Autism Spectrum Disorder and Early-Onset Psychoses

This chapter covers the profiles of difficulties in relating, to other people and the world, that are included in the international schemes of classification as spectra of autism, schizophrenia, and psychosis. In autism, there is a marked reduction in, or oddity of, social communication, and an increase of repetitive and stereotyped behaviours. In psychoses, including schizophrenia and catatonia, there is disordered testing of reality (resulting in hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized speech), and deficits in volition (involving apathy, social isolation, and lack of initiative). These are described as they present in children and young people, together with their prevalence and the coexistent problems of emotion and behaviour that occur frequently. The longitudinal course is considered up to the transition into adult life. Potential causes and pathophysiology are considered in so far as they apply specifically to these disorders.

THE FUNCTIONALITY PROFILE OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDERS (ASD) IN THE AZORES – COMMUNICATION, LEARNING AND AUTONOMY

Autism is a disorder of the neuro-development characterized by persistent difficulties in communication, cognitive processes, social interaction and also by restrict interests and repetitive and stereotyped behaviours. Regarding to the vision of Universal Design for Learning(UDL), the educational approach should enhance not only the academic acquisitions but also the prognosis of the evolution of the clinical condition and of the functionality of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Thus, it was considered important to know the perspective of educators / teachers and parents / guardians for the 121 children with ASD who participated in this study.These children, aged 3-11 years old, live in the Azores (ARA) and are enrolled in kindergarten and in primary schools.Data were collected with a questionnaire (educators/teachers) and in an interview (parents/caretakers). Results suggest that there are different perspectives between the two groups, with educators/teachers viewing the functionality profile of these children as being more aggravated. These differences are statistically significant, especially in terms of the functionalities assessed by the items of communication and learning. The analysis of these different perspectives evidences the importance of the communication between these educational providers regarding the work developed by them.

Profiles of stereotyped behaviour in people with combined sensory impairments and intellectual disabilities

Stereotyped and repetitive behaviours are characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but also occur in individuals with combined intellectual and sensory disabilities. This article looked at the differences in type, frequency, and duration of stereotyped behaviours between individuals with and without ASD in this population. The study included 59 individuals with intellectual disabilities and sensory impairments. The presence of ASD was assessed using Observation of Autism in people with Sensory and Intellectual Disabilities (OASID). Separate from these assessments, video recordings were scored by observers naive to the ASD status of participants for stereotyped and repetitive behaviours. Stereotyped and repetitive behaviours were more prevalent in participants with ASD, though a large proportion of participants without ASD showed them too. Participants with ASD showed, on average, more frequent and in duration longer stereotyped and repetitive behaviours, especially self-injurious behaviours. No differences were found for vocal, motoric, and stereotyped behaviours with objects. The mean duration of each episode of stereotyped behaviour did not differ between groups. Cluster analysis revealed a distinct group of individuals without ASD who showed a high number of stereotyped behaviours.

Autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by social communication deficits, impaired social interaction, and restricted and stereotyped behaviours and interests. The typical onset is during early childhood. Behaviourally, people with ASD have difficulties in tolerating proximity. Insecure attachment is frequently observed. At the cognitive level, people with ASD have selective difficulties in mentalizing or ‘theory of mind’, possibly related to a dysfunctional mirror neuron system and alterations of the oxytocin system. Conversely, many with ASD (particularly those formerly diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome) have superior technical skills. It has been hypothesized that the brains of individuals with ASD are skewed to maleness, possibly linked to genomic imprinting of paternal genes. The preservation of genes that predispose to ASD may have undergone sexual selection fostering ‘slow’ life-history strategies. None of the evolutionary hypotheses on ASD is conclusive so far, but open to empirical testing.

Hyperactivity induced by the dopamine D2/D3 receptor agonist quinpirole is attenuated by inhibitors of endocannabinoid degradation in mice

The present study was designed to investigate the effect of pharmacological inhibition of endocannabinoid degradation on behavioural actions of the dopamine D2/D3 receptor agonist quinpirole in male C57Bl/6J mice. In addition, we studied the effects of endocannabinoid degradation inhibition on both cocaine-induced psychomotor activation and behavioural sensitization. We analysed the effects of inhibition of the two main endocannabinoid degradation enzymes: fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), using inhibitor URB597 (1 mg/kg); monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL), using inhibitor URB602 (10 mg/kg). Administration of quinpirole (1 mg/kg) caused a temporal biphasic response characterized by a first phase of immobility (0–50 min), followed by enhanced locomotion (next 70 min) that was associated with the introduction of stereotyped behaviours (stereotyped jumping and rearing). Pretreatment with both endocannabinoid degradation inhibitors did not affect the hypoactivity actions of quinpirole. However, this pretreatment resulted in a marked decrease in quinpirole-induced locomotion and stereotyped behaviours. Administration of FAAH or MAGL inhibitors did not attenuate the acute effects of cocaine. Furthermore, these inhibitors did not impair the acquisition of cocaine-induced behavioural sensitization or the expression of cocaine-induced conditioned locomotion. Only MAGL inhibition attenuated the expression of an already acquired cocaine-induced behavioural sensitization. These results suggest that pharmacological inhibition of endocannabinoid degradation might exert a negative feedback on D2/D3 receptor-mediated hyperactivity. This finding might be relevant for therapeutic approaches for either psychomotor disorders (dyskinesia, corea) or disorganized behaviours associated with dopamine-mediated hyperactivity.