Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T12:22:23.578Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Autistic spectrum disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

Brian P Hallahan  and
Kieran C Murphy
Brian P Hallahan
Affiliation:
Beaumont Hospital and Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin 2, Ireland
Kieran C Murphy
Affiliation:
Beaumont Hospital and Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin 2, Ireland
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Autistic spectrum disorders (ASD), are a group of disorders characterised by qualitative abnormalities in social and emotional behaviour and are associated with restricted, stereotyped and repetitive interests and activities. There has been considerable understanding of ASD in recent years. This educational review paper focuses on four areas of interest and relevance to trainees preparing for the membership examination of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (MRCPsych): (a) diagnosing ASD; (b) epidemiology of ASD; (c) aetiology, including genetic, cognitive and neurochemical/neuropathological theories in ASD; and (d) treatment of ASD. Relevant papers are discussed and recommendations for further reading are provided.

Keywords

Autism spectrum disordersCognitive theoriesGeneticsNeuroanatomyTherapeutics
Type
Educational Review
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , December 2005 , pp. 137 - 142
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References

1.World Health Organisation. The ICD-10 classification for mental and behavioural disorders: clinical description and diagnostic guidelines. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO, 1992.Google Scholar
2.American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 1994.Google Scholar
3.Rimland, B, Fein, D. Special talents of autistic savants. In: The exceptional brain, ed. Obier, LK, & Fein, D, New York: Guildford, 1988.Google Scholar
4.Hermelin, B. Bright splinters of the mind. A personal story of research with autism savants. London: Jessica Kingsley, 2002.Google Scholar
5.Kanner, L. Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child 1943; 2: 217–250.Google Scholar
6.Asperger, H. ‘Autistic psychopathy’ in childhood, in Autism and Asperger syndrome (ed. Frith, U), pp. 37–92. Cambridge University Press, 1944.Google Scholar
7.Wing, L. Asperger's syndrome: a clinical account. Psychol Med 1981; 11: 115–129.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Baird, Get al.A screening instrument for autism at 18 months of age: a 6 year follow-up study. J Am Acad Child Adolescent Psychiatry 2000; 39, 694–702.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Chakrabarti, S, Fombonne, E. Pervasive developmental disorders in preschool children: confirmation of high prevalence. Am J Psychiatry 2005; 162: 1133–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Volkman, FR. Medical Problems, Treatments, and Professionals. In: Powers, MD, ed. Children with Autism: A Parent's Guide, Second Ed. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, 2000.Google Scholar
11.Russell, AJ, Mataix-Cols, D, Anson, M, Murphy, DG. Obsessions and compulsions in Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism. Br J Psychiatry 2005; 186: 525–528.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Piven, J, Landa, R, Gayle, J, Cloud, D, Chase, G, Folstein, S. Psychiatric disorders in the parents of autistic individuals. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1991; 30: 471–478CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Piven, J, Palmer, P. Psychiatric disorder and the broad autism phenotype: evidence from a family study of multiple-incidence autism families Am J Psychiatry 1999; 156: 557–563.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14.Chakrabarti, S, Fombonne, E. Pervasive developmental disorders in preschool children. JAMA 2001; 285.Google ScholarPubMed
15.Fombonne, E. The prevalence of autism. JAMA 2003; 289: 87–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16.Bettelheim, B. The empty fortress: infantile autism and the birth of self. New York: The Free Press, 1967.Google Scholar
17.Bailey, Aet al.Autism as a strongly genetic disorder: evidence from a British twin study. Psycho Med 1995; 25: 63–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18.Jorde, Let al.Complex segregation analysis of autism. Am J Hum Genet 1991; 49: 932–938.Google ScholarPubMed
19.Ashley-Koch, Aet al.Genetic studies of autistic disorder and chromosome 7. Genomics 1999; 61: 227–236.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20.Vincent, JBet al.Identification of a novel gene on chromosome 7q31 that is interrupted by a translocation breakpoint in an autistic individual. Am J Hum Genet 2000; 67: 510–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21.Santangelo, SL, Tsatsanis, K, Risk factors for autism: genes, brain, and behavior. Am J Pharmacogenomics. 2005; 5: 71–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22.Baron-Cohen, S, Tager-Flusberg, H, Cohen, DJ. Understanding other minds. Perspectives from cognitive neuroscience. Oxford University Press, 2000.Google Scholar
23.Castelli, F, Frith, C, Happé, F, Frith, U. Autism, Asperger syndrome and brain mechanisms for the attribution of mental states to animated shapes. Brain 2002; 125: 1839–1849CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24.Russell, J. Autism as an executive disorder. Oxford University Press, 1997.Google Scholar
25.Murphy, DGet al.Asperger syndrome: a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study of the brain. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2002; 59: 885–891.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26.Hill, EL, Frith, U. Understanding autism: insights from mind and brain. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2003; 28: 281–289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27.Happé, F. Autism: cognitive deficit or cognitive style? Trends Cogn Sci 1999; 3: 299–307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
28.Schain, RJ, Freedman, DX. Studies on 5-hydroxyindole metabolism in autistic and other mentally retarded children. J Pediatr 1961; 58: 315–320.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
29.McDougle, CJet al.Effects of tryptophan depletion in drug-free adults with autistic disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1996; 53: 993–1000.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
30.Chugani, DCet al.Developmental changes in brain serotonin synthesis capacity in autistic and nonautistic children. Annu Neurol 1999; 45: 287–295.3.0.CO;2-9>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
31.Hollander, Eet al.A placebo controlled crossover trial of liquid fluoxetine on repetitive behaviors in childhood and adolescent autism. Neuropsychopharmacology 2005;30:582–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
32.Veenstra-Vanderweele, J, Christian, SL, Cook, EH Jr, Autism as a paradigmatic complex genetic disorder. Annu Rev Genomics Hum Genet 2004; 5: 379–405.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
33.Murphy, DGMet al. Cortical 5-HT2A receptor binding and social communication in adults with Asperger syndrome; an in vivo SPET study Am J Psychiatry 2005 (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
34.Fombonne, E, Roge, B, Claverie, J, Courty, S, Fremolle, J. Microcephaly and macrocephaly in autism, J Autism Dev Disord 1999; 29:113–119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
35.Bailey, A, Phillips, W, Rutter, M. Autism: towards an integration of clinical, genetic, neuropsychological, and neurobiological perspectives. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 1996 37: 89–126.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
36.Courchesne, E, Carper, R, Akshoomoff, N. Evidence of brain overgrowth in the first year of life in autism. JAMA 2003; 16: 337–344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
37.Carper, RA, Moses, P, Tigue, ZD, Courchesne, E. Cerebral lobes in autism: early hyperplasia and abnormal age effects. Neuroimage 2002; 4: 1038–1051.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
38.Sparks, BFet al.Brain structural abnormalities in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Neurology 2002; 59: 184–192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
39.McAlonan, GMet al.Brain anatomy and sensorimotor gating in Asperger's syndrome. Brain 2002; 125: 1594–1606.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
40.Deruelle, C, Rondan, C, Gepner, B, Tardif, C. Spatial frequency and face processing in children with autism and Asperger syndrome, J Autism Dev Disord 2004 34: 199–210.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
41.Grelotti, D, Gauthier, I, Schultz, RT. Social interest and the development of cortical face specialization: what autism teaches us about face processing, Dev Psychobiol 2002; 40: 213–225.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
42.Boucher, J, Lewis, V. Unfamiliar face recognition in relatively able autistic children, J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry 1992; 33: 843–859.Google Scholar
43.Davies, S, Bishop, D, Manstead, ASR, Tantam, D. Face perception in children with autism and Asperger's syndrome, J. Child Psychol Psychiatry 1994; 35: 1033–1057.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
44.Hauck, M, Fein, D, Maltby, N. Memory for faces in children with autism. Child Neuropsychol 1999; 4: 187–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
45.Haxby, JVet al.The functional organization of human extrastriate cortex: a PET-rCBF study of selective attention to faces and locations. J Neurosci 1994; 14: 6336–6353.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
46.Haxby, JVet al.The effect of face inversion on activity in human neural systems for face and object perception. Neuron 1999; 22: 189–199.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
47.Kanwisher, N, McDermott, J, Chun, MM. The fusiform face area: a module in human extrastriate cortex specialized for face perception, J Neurosci 1997; 17: 4302–4311.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
48.Schultz, RTet al.Abnormal ventral temporal cortical activity during face discrimination among individuals with autism and Asperger syndrome. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2000; 57: 331–340.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
49.Lord, C, Rutter, M, Le Couteur, A. Autism diagnostic interview-revised: A revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 1994; 24: 659–685.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
50.Lord, Cet al.The autism diagnostic observation schedule-generic: A standard measure of social and communication deficits associated with the spectrum of autism. J Autism Dev Disord 2000; 30: 205–223CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
51.de Bildt, Aet al.Interrelationship between Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Generic (ADOS-G), Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) classification in children and adolescents with mental retardation. J Autism Dev Disord 2004 34: 129–37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
52.Lovaas, OI. 1987. Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual functioning in young autistic children. J Consult Clin Psychol 1987; 55, 3–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
53.McEachin, JJ, Smith, T, Lovaas, OI. Long-term outcome for children with autism who received early intensive behavioural treatment. Am J Ment Retardation 1993; 97: 359–372.Google Scholar
54.Smith, T, Eikeseth, S, Klevstrand, M, Lovaas, OI. Intensive behavioral treatment for preschoolers with severe mental retardation and pervasive developmental disorder. Am J Ment Retard 1997; 102: 238–249.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
55.Howlin, P. The evidence base for psychological therapies for autism. Society for the Study of Behavioural Phenotypes 9th International Symposium, Cairns, Australia, 2005.Google Scholar
56.McDougle, CJet al.A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of risperidone in adults with autistic disorder and other pervasive developmental disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1998; 55: 633–641.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
57.McCracken, JTet al, for Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology Autism Network. Risperidone in children with autism and serious behavioral problems. N Engl J Med 2002;347:314–321.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
58.Shea, Set al.Risperidone in the treatment of disruptive behavioral symptoms in children with autistic and other pervasive developmental disorders. Pediatrics 2004; 114: 634–641.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
59.Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology Autism Network. Risperidone Treatment of Autistic Disorder: Longer-Term benefits and blinded discontinuation after 6 months. Am J Psychiatry 2005; 162: 1361–1369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
60.McDougle, CJet al.A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of fluvoxamine in adults with autistic disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1996; 53: 1001–1008.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
1.American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 1994.Google Scholar
2.Russell, AJ, Mataix-Cols, D, Anson, M, Murphy, DG. Obsessions and compulsions in Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism. Brit J Psychiatry 2005; 186: 525–528. Cognitive Theories in ASDCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
1.Hill, EL, Frith, U. Understanding autism: insights from mind and brain. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences 2003; 28: 281–289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1.Courchesne, E, Carper, R, Akshoomoff, N. Evidence of brain overgrowth in the first year of life in autism. JAMA 2003; 16: 337–344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Schultz, RT, Gauthier, I, Klin, Aet al.Abnormal ventral temporal cortical activity during face discrimination among individuals with autism and Asperger syndrome. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2000; 57: 331–340CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
1.McDougle, CJ, Homes, JO, Carlson, DC, Pelton, GH, Cohen, DJ, Price, LH. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of risperidone in adults with autistic disorder and other pervasive developmental disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1998; 55: 633–641.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Hollander, E, Anagnostou, E, Chaplin, Wet al.Striatal volume on magnetic resonance imaging and repetitive behaviors in autism. Biol Psychiatry 2005; 58: 226–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed