High cognitive sensitivity to activational effects of testosterone in parents of offspring with autism spectrum disorders

The existence of mild forms of autistic-like characteristics in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) has been defined as a broader autistic phenotype (BAP). Excessive prenatal exposure to testosterone (T) seems to play a role in its development. The aims of this study were to characterize whether ASD parents show masculinized brains or high T prenatal exposure compared to a normative population, using cognitive questionnaires, and also to examine the T level changes in response to different cognitive tasks. ASD parents were found to present higher autistic and lower empathic trait scores than controls. They also have higher T levels and magnitude of T response to cognitive tasks. Specific correlation patterns between masculinized brain types and T levels were observed only in ASD parents. Thus, it seems that first-degree relatives of people with ASD have high T levels during task performance, which, in turn, produce slight cognitive masculinization. Our findings should be considered for understanding the role of androgens in the etiology of ASD. Nevertheless, the masculinization parameters described throughout the study are subtle and require further analysis.     

The role of the school psychologist in the inclusive education of school-age children with autism spectrum disorders

Two independent trends are impacting school psychologists with regard to their involvement in the education of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs): increasing prevalence estimates of ASDs and an emphasis on the inclusion of students with special needs in regular education classrooms. In light of these trends and growing awareness of the need for evidence-based practices in the field, school psychologists can expect to be involved in the educational programming of students with ASDs and should be knowledgeable about empirically supported strategies relevant to inclusive education of these children. The purpose of this review is to familiarize school psychologists with currently available intervention techniques by describing each strategy and outlining the degree of empirical support for each. Strategies for managing disruptive behaviors, promoting learning, and facilitating social integration are reviewed.     

Olfaction in autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review

Olfactory function is a well-known early biomarker for neurodegeneration and neural functioning in the adult population, being supported by a number of brain structures that could be dysfunctioning in neurodegenerative processes. Evidence has suggested that atypical sensory and, particularly, olfactory processing is present in several neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). In this paper, we present data obtained by a systematic literature review, conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, regarding the possible association between olfaction and ASDs, and analyze them critically in order to evaluate the occurrence of olfactory impairment in ASDs, as well as the possible usefulness of olfactory evaluation in such conditions. The results obtained in this analysis suggested a possible involvement of olfactory impairment in ASDs, underlining the importance of olfactory evaluation in the clinical assessment of ASDs. This assessment could be potentially included as a complementary evaluation in the diagnostic protocol of the condition. Methods for study selection and inclusion criteria were specified in advance and documented in PROSPERO protocol #CRD42014013939.     

Sluggish cognitive tempo in children and adolescents with higher functioning autism spectrum disorders: Social impairments and internalizing symptoms

Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) was introduced in 1980s in the field of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Studies indicate that symptoms of SCT are separate from symptoms of ADHD and independently associated with multiple domains of functioning in clinical groups and in typical development. We assessed whether similar pattern would apply to higher functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Children with higher functioning ASD (N = 55; 5?15 years) were divided into the ASD+High SCT (n = 17), the ASD+Medium SCT (n = 18) and the ASD+Low SCT (n = 20) groups based on parent‐rated daydreaming and slowness on the Five to Fifteen questionnaire (FTF). The groups were compared on SCT‐related impairments found in previous studies: social skills, academic functioning, psychiatric symptoms, and processing speed. Assessment methods were the FTF, the Development and Well‐Being Assessment, and the Coding subtest of the WISC‐III. The ADHD symptoms were statistically controlled due to the overlap between SCT and ADHD. The ASD+High SCT and ASD+Medium SCT groups were significantly more likely to have the most pronounced social impairments, and the ASD+High SCT group had significantly higher rate of internalizing disorders compared to the ASD+Low SCT group. Our results suggest that children with higher functioning ASD and high or medium levels of SCT symptoms could be at higher risk for psychosocial impairments than children with higher functioning ASD with low levels of SCT symptoms. Co‐occurring ADHD symptoms do not explain the finding. Recognizing SCT symptoms in higher functioning ASD would be important to targeting preventive support.     

A threat-detection advantage in those with autism spectrum disorders

Identifying threatening expressions is a significant social perceptual skill. Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are impaired in social interaction, show deficits in face and emotion processing, show amygdala abnormalities and display a disadvantage in the perception of social threat. According to the anger superiority hypothesis, angry faces capture attention faster than happy faces in individuals with a history of typical development [Hansen, C. H., & Hansen, R. D. (1988). Finding the face in the crowd: An anger superiority effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 917–924]. We tested threat detection abilities in ASD using a facial visual search paradigm. Participants were asked to detect an angry or happy face image in an array of distracter faces. A threat-detection advantage was apparent in both groups: participants showed faster and more accurate detection of threatening over friendly faces. Participants with ASD showed similar reaction time, but decreased overall accuracy compared to controls. This provides evidence for less robust, but intact or learned implicit processing of basic emotions in ASD.     

Specific and general autobiographical knowledge in adults with autism spectrum disorders: The role of personal goals

Autobiographical knowledge is stored hierarchically, at both specific and general levels of representation. It has also been proposed that the self is the structure around which autobiographical memories are organised. The current series of studies assessed whether the autobiographical memory difficulties observed in adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) could be due to problems in using the self as an effective memory cue. A series of cueing paradigms were used to assess the accessibility of both specific and general autobiographical knowledge relating to (i) currently pursued goals (either high or low in self–concordance) and (ii) goals that participants were not currently pursuing. Results demonstrated that while event-specific knowledge was impaired in the ASD group, general event knowledge appeared relatively intact. Moreover, while both event-specific and general event knowledge were organised around goals of the self in control participants, a corresponding relationship was only observed for general event knowledge in the ASD group.     

Self-referential memory in autism spectrum disorder and typical development: Exploring the ownership effect

Owned objects occupy a privileged cognitive processing status and are viewed almost as extensions of the self. It has been demonstrated that items over which a sense of ownership is felt will be better remembered than other items (an example of the “self-reference effect”). As autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterised by an a typical self-concept, people with ASD may not demonstrate this “ownership effect”. Two experiments were conducted which replicate and extend Cunningham, Turk, MacDonald, and Macrae (2008). In Experiment 1, neurotypical adults completed a card sorting task and cards belonging to the ‘self’ were better remembered than cards belonging to another person. In Experiment 2, adults with ASD recalled self- and other owned items equally well. These results shed light both on the relation between sense of self and the ownership effect, and the nature of the self-concept in ASD.     

Processing of musical structure by high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

Enhanced pitch perception and memory have been cited as evidence of a local processing bias in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This bias is argued to account for enhanced perceptual functioning (Mottron &; Burack, 2001 Mottron, L. and Burack, J. A. 2001. “Enhanced perceptual functioning in the development of autism”. In The development of autism: Perspectives from theory to research, Edited by: Burack, J. A., Charman, T., Yirmiya, N. and Zelazo, P. R. 131–147. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.  [Google Scholar]; Mottron, Dawson, Soulières, Hubert, &; Burack, 2006 Mottron, L., Dawson, M., Soulières, I., Hubert, B. and Burack, J. 2006. Enhanced perceptual functioning in autism: An update, and eight principles of autistic perception. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(1): 27–43. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-0040-7[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and central coherence theories of ASD (Frith, 1989 Frith, U. 1989. Autism: Explaining the enigma, Oxford: United Kingdom: Blackwell.  [Google Scholar]; Happé &; Frith, 2006 Happé, F. and Frith, U. 2006. The weak coherence account: Detail-focused cognitive style in autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(1): 5–25. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-0039-0[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). A local processing bias confers a different cognitive style to individuals with ASD (Happé, 1999 Happé, F. 1999. Autism: Cognitive deficit or cognitive style?. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3(6): 216–222. doi:10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01318-2[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), which accounts in part for their good visuospatial and visuoconstructive skills. Here, we present analogues in the auditory domain, audiotemporal or audioconstructive processing, which we assess using a novel experimental task: a musical puzzle. This task evaluates the ability of individuals with ASD to process temporal sequences of musical events as well as various elements of musical structure and thus indexes their ability to employ a global processing style. Musical structures created and replicated by children and adolescents with ASD (10–19 years old) and typically developing children and adolescents (7–17 years old) were found to be similar in global coherence. Presenting a musical template for reference increased accuracy equally for both groups, with performance associated to performance IQ and short-term auditory memory. The overall pattern of performance was similar for both groups; some puzzles were easier than others and this was the case for both groups. Task performance was further found to be correlated with the ability to perceive musical emotions, more so for typically developing participants. Findings are discussed in light of the empathizing-systemizing theory of ASD (Baron-Cohen, 2009 Baron-Cohen, S. 2009. Autism: The Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) Theory. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1156: 68–80. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04467.x[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and the importance of describing the strengths of individuals with ASD (Happé, 1999 Happé, F. 1999. Autism: Cognitive deficit or cognitive style?. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3(6): 216–222. doi:10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01318-2[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Heaton, 2009 Heaton, P. 2009. Assessing musical skills in autistic children who are not savants. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Biological Sciences, 364: 1443–1447. doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0327[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]).     

Effects of delay on episodic memory retrieval by children with autism spectrum disorder

Twenty‐seven 6‐ to 15‐year‐old children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 32 typically developing (TD) children were questioned about their participation in a set of activities after a 2‐week delay and again after a 2‐month delay using a best practice interview protocol. Interviews were coded for completeness with respect to the gist of the event, the number of narrative details provided, and accuracy. Results indicated that children with ASD did not differ from TD peers on any dimensions of memory after both delays. Specifically, both groups of children provided equivalently complete accounts on both occasions. However, children in both groups provided significantly fewer narrative details about the event in the second interview, and the accuracy rates were lower. The findings indicate that, like TD children, children with ASD can provide meaningful and reliable testimony about an event they personally experienced, but several aspects of their memory reports deteriorate over time.     

A temporally sustained implicit theory of mind deficit in autism spectrum disorders

Eye movements during false-belief tasks can reveal an individual’s capacity to implicitly monitor others’ mental states (theory of mind – ToM). It has been suggested, based on the results of a single-trial-experiment, that this ability is impaired in those with a high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD), despite neurotypical-like performance on explicit ToM measures. However, given there are known attention differences and visual hypersensitivities in ASD it is important to establish whether such impairments are evident over time. In addition, investigating implicit ToM using a repeated trial approach allows an assessment of whether learning processes can reduce the ASD impairment in this ability, as is the case with explicit ToM. Here we investigated the temporal profile of implicit ToM in individuals with ASD and a control group. Despite similar performance on explicit ToM measures, ASD-diagnosed individuals showed no evidence of implicit false-belief tracking even over a one-hour period and many trials, whereas control participants did. These findings demonstrate that the systems involved in implicit and explicit ToM are distinct and hint that impaired implicit false-belief tracking may play an important role in ASD. Further, they indicate that learning processes do not alleviate this impairment across the presentation of multiple trials.     

More consistent,yet less sensitive: Interval timing in autism spectrum disorders

Even though phenomenological observations and anecdotal reports suggest atypical time processing in individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), very few psychophysical studies have investigated interval timing, and the obtained results are contradictory. The present study aimed to clarify which timing processes function atypically in ASD and whether they are related to the ASD diagnostic profile. Visual, auditory, and cross-modal interval timing was assessed in 18 individuals with ASD using a repeated standards version of the temporal generalization task. The use of two different standard durations (600 and 1,000 ms) allowed for an assessment of the scalar property of interval timing in ASD, a fundamental characteristic of interval timing. The ASD group showed clearer adherence to the scalar property of interval timing than the control group. In addition, both groups showed the normal effect that auditory stimuli had longer subjective durations than visual ones. Yet, signal detection analysis showed that the sensitivity of temporal discrimination was reduced in the ASD group across modalities, in particular for auditory standards. Moreover, response criteria in the ASD group were related to symptom strength in the communication domain. The findings suggest that temporal intervals are fundamentally processed in the same way in ASD and TD, but with reduced sensitivity for temporal interval differences in ASD. Individuals with ASD may show a more conservative response strategy due to generally decreased sensitivity for the perception of time intervals.     

孤独症儿童动作发展障碍的神经机制

动作发展障碍(Developmental motor disorders)是孤独症谱系障碍的常见特征。通过系统回顾孤独症儿童动作发展障碍的神经科学研究, 发现γ-氨基丁酸和5-羟色胺浓度的改变及γ-氨基丁酸相关蛋白和Shank蛋白的表达异常不仅会损害中枢神经系统的发育, 而且还能导致突触兴奋性与抑制性失衡, 进而改变孤独症儿童小脑和大脑皮层运动区的功能连接。孤独症儿童小脑、基底神经节和胼胝体结构的改变对全脑的连通性产生了负面影响。神经生化机制和脑结构的异常共同导致了脑功能的异常, 最终造成孤独症儿童的动作发展障碍。此外, 动作发展障碍与孤独症核心症状共同的神经基础主要包括镜像神经元系统紊乱, 丘脑、基底神经节和小脑异常以及SLC7A5和PTEN 基因突变。未来研究需要关注与运动密切相关的其他神经递质, 如乙酰胆碱和多巴胺; 探索动作发展障碍神经网络的动态机制及其形成; 剖析该障碍的神经机制和自闭症核心症状神经机制的相互作用。     

Early and persistent motor difficulties in infants at-risk of developing autism spectrum disorder: A prospective study

Analyses were conducted in order to investigate motor development in younger siblings of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Infants at familial risk and low risk of developing ASD were tested longitudinally between the ages of 7 and 36 months. Data were analysed from motor scales on the Mullen Scales of Early Learning and the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales at each age point. Significantly lower motor scores in at-risk infants were evident from the age of 7 months compared to the low-risk group. Infants who were later diagnosed with ASD demonstrated significantly poorer Fine Motor skills at 36 months than at-risk infants without any developmental difficulties. In addition, Gross Motor scores were highly correlated across the two measures for low-risk infants and infants who later developed ASD. Early motor difficulties may be an early indicator of a number of neurodevelopmental disorders, including ASD.     

The role of verbal and nonverbal memory in the Family Pictures Subtest: Data from children with specific language impairment

This study examined the contribution of verbal and visual memory to performance on the Family Pictures subtest of the Children’s Memory Scale. This subtest purports to assess declarative memory functioning in the visual/nonverbal domain. A total of 115 nine-year-old children participated in this study. Fifty-eight had specific language impairment (SLI), whilst the remaining 57 were typically developing (TD), with no history of language difficulties. Results showed that the children with SLI, who had intact declarative memory for visual but not verbal information, obtained significantly lower scores on the Family Pictures subtest when compared to the TD group. Regression analyses revealed that across the entire sample, individual differences on the Family Pictures subtest was best predicted by a measure of verbal working memory. These results question whether the Family Pictures subtest can be considered a measure of visual memory in pediatric populations. These results have implications for the interpretation of scores on this subtest regarding the nature of the types of neurocognitive difficulties children may exhibit.     

言语行为的关系框架理论视角:孤独症谱系障碍的新探索

语言功能异常是孤独症谱系障碍(ASD)的典型症状之一。1957年,斯金纳从行为学角度提出"言语行为",认为人们获得表达和理解语言的能力与学会走路、跳舞等行为的原理相同。2001年,海斯等人在斯金纳的基础上提出关于人类语言和认知的新视角——关系框架理论(Relational Frame Theory,RFT),澄清了语言的推衍性实质,认为言语行为是将一个刺激与其他刺激建立关系框架的过程。研究表明基于RFT的多范例训练可以提升ASD患者的推衍关系反应水平,且推衍关系反应与语言和认知功能的发展高相关。未来RFT的研究可以探索如何通过推衍关系反应训练修复ASD患者的语言和认知功能缺陷。     

注意和记忆对孤独症儿童词汇发展滞后的影响

孤独症语言障碍的表现之一是词汇发展滞后, 可能与其注意和记忆损伤有关。当前研究结果表明, 孤独症儿童在学习词汇时难以利用社会注意提供的有效信息, 且其注意易受到无关刺激干扰, 这可能导致其形成的物体-词汇的联结不稳定, 影响其进一步将这种联结整合到心理词典并保存在记忆中。未来研究应探究联合注意影响孤独症儿童词汇学习的发展轨迹和机制, 儿童的词汇知识对其词汇记忆的影响, 并关注自然场景中孤独症儿童的词汇学习过程和个体差异。     

Delineation of a spatial working memory profile using a non-verbal eye-tracking paradigm in young children with autism and Williams syndrome

Working memory deficits profoundly inhibit children’s ability to learn. While deficits have been identified in disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Williams syndrome (WS), findings are equivocal, and very little is known about the nature of these deficits early in development. A major barrier to advances in this area is the availability of tasks suitable for young children with neurodevelopmental disorders who experience difficulties with following verbal instructions or who are distressed by formal testing demands. To address these issues, a novel eye-tracking paradigm was designed based on an adaptation of the classic A not B paradigm in order to examine the early foundations of spatial working memory capabilities in 26 developmentally delayed preschool children with ASD, 18 age- and IQ-matched children with WS, and 19 age-matched typically-developing (TD) children. The results revealed evidence that foundational spatial working memory performance in ASD and WS was comparable with that of TD children. Performance was associated with intellectual ability in the ASD and TD groups, but not in the WS group. Performance was not associated with adaptive behavior in any group. These findings are discussed in the context of previous research that has been largely limited to older and substantially less developmentally delayed children with these neurodevelopmental disorders.     

Patterns of language and discourse comprehension skills in school‐aged children with autism spectrum disorders

Åsberg, J. (2010). Patterns of language and discourse comprehension skills in school‐aged children with autism spectrum disorders. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 51, 534–539. The present study examined patterns of language and discourse comprehension skills in Swedish school‐aged children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (n = 16) as compared to a slightly younger group of typically developing children (n = 16) matched for non‐verbal cognitive ability. Results suggested significantly lower abilities in narrative discourse comprehension for the ASD group, but not in oral receptive vocabulary or reception of grammar. This difficulty with discourse‐level comprehension appeared to be of a general nature, as no evidence was found for the hypothesis that participants with ASD would find comprehension of inferential discourse information disproportionally more difficult than stated information, or for the hypothesis that discourse processing in ASD would be characterized by an elevated processing of explicitly stated narrative details. The study has clinical and educational implications, as the findings suggest that children with ASD would benefit from being offered specific support for discourse‐level comprehension.     

学龄前孤独谱系障碍儿童汉语核心语法的习得

学龄前孤独谱系障碍(Autism Spectrum Disorders; ASD)儿童对语言的习得程度是决定ASD儿童早期科学干预效果和最终预后水平的关键。以往ASD儿童语言研究多局限于英语ASD儿童, 较少有研究探讨不同语种ASD儿童语言习得的普遍机制。本研究拟结合汉语独特的语法属性, 通过多通道优先注视范式眼动实验考察2~5岁ASD儿童汉语核心语法的理解程度, 通过共同注意游戏评估ASD儿童的社会交流能力, 同时分析ASD儿童语言环境中相关语法结构的输入频率。研究旨在通过探讨学龄前ASD儿童的语法习得, 进一步探索人类语言习得的深层机制, 包括探索人类特有的语言机能对包括ASD儿童语言习得在内的人类语言习得的作用, 同时考察社会交流障碍与语言环境对人类语言习得过程的影响。     

A comparison of the effects of providing activity and material choice to children with autism spectrum disorders

The present study compares the effects of providing choice between activities or between materials for completion of activities on the on-task behavior of 4 boys with autism spectrum disorders. Results showed that the participants displayed higher levels of on-task behavior during the choice conditions than in the no-choice condition. However, the type of choice opportunity did not seem to have a differential effect.