1,721,088 research outputs found
Sex/gender differences in children with autism spectrum disorder: A brief overview on epidemiology, symptom profile, and neuroanatomy
No full textAutism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental conditions whose shared core features are impairments in social interaction and communication as well as restricted patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. The significant and consistent male preponderance in ASD prevalence has historically affected the scientific knowledge of autism in females as regards, inter alia, the clinical presentation, the genetic architecture, and the structural brain underpinnings. Indeed, females with ASD are under-investigated as samples recruited for clinical research typically reflect the strong male bias of the disorder. In the last years, the study of the various aspects of sex/gender (s/g) differences in ASD is gaining increased clinical and research interest resulting in a growing number of investigations on this topic. Here, I review and discuss evidence emerged from epidemiological, clinical, and neuroimaging studies in the last decade focusing on s/g differences in children with ASD. These studies are the prerequisites for the development of assessment and treatment practices which take into consideration s/g differences in ASD. Ultimately, a better understanding of s/g differences aims at improving healthcare for both ASD males and females
A view into the brain of female children with autism pectrum disorder: Morphometric regional alterations detected by structural MRI mass-univariate and pattern classification analisys
No full textFemale children with autism spectrum disorder: An insight from mass-univariate
and pattern classification analyses.
Calderoni S, Retico A, Biagi L, Tancredi R, Muratori F, Tosetti M.
IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Viale del Tirreno 331, 56018 Calambrone, Pisa,
Italy; Division of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, University of Pisa, Pisa,
Italy.
Several studies on structural MRI in children with autism spectrum disorders
(ASD) have mainly focused on samples prevailingly consisting of males. Sex
differences in brain structure are observable since infancy and therefore caution
is required in transferring to females the results obtained for males. The
neuroanatomical phenotype of female children with ASD (ASDf) represents indeed a
neglected area of research. In this study, we investigated for the first time the
anatomic brain structures of a sample entirely composed of ASDf (n=38; 2-7years
of age; mean=53months; SD=18) with respect to 38 female age and non verbal IQ
matched controls, using both mass-univariate and pattern classification
approaches. The whole brain volumes of each group were compared using voxel-based
morphometry (VBM) with diffeomorphic anatomical registration through
exponentiated lie algebra (DARTEL) procedure, allowing us to build a
study-specific template. Significantly more gray matter (GM) was found in the
left superior frontal gyrus (SFG) in ASDf subjects compared to controls. The GM
segments obtained in the VBM-DARTEL preprocessing are also classified with a
support vector machine (SVM), using the leave-pair-out cross-validation protocol.
Then, the recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE) approach allows for the
identification of the most discriminating voxels in the GM segments and these
prove extremely consistent with the SFG region identified by the VBM analysis.
Furthermore, the SVM-RFE map obtained with the most discriminating set of voxels
corresponding to the maximum Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic
Curve (AUC(max)=0.80) highlighted a more complex circuitry of increased cortical
volume in ASDf, involving bilaterally the SFG and the right temporo-parietal
junction (TPJ). The SFG and TPJ abnormalities may be relevant to the
pathophysiology of ASDf, since these structures participate in some core atypical
features of autism
George Frankl: an undervalued voice in the history of autism
Full text linkThis paper aims to propose that the psychiatrist George Frankl had more than a marginal role in the early history of autism. Frankl’s conception of autism as characterized by a lack of affective language has influenced both Asperger and Kanner. First, this proposal is historically supported; second it is corroborated by Frankl’s unpublished manuscript on Autism. We found that Frankl’s perspective about autism was, and still can be, considered innovative for multiple reasons. Specifically, Frankl proposed that autism could cover a spectrum of conditions; that it is a state of mind that is not necessarily abnormal; and that it is a neurobiological condition, which primarily needs to be understood by others. Finally, Frankl’s concepts of affective contact and affective language are reconsidered with reference to contemporary neuropsychology from which autism emerges not as a higher-order cognitive deficit, but as a result of an impairment of primordial ability to process low level sensory, motor and perceptual information gained through experiencing other persons
Disturbi del neurosviluppo e autismo: possibile integrazione tra approccio dimensionale e categoriale
No full textIn recent years clinical and neuroscience studies have highlighted some weaknesses of the current psychopathological categories included in neurodevelopmental disorders, both from a diagnostic and therapeutic point of view. In this context, the present work analyzes the dimensional and categorical aspects of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) within the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). If on the one hand the DSM-5 introduced the dimensional concept of "spectrum", on the other, the presence of "specifiers" makes it possible to categorize the variegated group of ASDs into more homogeneous subgroups. In fact, the specifiers, in addition to describing the phenotypic expression of the disorder and being predictive indices of the clinical evolution of the autistic person in terms of autonomy and quality of life, will be able to help in the identification of patients who share a common neural substrate, potential target of future therapeutic interventions. It is therefore hoped to be able to expand the number of specifiers, in order to better characterize patients and reduce the heterogeneity that has so far prevented the development of both diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers
Recensione di Bottà M., Canevaro A., Cibin C.M. e Calderoni S. (2022), "Dalla scuola al lavoro. Verso una realtà inclusiva", Trento, Erickson, pp. 151.
Full text linkRecensione a Bottà M., Canevaro A., Cibin C.M. e Calderoni S. (2022), "Dalla scuola al lavoro. Verso una realtà inclusiva", Trento, Erickson, pp. 151.
"Dalla scuola al lavoro. Verso una realtà inclusiva" è un libro che mette in luce, in un perfetto equilibrio tra teoria e suggestioni operative, le responsabilità della scuola nel garantire a ogni studente e studentessa la possibilità di varcare la soglia del mondo adulto
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Brain anatomy of autism spectrum disorders II. Focus on Corpus Callosum
No full textThis brief review encompasses the key findings of structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (sMRI) research on amygdala volume in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We also highlight the possible correlation between the autistic behavioural phenotype and amygdala alteration
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