Distinct Symptom Network Structure and Shared Central Social Communication Symptomatology in Autism and Schizophrenia: A Bayesian Network Analysis.

Autism (ASD) and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SCZ) are neurodevelopmental conditions with overlapping and interrelated symptoms. A network analysis approach that represents clinical conditions as a set of "nodes" (symptoms) connected by "edges" (relations among symptoms) was used to compare symptom organization in the two conditions. Gaussian graphical models were estimated using Bayesian methods to model separate symptom networks for adults with confirmed ASD or SCZ diagnoses.

Associations between sleep problems and domains relevant to daytime functioning and clinical symptomatology in autism: A meta-analysis.

Autistic individuals experience significantly higher rates of sleep problems compared to the general population, which negatively impacts various aspects of daytime functioning. The strength of associations across domains of functioning has not yet been summarized across studies. The present meta-analysis examined the strength of associations between sleep problems and various domains of daytime functioning in autistic individuals.

Brief Report: Preliminary Evidence of the N170 as a Biomarker of Response to Treatment in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by primary difficulties in social function. Individuals with ASD display slowed neural processing of faces, as indexed by the latency of the N170, a face-sensitive event-related potential. Currently, there are no objective biomarkers of ASD useful in clinical care or research.

Face perception predicts affective theory of mind in autism spectrum disorder but not schizophrenia or typical development.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SCZ) have overlapping symptomatology related to difficulties with social cognition. Yet, few studies have directly compared social cognition in ASD, SCZ, and typical development (TD). The current study examined individual differences in face recognition and its relation to affective theory of mind (ToM) in each diagnostic group.

Evaluation of a Peer Mentorship Program for Autistic College Students.

Unlabelled: The number of autistic students in colleges is growing rapidly. However, their needs are not being met, and graduation rates among this population remain low. This article describes the implementation and evaluation of the Autism Mentorship Initiative (AMI) for autistic undergraduates (mentees), who received 1-on-1 support from upper-level undergraduate or graduate students (mentors) at their university.

Looking Back at the Next 40 Years of ASD Neuroscience Research.

During the last 40 years, neuroscience has become one of the most central and most productive approaches to investigating autism. In this commentary, we assemble a group of established investigators and trainees to review key advances and anticipated developments in neuroscience research across five modalities most commonly employed in autism research: magnetic resonance imaging, functional near infrared spectroscopy, positron emission tomography, electroencephalography, and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Broadly, neuroscience research has provided important insights into brain systems involved in autism but not yet mechanistic understanding.

First-Hand Accounts of Interoceptive Difficulties in Autistic Adults.

Interoceptive awareness refers to one's ability to detect, discriminate, and regulate internal bodily and mental processes. Interoceptive challenges in ASD remain under researched and poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed texts of adults who self-identify as autistic describing their interoceptive challenges.

Adaptive and Maladaptive Bodily Awareness: Distinguishing Interoceptive Sensibility and Interoceptive Attention from Anxiety-Induced Somatization in Autism and Alexithymia.

There is growing interest in "interoception" (i.e., detection and interpretation of internal body signals) as a relevant mechanism contributing to certain symptoms and features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and alexithymia.

Autism Spectrum Disorder and Schizophrenia Are Better Differentiated by Positive Symptoms Than Negative Symptoms.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia (SZ) are heterogenous neurodevelopmental disorders that overlap in symptom presentation. The purpose of this study was to specify overlapping symptom domains and to identify symptoms that can reliably differentiate adults with ASD (n = 53), SZ (n = 39), and typical development (TD; n = 40). All participants regardless of diagnosis were administered gold-standard diagnostic assessments of ASD and SZ characteristics including the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS).

Action coordination during a real-world task: Evidence from children with and without autism spectrum disorder.

"Joint action"-the ability to coordinate actions with others-is critical for achieving individual and interpersonal goals and for our collective success as a species. Joint actions require accurate and rapid inferences about others' goals, intentions, and focus of attention, skills that are thought to be impaired in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research to date has not investigated joint action abilities in individuals with ASD during real-world social interactions.

Autistic and alexithymic traits modulate distinct aspects of face perception.

Background: Atypical face processing is a prominent feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but is not universal and is subject to individual variability. This heterogeneity could be accounted for by reliable yet unidentified subgroups within the diverse population of individuals with ASD. Alexithymia, which is characterized by difficulties in emotion recognition and identification, serves as a potential grouping factor.

A meta-analysis on the relationship between interoceptive awareness and alexithymia: Distinguishing interoceptive accuracy and sensibility.

Alexithymia-a trait associated with difficulties understanding one's own emotions-is theorized to stem from deficits in , or the ability to detect, accurately monitor, and regulate internal bodily processes. The present meta-analysis analyzed all studies that empirically examined the relationship between alexithymia and interoceptive awareness. Across 66 independent samples ( = 7,146), alexithymia had a small, negative correlation with interoceptive awareness ( = -.

Systematic review of factors that may influence the outcomes and generalizability of parent-mediated interventions for young children with autism spectrum disorder.

Parent mediated interventions have the potential to positively influence the interactions and developmental outcomes of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, a range of factors relating to children, parents and caregivers, and study design may impact on outcomes and thus the generalizability of these interventions to the broader community. The objective of this review was to examine factors that may influence the feasibility, appropriateness, effectiveness, and generalizability of parent mediated interventions for children with ASD.

Facial Expression Production in Autism: A Meta-Analysis.

This meta-analysis summarized studies that examined group differences on the production of facial expressions in participants with ASD compared to typically developing or nonautistic clinical comparison groups. The overall summary effect from 67 effect sizes representing the average ASD-comparison group differences in facial expressions was -0.481, indicating a moderate effect size.

A psychometric evaluation of the Multidimensional Social Competence Scale (MSCS) for young adults.

The current study contributes to previous work on measuring the social phenotype in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by validating a multidimensional test of social competence developed for use with individuals with and without ASD. The "Multidimensional Social Competence Scale" (MSCS) was previously validated as a parent-rating scale with youth 11-18 years with ASD without intellectual disability and typically developing adolescents of comparable age. The current study presents a validation of a self-report version of the MSCS in a non-clinical young adult population (N = 1178, males = 360, females = 817, age range = 17-25 years).

How do adults and teens with self-declared Autism Spectrum Disorder experience eye contact? A qualitative analysis of first-hand accounts.

A tendency to avoid eye contact is an early indicator of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and difficulties with eye contact often persist throughout the lifespan. Eye contact difficulties may underlie social cognitive deficits in ASD, and can create significant social and occupational barriers. Thus, this topic has received substantial research and clinical attention.

Alexithymia, but not autism spectrum disorder, may be related to the production of emotional facial expressions.

Background: A prominent diagnostic criterion of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) relates to the abnormal or diminished use of facial expressions. Yet little is known about the mechanisms that contribute to this feature of ASD.

Methods: We showed children with and without ASD emotionally charged video clips in order to parse out individual differences in spontaneous production of facial expressions using automated facial expression analysis software.