Background: Although differences in brain anatomy in autism have been difficult to replicate using manual tracing methods, automated whole brain analyses have begun to find consistent differences in regions of the brain associated with the social cognitive processes that are often impaired in autism. We attempted to replicate these whole brain studies and to correlate regional volume changes with several autism symptom measures.

Previous structural imaging studies of autistic individuals have identified gray matter abnormalities. It remains unclear, however, which abnormalities contribute to the etiology of autism and, among these abnormalities, which reflect genetic factors. Using voxel-based morphometry, we compared regional gray matter volume in 23 parents of autistic children to an age and sex-matched control sample. We identified relative local gray matter volume increases and decreases in the parent group that are consistent with previous research with autistic individuals. Further, differences were identified in regions that are functionally associated with social-cognitive and motor processes that are impaired in autism. This investigation constitutes the first whole-brain study of regional brain volume in the parents of autistic children, and suggests that a number of structural changes observed in autism may be familial.

Language difficulties have been implicated to be a part of the broad autism phenotype in first-degree relatives of individuals with autism. Phonological processing difficulties in particular have been reported by some, but not all groups studying parents or siblings of probands with autism. In the present study, we examined a broad battery of language tasks and general cognitive abilities in parents of children with autistic disorder. Parents of individuals with autism (n = 22) were compared to matched adult controls on a series of cognitive and language measures. Parents of children with autism exhibited lower performance on the matrix reasoning subtest and total performance IQ than did controls, but did not show differences in verbal IQ measures, when tested with the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI). In addition, parents of children with autism had lower performance on a nonword repetition task, but did not show differences on tests of figurative language, receptive language, expressive language, and verbal fluency and on a questionnaire assessing history of reading difficulties. Results from this study are generally consistent with the cognitive profiles reported for parents of children with autism. Our finding of nonword repetition difficulties, along with others' previous findings for nonword reading in autism families, suggests that problems in phonological processing might be characteristic of the broad autism phenotype.

BackgroundSynchronous neural oscillatory activity in the gamma range (30–80 Hz) has been shown to be abnormal in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their first-degree relatives in response to simple auditory stimuli. Gamma-band abnormalities in ASD probands have been seen in response to language stimuli, but this has not been investigated in first-degree relatives. This is of particular interest given that language impairments are a core symptom of ASD and may be part of the broad autism phenotype (BAP) seen in relatives.MethodsMagnetoencephalography recordings during a continuous word recognition task were obtained for 23 parents of a child with ASD (pASD) and 28 adult control participants. Total and evoked gamma-band activity, as well as inter-trial phase-locking factor (PLF), were measured in response to the task. Beta-band activity was also measured, due to its suggested role in language processing. Participants completed a series of language measures to assess the relationship between brain activity and language function, and lateralization of task-related activity was assessed.ResultsThe pASD group showed increased evoked gamma and beta activity, while controls had decreased evoked activity. Additionally, while both groups showed a reduction in total gamma power (commonly seen in language tasks), this reduction was more prominent in the control group. The pASD group demonstrated significantly worse performance on a measure of phonology compared to controls. Significant but distinct relationships were found between gamma/beta activity and language measures within the two groups. In addition, while the overall task generally elicited left lateralized responses, pASD showed greater left lateralization than controls in some regions of interest.ConclusionsAbnormalities in oscillatory responses to language were seen in pASD that are consistent with previous findings in ASD probands. Gamma-band responses to language stimuli have not previously been assessed in first-degree relatives of ASD probands and these findings are supportive of gamma-band activity as a heritable, neurophysiological biomarker of ASD. The possible relationship seen between language function and neural activity in the current study should be investigated further to assess if oscillatory response abnormalities may contribute to behavioural manifestations of the BAP.

The belief, in this study's predominantly European American community, that older adult suicide is triggered by health problems, together with favorable attitudes about older adult suicide, suggest an enabling older adult suicide script, with implications for suicide risk and prevention.

Friendship factors have been implicated in adolescent suicidality, but this relationship has not been verified across ethnicities. This study examined suicidality and friendship problems (i.e., social isolation, poor friendship quality, friends' school disconnection, and friends' delinquency) among Mexican-American adolescents, an understudied, vulnerable group in terms of suicidality. Three hundred thirty-eight community adolescents, two thirds of whom were educationally-at-risk, participated in the study. Suicidal ideation and behavior rates were high, particularly among girls. Friends' school disconnectedness increased girls' odds for suicidal ideation by 13%. This association was even greater for girls in good academic standing. Friendship problems were not associated with suicidality in boys. Ethnic identity was a minor factor in suicidal ideation, and only for girls. These findings confirm, among Mexican American adolescents, the role of gender in the relationship between friendship and suicidality.

This study's findings suggest an influence of adolescents' deviant friends on suicidality 3 years later. They also call for the cultural and gender grounding of suicide theory, research and prevention.

Research suggests a link between friendships and suicidality among U.S. youth but this link has not been confirmed across ethnicities. This study examined the relationship between friendships and suicidality among Mexican-and European-American adolescents. Specifically, the role of friendship problems (i.e., social isolation, poor quality friendships) and problematic friends (i.e., friends who were disconnected from school, delinquent friends) was explored. Participants were 648 community youth. Friends' school disconnection was related to Mexican-American girls' suicidal ideation while friends' delinquency was associated with European-American youth suicidal behavior. Friendship factors were no longer associated with suicidality after controlling for suicidality correlates such as depression. These findings indicate that the relationship between friendships and suicidality varies by gender and ethnicity. They also suggest a dominant role of depression.Suicidal thoughts and behaviors are a major health problem for youth in the United States (U.S.). According to the national Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YRBS) survey, 15% of students ages 14 to 18 report having "seriously considered" suicide in the past year, and 7% report having engaged 1 in suicidal behaviors one or more times in the past year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2008). Most studies (CDC, 2008;Locke & Newcomb, 2005;Tortolero & Roberts, 2001; but see Roberts, Roberts, & Xing, 2007, for an exception) found rates of suicidal ideation and/or nonfatal suicidal behavior among Hispanic youth to be higher than among non-Hispanic youth. Within Hispanic youth, rates of suicidality are particularly high among adolescents of Mexican-American descent (Canino & Roberts, 2001).Rates of suicidal ideation and nonfatal suicidal behavior differ by sex, with girls reporting significantly more of both. According to the YRBS survey, 19% of girls ages 14-18 report having seriously considered suicide, compared to 10% of boys; 9% of girls report nonfatal suicidal behavior, compared to 5% of boys (CDC, 2008). Sex-related differences in Address correspondence to Erin Winterrowd, Psychology Department, UW Oshkosh, 800 Algoma Blvd., Oshkosh, WI 54901 and winterre@uwosh.edu . 1 In this article, the terms "suicidal thoughts" and "suicidal ideation" are used to refer to the continuum of suicidal behavior from thoughts of suicide to making a suicidal plan. "Nonfatal suicidal behavior" is used to refer to suicidal acts in which a person survives. "Suicide" refers to death by suicidal behavior. Finally, the word "suicidality" is used to describe both suicidal thoughts and suicidal behaviors across lethality (see Canetto, 1997, for a review of suicide terminology). NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptSuicide Life Threat Behav. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 February 1. Much attention has been devoted to the role of psychopathology in adolescent suicidality. Less well explored are the interpersonal contexts of adolescent suicidal behavior, partic...