Adding a Dimension to the Dichotomy: Affective Processes Are Implicated in the Relationship Between Autistic and Schizotypal Traits.

Introduction: There is a recognized increase in vulnerability to psychosis in autistic people (AP). However, the construct of psychosis (particularly schizophrenia) contains several distinct factors, making understanding the relationship between autism and psychosis complex. Previous research has suggested that affective lability may be particularly related to psychotic experiences for AP who have experienced psychosis (AP-P).

Copy number variants in people with autism spectrum disorders and co-morbid psychosis.

The genetic association between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia is complicated and mirrors the clinical overlap between these conditions to some degree. However, no studies to date have examined the genetics of individuals dually diagnosed with both ASD and psychosis. In this study, we present findings of copy number variants (CNVs) from a study of 116 well-characterised individuals with this dual diagnosis.

Psychosis in autism: comparison of the features of both conditions in a dually affected cohort.

There is limited information on the presentation and characteristics of psychotic illness experienced by people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).To describe autistic and psychotic phenomenology in a group of individuals with comorbid ASD and psychosis (ASD-P) and compare this group with populations affected by either, alone.We studied 116 individuals with ASD-P.

Testing the 'Extreme Female Brain' Theory of Psychosis in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder with or without Co-Morbid Psychosis.

Introduction: Males and females in the general population differ, on average, in their drive for empathizing (higher in females) and systemizing (higher in males). People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show a drive for systemizing over empathizing, irrespective of sex, which led to the conceptualisation of ASD as an 'extreme of the typical male brain'. The opposite cognitive profile, an 'extreme of the typical female brain', has been proposed to be linked to conditions such as psychosis and mania/hypomania.