The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) and its receptor (OXTR) regulate social functioning in animals and humans. Initial clinical research suggests that dysregulated plasma OXT concentrations and/or OXTR SNPs may be biomarkers of social impairments in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We do not know, however, whether OXT dysregulation is unique to ASD or whether OXT biology influences social functionin...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is marked by a strong genetic heterogeneity, which is underlined by the low overlap between ASD risk gene lists proposed in different studies. In this context, molecular networks can be used to analyze the results of several genome-wide studies in order to underline those network regions harboring genetic variations associated with ASD, the so-called "disease modu...

Genetic liability to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be expressed in unaffected relatives through subclinical, genetically meaningful traits, or endophenotypes. This study aimed to identify developmental endophenotypes in parents of individuals with ASD by examining parents' childhood academic development over the school-age period. A cohort of 139 parents of individuals with ASD were studie...

One's own emotional response toward a hypothetical action can influence judgments of its moral acceptability. Some individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit atypical emotional processing, and moral judgments. Research suggests, however, that emotional deficits in ASD are due to co-occurring alexithymia, meaning atypical moral judgments in ASD may be due to alexithymia also. Indivi...

Abstract Loss-of-function variants in the dystrophin gene, a well-known cause of muscular dystrophies, have emerged as mutational risk mechanism for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which turn is highly prevalent (~ 1%) genetically heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder. Although association intellectual disability with dystrophinopathies Duchenne (DMD) and Becker dystrophy (BMD) has been lon...

OBJECTIVE The primary aim of the present study was to evaluate the validity of proposed DSM-5 criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHOD We analyzed symptoms from 14,744 siblings (8,911 ASD and 5,863 non-ASD) included in a national registry, the Interactive Autism Network. Youth 2 through 18 years of age were included if at least one child in the family was diagnosed with ASD. Caregi...

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show deficits in social and emotional reciprocity, which often include empathic responding. The younger siblings of children with ASD (high-risk siblings) are at elevated risk for ASD and for subclinical deficits in social-emotional functioning. Higher levels of empathy in high-risk siblings during the second and third years of life predict fewer ...

OBJECTIVE To detect autism spectrum disorder (ASD) cases within the High Risk Neonatal Follow up Program (HRNFP), as an indicator of the prevalence of ASD and associated risk factors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). METHODS We conducted this retrospective medical chart review in a tertiary care hospital in Riyadh, KSA. All patients admitted to the HRNFP were seen at 3 years corrected age...