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Pediatrics in Review Nov 2011
Review
Topics: Asperger Syndrome; Child; Early Intervention, Educational; Humans
PubMed: 22045896
DOI: 10.1542/pir.32-11-481 -
Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria (Sao... May 2006Autism and Asperger syndrome are diagnostic entities in a family of neurodevelopmental disorders disrupting fundamental processes of socialization, communication and... (Review)
Review
Autism and Asperger syndrome are diagnostic entities in a family of neurodevelopmental disorders disrupting fundamental processes of socialization, communication and learning, collectively known as pervasive developmental disorders. This group of conditions is among the most common developmental disorders, affecting 1 in every 200 or so individuals. They are also the most strongly genetically related among developmental disorders, with recurrence risks within sibships of the order of 2 to 15% if a broader definition of affectedness is adopted. Their early onset, symptom profile, and chronicity implicate fundamental biological mechanisms involved in social adaptation. Advances in their understanding are leading to a new social neuroscience perspective of normative socialization processes and specific disruptions thereof. These processes may lead to the emergence of the highly heterogeneous phenotypes associated with autism, the paradigmatic pervasive developmental disorder, and its variants. This overview focuses on the history, nosology, and the clinical and associated features of the two most well-known pervasive developmental disorders - autism and Asperger syndrome.
Topics: Asperger Syndrome; Autistic Disorder; Humans
PubMed: 16791390
DOI: 10.1590/s1516-44462006000500002 -
Ryoikibetsu Shokogun Shirizu 2003
Review
Topics: Asperger Syndrome; Communication; Female; Humans; Male
PubMed: 14503333
DOI: No ID Found -
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback Mar 2010This paper reviews the symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome (AS), a disorder along the autism continuum, and highlights research findings with an emphasis on brain... (Review)
Review
This paper reviews the symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome (AS), a disorder along the autism continuum, and highlights research findings with an emphasis on brain differences. Existing theories concerning AS are described, including theory of mind (Hill and Frith in Phil Trans Royal Soc Lond, Bull 358:281-289, 2003), mirror neuron system (Ramachandran and Oberman in Sci Am 295(5):62-69, 2006), and Porges' (Ann N Y Acad Sci 1008:31-47, 2003, The neurobiology of autism, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2004) polyvagal theory. (A second paper, Outcomes using EEG Biofeedback Training in Clients with Asperger's Syndrome, summarizes clinical outcomes obtained with more than 150 clients.) Patterns seen with QEEG assessment are then presented. Single channel assessment at the vertex (CZ) reveals patterns similar to those found in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Using 19-channel data, significant differences (z-scores > 2) were found in the amplitude of both slow waves (excess theta and/or alpha) and fast waves (beta) at various locations. Differences from the norm were most often found in mirror neuron areas (frontal, temporal and temporal-parietal). There were also differences in coherence patterns, as compared to a normative database (Neuroguide). Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography Analysis (Pascual-Marqui et al. in Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol 24C:91-95, 2002) suggested the source of the abnormal activity was most often the anterior cingulate. Other areas involved included the amygdala, uncus, insula, hippocampal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, and the orbito-frontal and/or ventromedial areas of the prefrontal cortex. Correspondence between symptoms and the functions of the areas found to have abnormalities is evident and those observations are used to develop a rationale for using EEG biofeedback, called neurofeedback (NFB), intervention. NFB training is targeted to improve symptoms that include difficulty reading and mirroring emotions, poor attention to the outside world, poor self-regulation skills, and anxiety. Porges' polyvagal theory is used to emphasize the need to integrate NFB with biofeedback (BFB), particularly heart rate variability training. We term this emerging understanding the Systems Theory of Neural Synergy. The name underscores the fact that NFB and BFB influence dynamic circuits and emphasizes that, no matter where we enter the nervous system with an intervention, it will seek its own new balance and equilibrium.
Topics: Asperger Syndrome; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Autistic Disorder; Biofeedback, Psychology; Brain; Electroencephalography; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging
PubMed: 19568927
DOI: 10.1007/s10484-009-9095-0 -
Consciousness and Cognition Dec 2005In this paper, we attempt to make a distinction between egocentrism and allocentrism in social cognition, based on the distinction that is made in visuo-spatial... (Review)
Review
In this paper, we attempt to make a distinction between egocentrism and allocentrism in social cognition, based on the distinction that is made in visuo-spatial perception. We propose that it makes a difference to mentalizing whether the other person can be understood using an egocentric ("you") or an allocentric ("he/she/they") stance. Within an egocentric stance, the other person is represented in relation to the self. By contrast, within an allocentric stance, the existence or mental state of the other person needs to be represented as independent from the self. We suggest here that people with Asperger syndrome suffer from a disconnection between a strong naïve egocentric stance and a highly abstract allocentric stance. We argue that the currently used distinction between first-person and third-person perspective-taking is orthogonal to the distinction between an egocentric and an allocentric stance and therefore cannot serve as a critical test of allocentrism.
Topics: Asperger Syndrome; Brain; Cognition Disorders; Humans; Self Concept; Social Perception; Space Perception
PubMed: 15996486
DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2005.04.006 -
Scientific Reports Oct 2023Subjects with Asperger's syndrome without intellectual disabilities have significant difficulties in establishing social relationships despite their IQ being within the...
Subjects with Asperger's syndrome without intellectual disabilities have significant difficulties in establishing social relationships despite their IQ being within the normal range. One of the effects of social deficit is depression. The question arises whether loneliness and dimensions of meaning in life correlate with the severity of depression and whether the average severity of depression, loneliness and dimensions of meaning in life differentiate the following groups: people with Asperger's syndrome and depression, people with Asperger's syndrome without depression, people with depression without Asperger's syndrome and healthy subjects. The study was conducted on a total of 170 people, including: 43 people with Asperger's syndrome and depression, 41 people with Asperger's syndrome without depression, 40 people with depression without Asperger's syndrome and 46 healthy people (without Asperger's syndrome and without depression). All were administered a demographic survey, Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, Life Attitude Profile-Revised. Asperger's syndrome and depressive episodes were diagnosed on the basis of ICD-10 research criteria still applicable in Poland. In the group with Asperger's syndrome and depression the highest levels of loneliness and the lowest values of the dimensions of the sense of meaning in life, except for the acceptance of death, were observed. This result was significantly different from the results obtained in the other study groups. Both in people with Asperger's syndrome without depression and in people with depression without Asperger's syndrome, the values of the dimensions of the sense of meaning in life and the level of loneliness differ significantly from the results obtained in the control group. The BDI-II scores correlated positively with the loneliness values and negatively with the sense of meaning in life values in all groups. The results indicate that both suffering from depression and having Asperger's syndrome are associated with an increased sense of loneliness and a reduced sense of meaning in life. People with Asperger's syndrome and depression have the highest values of loneliness and the lowest values of dimensions of the sense of meaning of life compared to the other groups studied. The limitation of the work is the deliberate selection of groups, because it would be interesting to answer the question whether Asperger's syndrome is a risk factor for depression in the population.
Topics: Humans; Asperger Syndrome; Pilot Projects; Loneliness; Interpersonal Relations; International Classification of Diseases
PubMed: 37838751
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43826-z -
Psychiatria Polska 2010In recent years in the face of still growing number of diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorders there has been an increase in number of research in the functioning... (Review)
Review
In recent years in the face of still growing number of diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorders there has been an increase in number of research in the functioning of family of children with autism or Asperger's Syndrome. Studies concerning families of children with autism have been predominantly occupied with the stress-coping strategies and also with the therapeutic effect of interaction between disabled children and the rest of the family. New studies with families of children with Asperger's Syndrome, apart from the coping styles of parents and the received support, are also examining the properties of the system of these families, like: cohesion, adaptability, organisation, control, expressiveness or conflict. Such a perspective enables researchers to describe the circularity of influences in these families, on the other hand, however, some methodological deficiencies of this research, as well as the lack of longitudinal studies prevent researchers from creating a comprehensive picture of functioning of these families.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Asperger Syndrome; Child; Child Care; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Language Development; Parent-Child Relations; Parenting; Parents; Social Behavior; Social Environment; Social Support
PubMed: 21452506
DOI: No ID Found -
Clinical Neurophysiology : Official... Jan 2016This study investigated differences in the EEG power and coherence of children with Asperger's Syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
This study investigated differences in the EEG power and coherence of children with Asperger's Syndrome.
METHOD
Twenty boys with Asperger's Syndrome, aged 7-12 years, and an age and sex matched control group, participated in this study. The EEG was recorded during an eyes-closed resting condition from 19 electrode sites, which were clustered into nine regions prior to analysis. One minute of trace was analysed using Fourier transformations to obtain both absolute and relative power estimates in the delta, theta, alpha and beta frequency bands. Wave-shape coherence was calculated for 8 intrahemispheric and 8 interhemispheric electrode pairs.
RESULTS
The Asperger's group had a global increase in absolute delta and an anterior increase in relative delta. Both absolute and relative theta were globally increased and relative alpha was globally decreased. Subjects with Asperger's Syndrome exhibited a broad pattern of reduced hemispheric asymmetry in intrahemispheric coherence. Reduced anterior interhemispheric coherence in the alpha and beta bands was also found in the Asperger's Syndrome group.
CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest the existence of frontal lobe abnormalities in children with Asperger's Syndrome, and possible abnormalities in normal CNS maturational processes.
SIGNIFICANCE
This is the first major study to investigate EEG power and coherence anomalies in children with Asperger's Syndrome.
Topics: Asperger Syndrome; Child; Electroencephalography; Female; Humans; Male
PubMed: 26187351
DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2015.05.015 -
Tidsskrift For Den Norske Laegeforening... Mar 2011
Topics: Asperger Syndrome; Humans
PubMed: 21423300
DOI: 10.4045/tidsskr.10.1381 -
Pediatric Annals Jan 2009
Topics: Asperger Syndrome; Autistic Disorder; Biomedical Research; Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; Prognosis
PubMed: 19213291
DOI: 10.3928/00904481-20090101-01