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.     

Developmental plateau in visual object processing from adolescence to adulthood in autism

A lack of typical age-related improvement from adolescence to adulthood contributes to face recognition deficits in adults with autism on the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT). The current studies examine if this atypical developmental trajectory generalizes to other tasks and objects, including parts of the face. The CFMT tests recognition of whole faces, often with a substantial delay. The current studies used the immediate memory (IM) task and the parts-whole face task from the Let’s Face It! battery, which examines whole faces, face parts, and cars, without a delay between memorization and test trials. In the IM task, participants memorize a face or car. Immediately after the target disappears, participants identify the target from two similar distractors. In the part-whole task, participants memorize a whole face. Immediately after the face disappears, participants identify the target from a distractor with different eyes or mouth, either as a face part or a whole face.Results indicate that recognition deficits in autism become more robust by adulthood, consistent with previous work, and also become more general, including cars. In the IM task, deficits in autism were specific to faces in childhood, but included cars by adulthood. In the part-whole task, deficits in autism became more robust by adulthood, including both eyes and mouths as parts and in whole faces. Across tasks, the deficit in autism increased between adolescence and adulthood, reflecting a lack of typical improvement, leading to deficits with non-face stimuli and on a task without a memory delay. These results suggest that brain maturation continues to be affected into adulthood in autism, and that the transition from adolescence to adulthood is a vulnerable stage for those with autism.     

Neural processing of intentional biological motion in unaffected siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder: An fMRI study

Despite often showing behaviorally typical levels of social cognitive ability, unaffected siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder have been found to show similar functional and morphological deficits within brain regions associated with social processing. They have also been reported to show increased activation to biological motion in these same regions, such as the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), relative to both children with autism and control children. It has been suggested that this increased activation may represent a compensatory reorganization of these regions as a result of the highly heritable genetic influence of autism. However, the response patterns of unaffected siblings in the domain of action perception are unstudied, and the phenomenon of compensatory activation has not yet been replicated. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to determine the neural responses to intentional biological actions in 22 siblings of children with autism and 22 matched controls. The presented actions were either congruent or incongruent with the actor’s emotional cue. Prior studies reported that typically developing children and adults, but not children with autism, show increased activation to incongruent actions (relative to congruent), within the pSTS and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. We report that unaffected siblings did not show a compensatory response, or a preference for incongruent over congruent trials, in any brain region. Moreover, interaction analyses revealed a sub-region of the pSTS in which control children showed an incongruency preference to a significantly greater degree than siblings, which suggests a localized deficit in siblings. A sample of children with autism also did not show differential activation in the pSTS, providing further evidence that it is an area of selective disruption in children with autism and siblings. While reduced activation to both conditions was unique to the autism sample, lack of differentiation to incongruent and congruent intentional actions was common to both children with ASD and unaffected siblings.     

反复胸闷胸痛伴心理精神障碍的诊疗进展

近年来,临床中关于反复胸闷胸痛患者的较高误诊率引起了广大医务工作者的重视,此类患者伴有的心理精神障碍往往被忽视,得不到合理的治疗,预后较差.本文主要讨论关于反复胸闷胸痛患者病因的鉴别、心理精神障碍引起胸闷胸痛的机制、胸闷胸痛与心理精神障碍的关系、“双心”医学诊疗模式以及反复胸闷胸痛的治疗进展,通过增强临床医生对“双心”医学的认识降低胸闷胸痛患者的误诊率、漏诊率,减少过度治疗,通过心血管医学和心理干预联合治疗,改善心血管疾病患者的预后、降低死亡率.     

PCI术前术后的心理障碍识别与处理

概述冠心病经皮冠状动脉介入治疗（PCI）术前术后患者合并心理障碍的较高发生率以及心理障碍对冠心病发生、发展及预后的影响,分析 PCI 术前术后患者出现焦虑抑郁等心理障碍的原因、产生机制及影响因素,强调心内科医生应及时识别 PCI 术前术后患者出现的心理障碍,并以“双心医学”方式对其进行心理精神医学及心血管专科医学治疗,同时对心血管专科医学治疗效果不明显的冠心病 PCI 患者,进行相关的鉴别诊断后也要进行心理精神医学的诊断和治疗,以便有利于 PCI 术患者的康复和预后,减少不必要的检查和治疗。     

One-year temporal stability and predictive and incremental validity of the Body,Eating, and Exercise Comparison Orientation Measure (BEECOM) among college women

This study examined the one-year temporal stability and the predictive and incremental validity of the Body, Eating, and Exercise Comparison Measure (BEECOM) in a sample of 237 college women who completed study measures at two time points about one year apart. One-year temporal stability was high for the BEECOM total and subscale (i.e., Body, Eating, and Exercise Comparison Orientation) scores. Additionally, the BEECOM exhibited predictive validity in that it accounted for variance in body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptomatology one year later. These findings held even after controlling for body mass index and existing measures of social comparison orientation. However, results regarding the incremental validity of the BEECOM, or its ability to predict change in these constructs over time, were more mixed. Overall, this study demonstrated additional psychometric properties of the BEECOM among college women, further establishing the usefulness of this measure for more comprehensively assessing eating disorder-related social comparison.     

Cyber bullying among children with neurodevelopmental disorders: A systematic review

Children and young adults with neurodevelopmental disorders (ND) are at increased risk of bullying compared to typically developing peers. It is still unclear to what extent they are involved in cyber bullying. This systematic review aimed at studying the prevalence of cyber bullying as perpetrators, victims, or both (“bully-victims”) among students with ND in a school setting and in need of special education. The Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, PsycINFO, PubMED, and Cochrane databases were searched including a manual search of reference lists, until February 24, 2018. Eight studies conducted in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Australia were included reporting a prevalence of cyber-victimization among students with ND of 0%–41%, a prevalence of cyber-perpetration of 0%–16.7%, and a prevalence of bully-victims of 6.7%. Three out of five studies using control groups showed that students with ND might be more involved in cyber bullying overall compared to typically developing students. Students in segregated school settings report slightly higher prevalence rates of cyber bullying compared to students with ND in inclusive school settings, especially among girls. When comparing prevalence rates among studies using the same definition, we found similar prevalence rates. There was a tendency towards students with ND being more involved in cyber bullying compared to typically developing students, but this needs to be confirmed in future studies that should include control groups with typically developing students as well as validated and standardized measurements of cyber bullying and ND diagnoses.