What Underlies Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Posar, Annio; Visconti, Paola

doi:10.5152/turkarchpediatr.2022.22035

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…From a neuropsychological point of view, 3 main hypotheses have been developed to explain cognitive dysfunction in individuals with ASD. 35 First, failure of theory of mind refers to the inability to interpret the behaviors of others based on their feelings and beliefs and to identify their intentions and emotions, leading to social communication impairments. 36 , 37 Second, there is the hypothesis of a deficit of executive functions, which are a series of cognitive processes including attention, working memory, inhibitory control, planning, and cognitive flexibility that are crucial for adaptive behavior and social cognition skills.…”

Section: Neuropsychological Hypotheses About Autism Spectrum Disordermentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 41 This theory partly overlaps with what was mentioned above regarding the multimodal integration deficit and underlines once again the fact that, although visuospatial skills and attention to detail represent strengths in these subjects, when they have to integrate this type of stimuli with other types of stimuli, they may encounter great difficulty. 35 …”

Section: Neuropsychological Hypotheses About Autism Spectrum Disordermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Each of them is able to explain a part of the autistic symptomatology, but none is able to give a complete explanation. 35 …”

Section: Neuropsychological Hypotheses About Autism Spectrum Disordermentioning

confidence: 99%

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Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2023: A Challenge Still Open

2023

Turk Arch Pediatrics

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In this paper, we provide an update on autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including epidemiology, etiopathogenesis, clinical presentation, instrumental investigations, early signs, onset patterns, neuropsychological hypotheses, treatments, and long-term outcome. The prevalence of this condition has increased enormously over the last few decades. This increase prompted a search for possible environmental factors whose effects would add up to a genetic predisposition leading to the development of autism. But the genetic and environmental variables involved are extremely numerous, and conclusive data regarding the etiopathogenesis are still far away. Assuming that a well-defined etiology is still found today only in a minority of cases, numerous pathogenetic mechanisms have been hypothesized. Among these, we mention oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, alteration of the intestinal microbiota, immune dysregulation, and neuroinflammation. These pathogenetic mechanisms could alter epigenetic status and gene expression, finally leading to ASD. Inherent in the term spectrum is the great clinical heterogeneity of this condition, mainly due to the frequent comorbidity that characterizes it. The earlier the diagnosis is made and the earlier psychoeducational treatment begins, the better the prognosis. In this sense, the role of pediatricians can be decisive in making children with signs suggestive of autism undergo a specialist diagnostic course. The development of increasingly advanced cognitive-behavioral educational techniques has considerably improved the prognosis of affected individuals, even though only a small minority of them come off the autistic spectrum. Pharmacological therapies are used to treat comorbidities. During childhood, the most important prognostic factor for long-term outcome seems to be intellectual functioning.

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Section: Neuropsychological Hypotheses About Autism Spectrum Disordermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Neuropsychological Hypotheses About Autism Spectrum Disordermentioning

confidence: 99%

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Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2023: A Challenge Still Open

2023

Turk Arch Pediatrics

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“…ASD is characterized by challenges in social interaction, communication, repetitive behaviors, and sensory sensitivities [5]. Globally, ASD affects approximately 1 in 36 children and is more prevalent in males than females [6]. ASD is a spectrum disorder, displaying a wide range of symptom severity and presentation, making diagnosis a challenging task [7, 8, 9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiclass Classification of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Typically Developed Individuals Using fMRI Functional Connectivity Analysis

Alves,

Martinelli,

Sallum

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Neurodevelopmental conditions, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), present unique challenges due to overlapping symptoms, making an accurate diagnosis and targeted intervention difficult. Our study employs advanced machine learning techniques to analyze functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from individuals with ASD, ADHD, and typically developed (TD) controls, totaling 120 subjects in the study. Leveraging multiclass classification (ML) algorithms, we achieve superior accuracy in distinguishing between ASD, ADHD, and TD groups, surpassing existing benchmarks with an area under the ROC curve near 98%. Our analysis reveals distinct neural signatures associated with ASD and ADHD: individuals with ADHD exhibit altered connectivity patterns of regions involved in attention and impulse control, whereas those with ASD show disruptions in brain regions critical for social and cognitive functions. The observed connectivity patterns, on which the ML classification rests, agree with established diagnostic approaches based on clinical symptoms. Furthermore, complex network analyses highlight differences in brain network integration and segregation among the three groups. Our findings pave the way for refined, ML-enhanced diagnostics in accordance with established practices, offering a promising avenue for developing trustworthy clinical decision-support systems.

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“…Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a usually lifelong condition characterized by impairments in social communication skills as well as restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, the diagnosis of which is still based on clinical criteria. 1 , 2 In this paper, we report and discuss the lights and the shadows of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—Fifth Edition (DSM-5) as regards the diagnosis of ASD. 1…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%