| 1. |
- Gillberg, I Carina, 1949, et al.
(författare)
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Boys with Asperger Syndrome Grow Up: Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Disorders 20Years After Initial Diagnosis.
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1573-3432 .- 0162-3257. ; 46:1, s. 74-82
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We examined comorbid psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders in fifty adult males (mean age 30years) with Asperger syndrome (AS) diagnosed in childhood and followed up prospectively for almost two decades (13-26years). Only three of the 50 men had never met criteria for an additional psychiatric/neurodevelopmental diagnosis and more than half had ongoing comorbidity (most commonly either ADHD or depression or both). Any psychiatric comorbidity increased the risk of poorer outcome. The minority of the AS group who no longer met criteria for a full diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder were usually free of current psychiatric comorbidity. The high rate of psychiatric/neurodevelopmental comorbidities underscores the need for a full psychiatric/neurodevelopmental assessment at follow-up of males with AS.
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| 2. |
- Hadjikhani, Nouchine, 1966, et al.
(författare)
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Emotional contagion for pain is intact in autism spectrum disorders.
- 2014
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Ingår i: Translational psychiatry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2158-3188. ; 4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Perceiving others in pain generally leads to empathic concern, consisting of both emotional and cognitive processes. Empathy deficits have been considered as an element contributing to social difficulties in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and short video clips of facial expressions of people experiencing pain to examine the neural substrates underlying the spontaneous empathic response to pain in autism. Thirty-eight adolescents and adults of normal intelligence diagnosed with ASD and 35 matched controls participated in the study. In contrast to general assumptions, we found no significant differences in brain activation between ASD individuals and controls during the perception of pain experienced by others. Both groups showed similar levels of activation in areas associated with pain sharing, evidencing the presence of emotional empathy and emotional contagion in participants with autism as well as in controls. Differences between groups could be observed at a more liberal statistical threshold, and revealed increased activations in areas involved in cognitive reappraisal in ASD participants compared with controls. Scores of emotional empathy were positively correlated with brain activation in areas involved in embodiment of pain in ASD group only. Our findings show that simulation mechanisms involved in emotional empathy are preserved in high-functioning individuals with autism, and suggest that increased reappraisal may have a role in their apparent lack of caring behavior.
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| 3. |
- Helles, Adam, et al.
(författare)
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Asperger syndrome in childhood – personality dimensions in adult life: temperament, character and outcome trajectories
- 2016
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Ingår i: BJPsych Open. - : Royal College of Psychiatrists. - 2056-4724. ; 2:3, s. 210-216
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Temperament and character have been shown to be important factors in understanding psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorder. Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have repeatedly been shown to have a distinct temperament and character, but this has not been evaluated in relation to psychiatric comorbidity and ASD diagnostic stability. Aims To examine temperament and character in males that were diagnosed with ASD in childhood and followed prospectively over almost two decades. Method Temperament and character were assessed in 40 adult males with a childhood diagnosis of ASD. Results were analysed by the stability of ASD diagnosis over time and current psychiatric comorbidity. Results Three distinct temperament and character profiles emerged from the data. Those no longer meeting criteria for ASD had high reward dependence while those with a stable ASD diagnosis and psychiatric comorbidity showed elevated harm avoidance and low self-directedness and cooperativeness. Finally, those with a stable ASD and no comorbidity showed low novelty seeking and somewhat elevated harm avoidance. Conclusions Temperament and character are important factors correlated with long-term diagnostic stability and psychiatric comorbidity in males diagnosed with ASD in childhood.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Helles, Adam, et al.
(författare)
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Asperger syndrome in males over two decades: Quality of life in relation to diagnostic stability and psychiatric comorbidity
- 2017
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Ingår i: Autism. - : SAGE Publications. - 1362-3613 .- 1461-7005. ; 21:4, s. 458-469
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study examined objective quality of life (work, academic success, living situation, relationships, support system) and subjective quality of life (Sense of Coherence and Short-Form Health Survey-36) in an adult sample of males (n=50, mean age: 30years) with Asperger syndrome diagnosed in childhood and followed prospectively over two decades. The association between long-term diagnostic stability of an autism spectrum disorder and/or comorbid psychiatric disorders with quality of life was also examined. The results showed great variability as regards quality of life. The subsample that no longer fulfilled an autism spectrum disorder had full-time jobs or studies (10/11), independent living (100%), and reported having two or more friends (100%). In the stable autism spectrum disorder group, 41% had full-time job or studies, 51% lived independently, and 33% reported two or more friends, and a significant minority had specialized employments, lived with support from the government, or had no friends. Academic success was positively correlated with IQ. A majority of the total group scored average Sense of Coherence scores, and the mean for Short-Form Health Survey-36 was above average regarding psychical health and below average regarding mental health. Stability of autism spectrum disorder diagnosis was associated with objective but not subjective quality of life, while psychiatric comorbidity was associated with subjective but not objective quality of life.
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| 6. |
- Helles, Adam, et al.
(författare)
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Asperger syndrome in males over two decades: stability and predictors of diagnosis.
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines. - : Wiley. - 1469-7610 .- 0021-9630. ; 56:6, s. 711-718
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To examine the diagnostic stability of a childhood diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome (AS) into adulthood in a prospective longitudinal study, and identify the predictors of stability. METHODS: One hundred males with AS diagnosed in childhood (T0) according to Gillberg's AS criteria, were followed up prospectively into adulthood over an average of 19 years (range 13-26 years). Fifty males (mean age 30 years) participated in this second follow-up (T2) of the cohort. Seventy-six had participated in a previous follow-up (T1) at mean age 22 years (47 participated in both follow-ups). Diagnosis at T2 was assessed using three sets of diagnostic criteria (Gillberg's AS criteria, DSM-IV Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) and DSM-5 Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) criteria) and compared to previous assessments. Background predictors of diagnostic stability were analyzed. General functioning at T2 was assessed and compared to T1. RESULTS: There was a decline in the stability of AS diagnosis over time, the rate dropping from 82% at T1 to 44% at T2, when using the Gillberg criteria. There was also a significant decrease in the rate of cases fulfilling any PDD diagnosis according to the DSM-IV, from 91% at T1 to 76% at T2 in the 47 cases followed up twice. Severity of autism spectrum symptoms at T1 was the main predictor of diagnostic stability at T2. Twenty percent of those meeting criteria for a PDD diagnosis according to DSM-IV, did not meet DSM-5 ASD criteria although they had marked difficulties in everyday life. CONCLUSION: Asperger Syndrome, when considered as an ASD/PDD diagnosis, was fairly stable into adulthood, but there was a significant increase over time in cases no longer meeting criteria for an ASD diagnosis according to the DSM-IV, or AS according to the Gillberg criteria. Cases with a stable diagnosis showed significantly more core ASD symptoms in adolescence/young adulthood.
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| 7. |
- Zürcher, Nicole R, et al.
(författare)
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Perception of social cues of danger in autism spectrum disorders.
- 2013
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Ingår i: PloS one. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 8:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Intuitive grasping of the meaning of subtle social cues is particularly affected in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Despite their relevance in social communication, the effect of averted gaze in fearful faces in conveying a signal of environmental threat has not been investigated using real face stimuli in adults with ASD. Here, using functional MRI, we show that briefly presented fearful faces with averted gaze, previously shown to be a strong communicative signal of environmental danger, produce different patterns of brain activation than fearful faces with direct gaze in a group of 26 normally intelligent adults with ASD compared with 26 matched controls. While implicit cue of threat produces brain activation in attention, emotion processing and mental state attribution networks in controls, this effect is absent in individuals with ASD. Instead, individuals with ASD show activation in the subcortical face-processing system in response to direct eye contact. An effect of differences in looking behavior was excluded in a separate eye tracking experiment. Our data suggest that individuals with ASD are more sensitive to direct eye contact than to social signals of danger conveyed by averted fearful gaze.
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