Developmental vitamin D deficiency increases foetal exposure to testosterone
ConclusionsThis study is the first to show how an epidemiologically established environmental risk factor for ASD may selectively elevate testosterone in male embryonic brains. These findings provide further mechanistic support for the prenatal sex steroid theory of ASD. (Source: Molecular Autism)
Source: Molecular Autism - December 10, 2020 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Alpha connectivity and inhibitory control in adults with autism spectrum disorder
ConclusionsOur findings demonstrate reduced functional brain connectivity during response inhibition in adults with ASD. As alpha-band synchrony has been linked to top-down control mechanisms, we propose that the lack of alpha synchrony observed in our ASD group may reflect difficulties in suppressing task-irrelevant information, interfering with inhibition in real-life situations. (Source: Molecular Autism)
Source: Molecular Autism - December 7, 2020 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Combined frequency-tagging EEG and eye-tracking measures provide no support for the “excess mouth/diminished eye attention” hypothesis in autism
ConclusionsCombined eye-tracking and frequency-tagged neural responses show no support for the excess mouth/diminished eye gaze hypothesis in ASD. The more exploratory face scanning style observed in ASD might be related to their increased feature-based face processing style. (Source: Molecular Autism)
Source: Molecular Autism - November 23, 2020 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Meconium androgens are correlated with ASD-related phenotypic traits in early childhood in a familial enriched risk cohort
ConclusionsThis study supports the utility of meconium for studies of endogenous fetal metabolism and suggests the sex of older siblings with autism should be considered as a biological variable in relevant studies. (Source: Molecular Autism)
Source: Molecular Autism - November 23, 2020 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
The eIF4E homolog 4EHP (eIF4E2) regulates hippocampal long-term depression and impacts social behavior
ConclusionsTogether these results demonstrate an important role of 4EHP in regulating hippocampal plasticity and ASD-associated social behaviors, consistent with the link between mutations inGIGYF2 and ASD. (Source: Molecular Autism)
Source: Molecular Autism - November 23, 2020 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
High-throughput screening identifies histone deacetylase inhibitors that modulate GTF2I expression in 7q11.23 microduplication autism spectrum disorder patient-derived cortical neurons
ConclusionsThese results represent a unique opportunity for the development of a specific class of compounds for treating 7Dup and other forms of intellectual disability and autism. (Source: Molecular Autism)
Source: Molecular Autism - November 19, 2020 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
No preference for direct versus averted gaze in autistic adults: a reinforced preferential looking paradigm
ConclusionsThe absence of preference for direct versus averted gaze in the autistic group is probably due to difficulties in distinguishing eye gaze direction, potentially linked to a reduced spontaneous exploration or avoidance of the eye region. Social attention and preference for direct versus averted gaze correlated with alexithymia and social anxiety scores, but not gender. (Source: Molecular Autism)
Source: Molecular Autism - November 18, 2020 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Common and unique multimodal covarying patterns in autism spectrum disorder subtypes
ConclusionsAlthough ASD has a common neural basis with core deficits linked to social interaction, each ASD subtype is strongly linked to unique brain systems and subdomain symptoms, which may help to better understand the underlying mechanisms of ASD heterogeneity from a multimodal neuroimaging perspective.LimitationsThis study is male based, which cannot be generalized to the female or the general ASD population. (Source: Molecular Autism)
Source: Molecular Autism - November 18, 2020 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Altered synaptic ultrastructure in the prefrontal cortex of Shank3-deficient rats
ConclusionsWe observed increased HD and PSD area inShank3-Het rats. These observations suggest the occurrence of altered synaptic ultrastructure in this animal model, further pointing to a key role of defective expression of the Shank3 protein in ASD and Phelan –McDermid syndrome. (Source: Molecular Autism)
Source: Molecular Autism - November 17, 2020 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Differentially altered social dominance- and cooperative-like behaviors in Shank2 - and Shank3 -mutant mice
ConclusionsOur results underscore the heterogeneity of social behavioral alterations in different ASD mouse models and highlight the utility of testing complex social behaviors in validating neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorder models. In addition, neural activities at distinct brain regions are likely collectively involved in eliciting complex social behaviors, which are differentially altered in ASD mouse models. (Source: Molecular Autism)
Source: Molecular Autism - October 30, 2020 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Gray matter covariations and core symptoms of autism: the EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project
ConclusionsCovaried areas associated with autism diagnosis and/or symptoms are scattered across the whole brain and include the limbic system, basal ganglia, thalamus, cerebellum, precentral gyrus, and parts of the frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes. Some of these areas potentially subserve social-communicative behavior, whereas others may underpin sensory processing and integration, and motor behavior. (Source: Molecular Autism)
Source: Molecular Autism - October 30, 2020 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Targeting of δ-catenin to postsynaptic sites through interaction with the Shank3 N-terminus
ConclusionsOur data show that the interaction between Shank3 N-terminus and δ-catenin is required for the postsynaptic targeting of δ-catenin. Failure of proper targeting of δ-catenin to postsynaptic sites may contribute to the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorder. (Source: Molecular Autism)
Source: Molecular Autism - October 28, 2020 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Physical health of autistic girls and women: a scoping review
ConclusionsThe emerging literature suggests that autistic girls/women have heightened rates of physical health challenges compared to non-autistic girls/women and to autistic boys/men. Clinicians should seek to provide holistic care that includes a focus on physical health and develop a women ’s health lens when providing clinical care to autistic girls/women. (Source: Molecular Autism)
Source: Molecular Autism - October 27, 2020 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Face individual identity recognition: a potential endophenotype in autism
ConclusionsImpaired face individual identity recognition meets the criteria to be a potential endophenotype in autism. In the future, testing for face memory could be used to stratify autistic individuals into genetically meaningful subgroups and be translatable to autism animal models. (Source: Molecular Autism)
Source: Molecular Autism - October 21, 2020 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Brain function distinguishes female carriers and non-carriers of familial risk for autism
ConclusionsThese methods confirmed pronounced neural signatures that differentiate brain responses to biological and scrambled motion. Our sample of undiagnosed females enriched for family genetic loading enabled discovery of numerous contrasts between carriers and non-carriers of risk of ASD that may index variations in visual attention and motion processing related to genetic susceptibility and inform our understanding of mechanisms incurred by inherited liability for ASD. (Source: Molecular Autism)
Source: Molecular Autism - October 20, 2020 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
