left UF and increased length, volume, and density of right UF; increased length and density of CC; and higher density of left Cg, compared with the TD group. Compared with DI group, ASD group had increased length, volume, and density of right UF; higher volume of left UF; and increased length of right AF and CC. Volume of bilateral UF and right AF and fiber density of left UF were positively associated with autistic features.
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PMID:Alterations in frontal lobe tracts and corpus callosum in young children with autism spectrum disorder. 2001 45

We examined data collected as a part of the Autism Treatment Network, a group of 15 autism centers across the United States and Canada. Mean Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) scores of the 286 children assessed were significantly lower than those of healthy populations (according to published norms). When compared to normative data from children with chronic conditions, children with ASD demonstrated worse HRQoL for total, psychosocial, emotional and social functioning, but did not demonstrate differing scores for physical and school functioning. HRQoL was not consistently related to ASD diagnosis or intellectual ability. However, it was consistently related to internalizing and externalizing problems as well as repetitive behaviors, social responsiveness, and adaptive behaviors. Associations among HRQoL and behavioral characteristics suggest that treatments aimed at improvements in these behaviors may improve HRQoL.
J Autism Dev Disord 2010 Jun
PMID:Health-Related Quality of Life in children with autism spectrum disorders: results from the autism treatment network. 2003 62

The role played by social relationship variables (attachment security; mother-child relationship qualities) and social-cognitive capacities (theory of mind) was examined in both observed friendship behaviors and in children's descriptions of friendships (age 8-12) with high functioning children with autism spectrum disorders (HFASD) (n = 44) and with typical development (TYP) (n = 38). Overall, half of the HFASD sample (54.45%) reported maternal attachment security, corroborating data from younger children with ASD. The hypothesized predictors and their interrelations had both direct and indirect effects on friendship for both groups of children, highlighting the importance of these factors in children's friendship development and suggesting both compensatory and amplification mechanisms for friendship qualities. Practical and clinical implications are discussed for friendship support in both ASD and TYP.
J Autism Dev Disord 2010 Jun
PMID:Predicting friendship quality in autism spectrum disorders and typical development. 2003 10


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