BACKGROUND: The broad autism phenotype includes subclinical autistic characteristics found to have a higher prevalence in unaffected family members of individuals with autism. These characteristics primarily affect the social aspects of language, communication, and human interaction. The current research focuses on possible neurobehavioral characteristics associated with the broad autism phenotype. METHODS: We used a face-processing task associated with atypical patterns of gaze fixation and brain function in autism while collecting brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and eye tracking in unaffected siblings of individuals with autism. RESULTS: We found robust differences in gaze fixation and brain function in response to images of human faces in unaffected siblings compared with typically developing control individuals. The siblings' gaze fixations and brain activation patterns during the face processing task were similar to that of the autism group and showed decreased gaze fixation along with diminished fusiform activation compared with the control group. Furthermore, amygdala volume in the siblings was similar to the autism group and was significantly reduced compared with the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these findings provide compelling evidence for differences in social/emotional processing and underlying neural circuitry in siblings of individuals with autism, supporting the notion of unique endophenotypes associated with the broad autism phenotype.
BACKGROUND: The broad autism phenotype includes subclinical autistic characteristics found to have a higher prevalence in unaffected family members of individuals with autism. These characteristics primarily affect the social aspects of language, communication, and human interaction. The current research focuses on possible neurobehavioral characteristics associated with the broad autism phenotype. METHODS: We used a face-processing task associated with atypical patterns of gaze fixation and brain function in autism while collecting brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and eye tracking in unaffected siblings of individuals with autism. RESULTS: We found robust differences in gaze fixation and brain function in response to images of human faces in unaffected siblings compared with typically developing control individuals. The siblings' gaze fixations and brain activation patterns during the face processing task were similar to that of the autism group and showed decreased gaze fixation along with diminished fusiform activation compared with the control group. Furthermore, amygdala volume in the siblings was similar to the autism group and was significantly reduced compared with the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these findings provide compelling evidence for differences in social/emotional processing and underlying neural circuitry in siblings of individuals with autism, supporting the notion of unique endophenotypes associated with the broad autism phenotype.
Authors: Laura Pina-Camacho; Sonia Villero; David Fraguas; Leticia Boada; Joost Janssen; Francisco J Navas-Sánchez; Maria Mayoral; Cloe Llorente; Celso Arango; Mara Parellada Journal: J Autism Dev Disord Date: 2012-07
Authors: Susan W White; Thomas Ollendick; Anne Marie Albano; Donald Oswald; Cynthia Johnson; Michael A Southam-Gerow; Inyoung Kim; Lawrence Scahill Journal: J Autism Dev Disord Date: 2013-02
Authors: Martha D Kaiser; Caitlin M Hudac; Sarah Shultz; Su Mei Lee; Celeste Cheung; Allison M Berken; Ben Deen; Naomi B Pitskel; Daniel R Sugrue; Avery C Voos; Celine A Saulnier; Pamela Ventola; Julie M Wolf; Ami Klin; Brent C Vander Wyk; Kevin A Pelphrey Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2010-11-15 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: Heike Tost; Bhaskar Kolachana; Shabnam Hakimi; Herve Lemaitre; Beth A Verchinski; Venkata S Mattay; Daniel R Weinberger; Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2010-07-20 Impact factor: 11.205