Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Hussain Al Dera
Summary: This paper reviews the major molecular mechanisms responsible for the clinical symptoms seen in people with ASD, including genetic factors, neuroinflammation, neurotransmitter signaling, and calcium signaling. It also covers the molecular mechanisms underlying epileptic seizures and sleep disorders.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nora Andermane, Mathilde Bauer, Ediz Sohoglu, Julia Simner, Jamie Ward
Summary: People with misophonia have strong aversive reactions to specific trigger sounds. Machine learning was used to identify a misophonic profile that is transferable across different sounds. Misophonia is characterized by a distinctive reaction to most sounds, with the presence of other co-morbidities like autism and hyperacusis affecting the classification.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Katie Togher, Sarah Jay
Summary: Autistic individuals face a dilemma regarding whether or not to disclose their diagnosis due to societal stigma. This study examines if a social identity approach can explain the factors that influence the likelihood of autistic adults disclosing their diagnosis in various settings. The findings suggest that autistic individuals may cope with this dilemma by either adopting an individualistic strategy to distance themselves from their diagnosis or embracing their autistic identity and advocating for autism.
Article
Psychiatry
Ashley M. Penney, Jessica Greenson, Ilene S. Schwartz, Annette Mercer Estes
Summary: This paper proposes a framework for accurate and accelerated autism diagnosis for children before age three, emphasizing a collaborative diagnostic process that relies heavily on Birth to Three provider knowledge and expertise.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Simon M. Bury, Alex Haschek, Michael Wenzel, Jennifer R. Spoor, Darren Hedley
Summary: This study investigates the sources of information about autism for autistic individuals and finds that obtaining information from conventional sources is associated with higher internalized stigma and lower endorsement of special abilities and autism identity, while obtaining information from online blogs and social media shows the opposite pattern and provides more accurate knowledge about autism.
JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
(2022)
Editorial Material
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Carmel Shachar
Summary: Applying the analysis of Colgrove and Samuel to the childhood vaccination debate can provide insights into the sources of vaccine resistance and inform the development of effective public health responses. Prior to COVID-19 vaccine mandates, opposition to school-based vaccination requirements was the primary form of vaccine resistance. Parental concerns about childhood development and evolving medical questions contribute to vaccine hesitancy.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bahareh A. Mojarad, Worrawat Engchuan, Brett Trost, Ian Backstrom, Yue Yin, Bhooma Thiruvahindrapuram, Linda Pallotto, Aleksandra Mitina, Mahreen Khan, Giovanna Pellecchia, Bushra Haque, Keyi Guo, Tracy Heung, Gregory Costain, Stephen W. Scherer, Christian R. Marshall, Christopher E. Pearson, Anne S. Bassett, Ryan K. C. Yuen
Summary: This study found that adults with schizophrenia have a higher burden of rare tandem repeat expansions (TREs) near exons in their genomes compared with non-psychiatric controls. These TREs are disproportionately located at loci associated with schizophrenia from genome-wide association studies, present in individuals with clinically-relevant genetic variants at other schizophrenia loci, and found in families with multiple individuals affected by schizophrenia. The study also showed that these rare TREs may disrupt synaptic function by affecting the splicing process of their associated genes.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Ramkumar Aishworiya, Tatiana Valica, Randi Hagerman, Bibiana Restrepo
Summary: While behavioral interventions remain the primary treatment for autism spectrum disorder, new targeted treatments addressing the underlying neurophysiology have emerged. These treatments show promise in effectively addressing the core symptoms of autism and may also target genetic mechanisms associated with the disorder. This article provides a review of current pharmacological treatments for autism and explores upcoming targeted approaches in autism management.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Yiqin Zhu, Wenting Mu, Marianne G. Chirica, Howard Berenbaum
Summary: This study aimed to develop a theory-driven factor structure of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) that fit well across different samples. The researchers proposed a six-factor solution and tested it using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed that the theory-driven six-factor structure had a good fit across samples and could be used to measure different domains of autism spectrum features.
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Jennifer Ha, Maryellen Brunson McClain, Benjamin Covington, Megan E. Golson
Summary: Ensuring adequate autism knowledge and awareness among the general population is crucial, as it can lead to positive outcomes such as reduced bias against autism and improved service quality for autistic individuals. This study utilized an informational video to increase autism awareness, with results showing its effectiveness in increasing knowledge about autism. These findings can be valuable for future educational efforts focused on raising awareness about autism among the general population.
JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Paula A. Maldonado Moscoso, Giovanni Anobile, David C. Burr, Roberto Arrighi, Elisa Castaldi
Summary: This study investigated the influence of symmetry on estimating the number of objects. The results revealed that symmetrical arrays were underestimated at lower numbers and adding double symmetry further reduced perceived numerosity. The magnitude of the underestimation driven by symmetry was inversely related to autistic personality traits. Overall, these findings support the idea that perceived numerosity relies on object segmentation and grouping cues, with symmetry playing a key role.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Psychiatry
Troy Q. Boucher, Julia N. Lukacs, Nichole E. Scheerer, Grace Iarocci
Summary: Based on brief videos, this study found that non-autistic adults rated autistic children less favorably than non-autistic children in terms of first impressions, with audio playing a significant role. The rater's own characteristics such as social competence, autism stigma, and past experiences with autistic people were found to be related to the bias against autistic children. These negative judgments may contribute to the social exclusion experienced by autistic children.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Ashfaque Ahmed, Meng Wang, Gaber Bergant, Reza Maroofian, Rongjuan Zhao, Majid Alfadhel, Marwan Nashabat, Muhammad Talal AlRifai, Wafaa Eyaid, Abdulrahman Alswaid, Christian Beetz, Yan Qin, Tengfei Zhu, Qi Tian, Lu Xia, Huidan Wu, Lu Shen, Shanshan Dong, Xinyi Yang, Cenying Liu, Linya Ma, Qiumeng Zhang, Rizwan Khan, Abid Ali Shah, Jifeng Guo, Beisha Tang, Lea Leonardis, Karin Writzl, Borut Peterlin, Hui Guo, Sajid Malik, Kun Xia, Zhengmao Hu
Summary: This study identified causative gene variants related to central nervous system disorders, particularly focusing on the NEMF gene's function in neuron development. Through various analyses, it was found that biallelic NEMF variants can result in impaired axonal outgrowth and synapse development in neurons. Additionally, other pathogenic variants of NEMF were identified, further emphasizing the gene's importance in mammalian neuron development.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Runnan Cao, Chujun Lin, Johnie Hodge, Xin Li, Alexander Todorov, Nicholas J. Brandmeir, Shuo Wang
Summary: People evaluate faces rapidly and agree on social trait evaluations. The neural basis for such rapid face evaluation is largely unknown. This study recorded neuronal activity in the human amygdala and hippocampus and found that it was associated with the geometry of a social trait space. The results suggest the existence of a neuronal population code for a comprehensive social trait space in the human brain, which plays a role in spontaneous first impressions and may have implications for abnormal social information processing in neurological and psychiatric disorders.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Andrea Cavallo, Nathan C. Foster, Karthikeyan Kalyanasundaram Balasubramanian, Andrea Merello, Giorgio Zini, Marco Crepaldi, Cristina Becchio
Summary: Motion tracking provides unique insights into motor, cognitive, and social development by capturing subtle variations in how movements are planned and controlled. The KiD platform, a low-cost wearable movement measurement system, is specifically designed to track infants and children in natural settings, and has shown good correlation with current optical motion capture systems. Demonstrations using KiD have successfully classified different types of arm movements as a proof of concept.
