Neurodevelopmental disorders Flashcards
What is autism?
Persistent and pervasive deficits in initiating and sustaining social communication and reciprocal social interactions
What is autism accompanied by?
restricted, repetitive, and inflexible patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities
Typical onset of autism?
occurs during the developmental period, typically in early childhood, but characteristic symptoms may not become fully manifest until later, when social demands exceed limited capacities.
Symptoms of autism result in impairment to what areas of the patients functioning?
personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning.
Some individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder are able to function adequately in many contexts through exceptional effort meaning that deficits may not be apparent to others. True/false?
True
All people with autism have an intellectual disability. true/false?
false
Percentage of autism patients with ID varies depending on source. Some say 60-70% whilst others say 30%.
What is the prevalence of autism in the UK?
At least 1% of the UK population is autistic - around 700,000
What is the risk of autism being inherited?
74-93%
Once a child is diagnosed with autism. There is a 7-20% chance that the subsequent child will have autism too. true/false?
True
Is autism polygenic?
Yes
Highly polygenic
What do genes associated with ASD tend to control?
protein synthesis in neuronal cells in response to cell needs
activity and adhesion of neuronal cells
synapse formation and remodeling
excitatory to inhibitory neurotransmitter balance
Autistic people’s brains tend to have underexpressed GABA and overexpressed genes for astrocytes and microglia (increased on post-mortem studies). true/false?
True
What are some disorders typically associated with autism?
Tuberous Sclerosis (40-50% will have ASD)
Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (40%)
Fragile X (33%)
Down Syndrome (18%)
What are some risks of the child having ASD during period of pregnancy?
Maternal gestational diabetes
Parental age over 30
Bleeding in pregnancy after 1st trim
VALPROATE IN PREGNANCY (AVOID)
Meconium in the amniotic fluid
Vitamin D deficiency during development
Maternal rubella/CMV infection
<35 weeks gestational age
What specific areas of the brain are affected in ASD?
Fusiform Face Area on the inferior temporal cortex – involved in facial recognition (and other objects too). Facial (and object) recognition is slower to acquire in autistic children.
Limbic system – smaller, more densely packed neurones. This area is involved in emotional and memory processing.
Where does the limbic system lie?
Border separating the diencephalon and the cerebral cortex