The aim of this study is to examine the validity of the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) to differentiate high-functioning autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) from schizophrenia (SCH). The AQ was developed by Baron-Cohen et al. to measure autistic traits. In addition to the original AQ items, we created self-administered questions about psychotic symptoms (S-scale). We administered the modified AQ to...

We investigate the broader autism phenotype (BAP) in siblings of individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). Autistic traits were measured in typical controls (n = 2,000), siblings (n = 496), and volunteers with ASC (n = 2,322) using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), both self-report and parent-report versions. Using cluster analysis of AQ subscale scores, two sibling subgroups were ide...

BACKGROUND Joint attention skills are impaired in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Recently, varying degrees of autistic social attention deficit have been detected in the general population. We investigated gaze-triggered attention in individuals with high and low levels of autistic traits under visual-auditory cross-modal conditions, which are more sensitive to social attentio...

This study assesses Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) scores in a 'big data' sample collected through the UK Channel 4 television website, following the broadcasting of a medical education program. We examine correlations between the AQ and age, sex, occupation, and UK geographic region in 450,394 individuals. We predicted that age and geography would not be correlated with AQ, whilst sex and occup...

Autismikirjon piirteet ulottuvat sosiaalisten taitojen, kommunikaation, mielikuvituksen, tarkkaavuuden siirtämisen ja yksityiskohtien huomioimisen alueille. Näillä osa-alueilla esiintyviä piirteitä voidaan seuloa autismikirjon osamäärän (engl. autism spectrum quotient, AQ) avulla. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on saada suomalaiset viitearvot AQ:lle sekä tarkastella, erotteleeko AQ-lomake suomal...

Testosterone promotes male-typical neural and behavioral development in non-human mammals. There is growing evidence that testosterone exerts similar influences on human development, although the range of behaviors affected is not completely known. This study examined the hypothesis that autistic traits are increased following prenatal exposure to abnormally high levels of testosterone caused b...

A local processing bias has been found in individuals with autism as well as in typical children with a gift for drawing realistically. This study investigated whether a local processing bias in typical adults is more strongly associated with drawing realism or autistic-like traits. Forty-two adults made an observational drawing (scored for realism), completed four measures that assessed a loca...

Lesions to brain regions such as the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and inferior frontal cortex (IFC) are thought to cause autism-spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous studies indicated that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the right TPJ improves social cognitive functions such as imitation-inhibition and perspective-taking. Although previous work shows that tDCS of the right IFC i...

We measured the modulation of pupil size (in constant lighting) elicited by observing transparent surfaces black and white moving dots, perceived as a cylinder rotating about its vertical axis. The direction rotation was swapped periodically flipping stereo-depth two surfaces. Pupil modulated in synchrony with changes front-surface color (dilating when black). magnitude pupillary larger for hum...