The neuro-developmental disorders of Williams syndrome (WS) and autism can reveal key components of social cognition. Eye-tracking techniques were applied in two tasks exploring attention to pictures containing faces. Images were (i) scrambled pictures containing faces or (ii) pictures of scenes with embedded faces. Compared to individuals who were developing typically, participants with WS and...

87 ISSN 1758-2008 10.2217/NPY.12.12 © 2012 Future Medicine Ltd Neuropsychiatry (2012) 2(2), 87–91 Summary In this paper, we describe how secondary data analyses of large populationrepresentative surveys can be used to refine methodological designs on the prevalence of behavior problems and maternal mental health problems in families with a child with an autism spectrum disorder. We also suggest...

OBJECTIVE Genetic and neurofunctional research in autism has highlighted the need for improved characterization of the core social disorder defining the broad spectrum of syndrome manifestations. METHOD This article reviews the advantages and limitations of current methods for the refinement and quantification of this highly heterogeneous social phenotype. RESULTS The study of social visual...

Several reports have described the occurrence of chromosome abnormalities in autism, a neuro-developmental disorder characterized by social deficits, communication impairment, and a restricted range of interests. These include the fragile X abnormality and 15q duplications. In this report, we describe two cases of chromosome 2q37 and review the literature on this topic. We propose that deletion...

We immunocytochemically identified microglia in fronto-insular (FI) and visual cortex (VC) in autopsy brains of well-phenotyped subjects with autism and matched controls, and stereologically quantified the microglial densities. Densities were determined blind to phenotype using an optical fractionator probe. In FI, individuals with autism had significantly more microglia compared to controls (p...

INTRODUCTION Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that manifests as impairments in social interaction, communication, and behavior. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to determine if Zen Shiatsu can reduce short- and long-term stress levels in a child with ASD. METHODS This is a longitudinal case study of a seven-year-old male with a diagnosis of autism who was...

Autism spectrum disorder is a set of neurodevelopmental disorders in terms of prevalence, morbidity and impact to the society, which is characterized by intricate behavioral phenotype and deficits in both social and cognitive functions. The molecular pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorder has not been well understood, however, it seems that PI3K, AKT, and its downstream molecules have crucial...

We are fortunate to have invited commentaries from the laboratories of Dr Cathy Lord and Dr Fred Volkmar offering their perspectives on the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-5 criteria for the autism spectrum. Both commentaries note how DSM-5 collapses the earlier diagnostic categories of the pervasive developmental disorders into a single category of autism spectr...

The high-functioning Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) is a 27-item checklist for completion by lay informants when assessing symptoms characteristic of Asperger syndrome and other high-functioning autism spectrum disorders in children and adolescents with normal intelligence or mild mental retardation. Data for parent and teacher ratings in a clinical sample are presented along wi...