Lecture 22 Flashcards
What does autism spectrum disorder describe?
What are they characterized by?
A wide range of developmental disorders,
That are characterized by troubles with social interaction and communication and by restricted and repetitive behaviour
What is the incidence of autism?
1%
In every case of autism is there a clear cognitive impairment intellectual disability or reduced imaginative ability?
No
What are the first types of autism symptoms to emerge?
Social impairments
When do parents of autistic kids usually notice signs?
Within the first two or three years of their child’s life
How do autistic children react when they are picked up?
They arch their backs
Like intellectual disability, what does autism encompass?
A large set of disorders with diverse underlying causes
What is autism associated with?
A combination of genetic and environmental factors that affect early brain development
What is the heritability of autism?
For autism spectrum disorder?
70%
90%
What disorder has many cases that have been linked to spontaneous rare gene mutations that have severe effects?
What does this include?
Autism
Chromosomal abnormalities involving deletions, duplications or inversions of genetic material
What are cases of autism associated with or linked with?
Multigene interactions across common gene variants and maternal viral infections during pregnancy
What is true about people with autism and language/speech?
They have nonexistent language.
About a third to a half of individuals with autism do not develop enough natural speech to meet their daily communication needs
What is special about people with autism disorder:
in interests and behaviours?
in movemnts?
in behaviours?
They usually have atypical interests and behaviours
They show stereotyped movements: flapping their hand and back and forth or rocking back and forth
They exhibit compulsive or ritualistic behaviour
What do mild forms of autism do not include?
A delay in language development or the presence of important cognitive deficits
What do mild forms of autism mostly involve?
Deficient or absent social interactions and repetitive and stereotyped behaviours along with obsessional interest in narrow subjects
What are mild forms of autism usually called?
Asperger’s syndrome
Is autism more likely in females or males?
By how much?
It is more likely in males.
It is four times more common in males.
What is peculiar about why/is autism more likely in men?
In cases of autsim with high intellectual disability, the ration falls 2:1
In cases with high functioning autism, the ratio goes to 7:1
What is the heterogametic sex and the homogametic sex?
Heterogametic sex: XX (in humans, females)
Homogametic sex: XY (in humans, heterogametic sex)
What happens within species in relation to variability?
The heterogametic sex shoes slightly more variability on all kinds of traits
What is there in the development of the brains of autistic children?
There are significant abnormalities
What is special about the development of brain of autistic children?
They tend to have a slightly small brain at birth, but it grows abnormally fast and by 2-3 years of age is often about 10% larger than a normal brain, by adolescence is only about 1-2% larger than normal
What are the hypotheses for the cellular and molecular bases of early brain overgrowth for autism?
-altered neuronal migration during early gestation
-abnormal formation of synapses and dendritic spines
-over-connectivity in key brain regions
-unbalanced excitatory - inhibitory neural networks
What have fMRI studies on people with autism revealed?
marked abnormalities
What is the main goals of treating children with autism?
Lessen the impact of the associated deficits and family distress and increase quality of life/functional independance
What can help autistic children acquire self care, communication and life skills?
What can they do?
Intensive sustained special education programs and behaviour therapy early in life
They can improve functioning and decrease symptom severity and maladaptive behaviours
What do medications for autistic children do?
They don’t address core symptoms, but they help reduce the irritability, inattention and repetitive behaviours
What are the different types of medications for autistic children?
What do they do?
-anticonvulsants : increase gaba receptor activity
-antidepressants : increase serontonin receptor activity
-antipsychotics : decrease dopamine receptor activity
-stimulants: increase dopamine activity
What does affect refer to?
feelings or emotions
What are affective disorders (mood disorders) characterized by?
Disordered feeling
What is mood (affective) disorder?
serious mood disorder
What are the two principle types of mood disorders?
bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder
What is the prevalence of the diagnosis of depression?
7% in women
3% in men
What do severely depressed people usually feel?
Unworthy, hopeless and have strong feelings of guilt
What do people with mood disorders have a very high risk of?
Self harm and suicide
What is bipolar disorder?
What is it charecterized by?
How many people does it affect?
Serious mood disorder
Cyclical periods of mania and depression
1%
How much of bipolar disorder is attributed to genetics?
80%
What is major depressive disorder (MDD)?
A serious mood disorder that consists of unremitting depression or periods of depression
- that don’t alternate with periods of mania
What amount of the risk is attributed to genetics in MDD?
40%
What are environmental factors for mood disorders?
Traumatic/abusive childhoods
What are episodes of mania characterized by?
The sense of euphoria that does not seem to be justified by circumstances
What do people with mania exhibit?
Nonstop speech and motor activity
What are lithium salts and anticonvulsants commonly prescribed for?
Bipolar disorder
What is the most effective for treating the manic phase of bipolar disorder?
Lithium
What happens when mania is eliminated in bipolar?
Depression does not usually follow
Is the therapeutic effect of lithium slow or rapid?
Rapid
What are the several established and experimental biological treatments for major depressive disorder (MDD)?
- drugs that increase serotonin and/or norepinephrine signaling by inhibitingg their enzymatic breakdown or by blocking their reuptake
-ketamine
-electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
-deep brain stimulation
-transcranial magnetic stimulation
-vagus nerve stimulation
-bright light therapy (phototherapy)
-sleep deprivation
What inhibits the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine but also affects other neurotransmitters?
tricyclic antidepressant
What is a class of drugs that specifically inhibit the reuptake of serotonin without affecting the reuptake of other neurotransmitters?
What is the most common one?
Serontonin specific reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)
Prozac
What is an antidepressant drug that specifically inhibits reuptake of norepinephrine and serontonic without affecting reuptake of other neurotransmitters?
Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI)
What is monoamine hypothesis largely based on?
What is the idea?
The success of tricyclic and SSRI treatments.
Depression is caused by insufficent monoamine receptor activity
What is the molecular precursor to seontonin?
Tryptophan
What do the symptoms of depression generally not get relieved by?
dopamine receptor agonists
