Brief report : the level and nature of autistic intelligence revisited

Owing to higher performance on the Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM) than on the Wechsler Intelligence Scales (WIS), it has recently been argued that intelligence is underestimated in autism. This study examined RPM and WIS IQs in 48 individuals with autism, a mixed clinical (n = 28) and a neurotypical (n = 25) control group. Average RPM IQ was higher than WIS IQ only in the autism group, albeit to a much lesser degree than previously reported and only for individuals with WIS IQs <85. Consequently, and given the importance of reliable multidimensional IQ estimates in autism, the WIS are recommended as first choice IQ measure in high functioning individuals. Additional testing with the RPM might be required in the lower end of the spectrum

The Heterogeneity of Disruptive Behavior Disorders – Implications for Neurobiological Research and Treatment

Disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) are reflected by a great variety of symptoms ranging from impulsive-hot-tempered quarrels to purposeful and goal-directed acts of cruelty. A growing body of data indicates that there are neurobiological factors that increase the risk for developing DBDs. In this review, we give a broad overview of recent studies investigating physiological, neural, genetic factors, and specific neurotransmitter systems. We also discuss the impact of psychosocial risk and consider the effects of gene-environment interactions. Due to the heterogeneity of DBDs, it is concluded that specific subtypes of disruptive behavior should be considered both in terms their biological basis and in regard to specific treatment needs

Schizophrenia and Autism as Contrasting Minds: Neural Evidence for the Hypo-Hyper-Intentionality Hypothesis

Both schizophrenia (SCZ) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are characterized by mentalizing problems and associated neural dysfunction of the social brain. However, the deficits in mental state attribution are somehow opposed: Whereas patients with SCZ tend to over-attribute intentions to agents and physical events ("hyper-intentionality”), patients with autism treat people as devoid of intentions ("hypo-intentionality”). Here we aimed to investigate whether this hypo-hyper-intentionality hypothesis can be supported by neural evidence during a mentalizing task. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated the neural responses and functional connectivity during reading others intention. Scanning was performed in 23 individuals with ASD, 18 with paranoid SCZ and 23 gender and IQ matched control subjects. Both clinical groups showed reduced brain activation compared to controls for the contrast intentional vs physical information processing in left posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) and ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC) for SCZ, and right pSTS in ASD. As predicted, these effects were caused in a group specific way: Relative increased activation for physical information processing in SCZ that was also correlated with positive PANNS score and relative decreased activation for intentional information processing in ASD. Additionally, we could demonstrate opposed connectivity patterns between the right pSTS and vMPFC in the clinical groups, ie, increased for SCZ, decreased for ASD. These findings represent opposed neural signatures in key regions of the social brain as predicted by the hyper-hypo-intentionality hypothesi

A Comparison between Schizophrenia and Autism

Autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia share a substantial number of etiologic and phenotypic characteristics. Still, no direct comparison of both disorders has been performed to identify differences and commonalities in brain structure. In this voxel based morphometry study, 34 patients with autism spectrum disorder, 21 patients with schizophrenia and 26 typically developed control subjects were included to identify global and regional brain volume alterations. No global gray matter or white matter differences were found between groups. In regional data, patients with autism spectrum disorder compared to typically developed control subjects showed smaller gray matter volume in the amygdala, insula, and anterior medial prefrontal cortex. Compared to patients with schizophrenia, patients with autism spectrum disorder displayed smaller gray matter volume in the left insula. Disorder specific positive correlations were found between mentalizing ability and left amygdala volume in autism spectrum disorder, and hallucinatory behavior and insula volume in schizophrenia. Results suggest the involvement of social brain areas in both disorders. Further studies are needed to replicate these findings and to quantify the amount of distinct and overlapping neural correlates in autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia

Migration background and juvenile mental health: a descriptive retrospective analysis of diagnostic rates of psychiatric disorders in young people

Introduction: This article presents diagnostic rates for specific mental disorders in a German pediatric inpatient population over a period of 20 years with respect to migration background and socioeconomic status (SES).Methods: Diagnostic data were obtained over a period of 20 years from 8,904 patients who visited a child and adolescent psychiatry mental health service in Germany. Data from 5,985 diagnosed patients (ICD-9 and ICD-10 criteria) were included with respect to gender, migration background, and SES.Results: Migration- and gender-specific effects were found for both periods of assessment. The group of boys with a migration background showed significantly higher rates of reactions to severe stress, adjustment disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder compared to their male, non-migrant counterparts. Conversely, boys without a migration background showed a significantly higher percentage rate of hyperkinetic disorders than male migrants. Similar results were found for female migrants in the latter assessment period (ICD-10). In addition, female migrants showed lower rates of emotional disorders whose onset occurs in childhood compared to their non-migrant counterparts.Conclusions: Data from this investigation provide preliminary evidence that the prevalence of various psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents is influenced by migration background and SES

Autistic Traits and Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Clinical Validity of Two Measures Presuming a Continuum of Social Communication Skills

Research indicates that autism is the extreme end of a continuously distributed trait. The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and the Social and Communication Disorders Checklist (SCDC) aim to assess autistic traits. The objective of this study was to compare their clinical validity. The SRS showed sensitivities of .74 to .80 and specificities of .69 to 1.00 for autism. Sensitivities were .85 to .90 and specificities .28 to.82 for the SCDC. Correlations with the ADI-R, ADOS and SCQ were higher for the SRS than for the SCDC. The SCDC seems superior to the SRS to screen for unspecific social and communicative deficits including autism. The SRS appears more suitable than the SCDC in clinical settings and for specific autism screening