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      Hypermasculinised facial morphology in boys and girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder and its association with symptomatology

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          Abstract

          Elevated prenatal testosterone exposure has been associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and facial masculinity. By employing three-dimensional (3D) photogrammetry, the current study investigated whether prepubescent boys and girls with ASD present increased facial masculinity compared to typically-developing controls. There were two phases to this research. 3D facial images were obtained from a normative sample of 48 boys and 53 girls (3.01–12.44 years old) to determine typical facial masculinity/femininity. The sexually dimorphic features were used to create a continuous ‘gender score’, indexing degree of facial masculinity. Gender scores based on 3D facial images were then compared for 54 autistic and 54 control boys (3.01–12.52 years old), and also for 20 autistic and 60 control girls (4.24–11.78 years). For each sex, increased facial masculinity was observed in the ASD group relative to control group. Further analyses revealed that increased facial masculinity in the ASD group correlated with more social-communication difficulties based on the Social Affect score derived from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale-Generic (ADOS-G). There was no association between facial masculinity and the derived Restricted and Repetitive Behaviours score. This is the first study demonstrating facial hypermasculinisation in ASD and its relationship to social-communication difficulties in prepubescent children.

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          Fetal testosterone and autistic traits.

          Studies of amniotic testosterone in humans suggest that fetal testosterone (fT) is related to specific (but not all) sexually dimorphic aspects of cognition and behaviour. It has also been suggested that autism may be an extreme manifestation of some male-typical traits, both in terms of cognition and neuroanatomy. In this paper, we examine the possibility of a link between autistic traits and fT levels measured in amniotic fluid during routine amniocentesis. Two instruments measuring number of autistic traits (the Childhood Autism Spectrum Test (CAST) and the Child Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ-Child)) were completed by these women about their children (N=235), ages 6-10 years. Intelligence Quotient (IQ) was measured in a subset of these children (N=74). fT levels were positively associated with higher scores on the CAST and AQ-Child. This relationship was seen within sex as well as when the sexes were combined, suggesting this is an effect of fT rather than of sex per se. No relationships were found between overall IQ and the predictor variables, or between IQ and CAST or AQ-Child. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that prenatal androgen exposure is related to children exhibiting more autistic traits. These results need to be followed up in a much larger sample to test if clinical cases of ASC have elevated fT.
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            Autism Spectrum Disorders in Gender Dysphoric Children and Adolescents

            Only case reports have described the co-occurrence of gender identity disorder (GID) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This study examined this co-occurrence using a systematic approach. Children and adolescents (115 boys and 89 girls, mean age 10.8, SD = 3.58) referred to a gender identity clinic received a standardized assessment during which a GID diagnosis was made and ASD suspected cases were identified. The Dutch version of the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (10th rev., DISCO-10) was administered to ascertain ASD classifications. The incidence of ASD in this sample of children and adolescents was 7.8% (n = 16). Clinicians should be aware of co-occurring ASD and GID and the challenges it generates in clinical management.
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              Brain plasticity and behaviour in the developing brain.

              To review general principles of brain development, identify basic principles of brain plasticity, and discuss factors that influence brain development and plasticity. A literature review of relevant English-language manuscripts on brain development and plasticity was conducted. Brain development progresses through a series of stages beginning with neurogenesis and progressing to neural migration, maturation, synaptogenesis, pruning, and myelin formation. Eight basic principles of brain plasticity are identified. Evidence that brain development and function is influenced by different environmental events such as sensory stimuli, psychoactive drugs, gonadal hormones, parental-child relationships, peer relationships, early stress, intestinal flora, and diet. The development of the brain reflects more than the simple unfolding of a genetic blueprint but rather reflects a complex dance of genetic and experiential factors that shape the emerging brain. Understanding the dance provides insight into both normal and abnormal development.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                diana.tan@uwa.edu.au
                Journal
                Sci Rep
                Sci Rep
                Scientific Reports
                Nature Publishing Group UK (London )
                2045-2322
                24 August 2017
                24 August 2017
                2017
                : 7
                : 9348
                Affiliations
                [1 ]ISNI 0000 0004 1936 7910, GRID grid.1012.2, , Neurocognitive Developmental Unit, School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, ; Perth, 6009 Western Australia Australia
                [2 ]ISNI 0000 0004 1936 7910, GRID grid.1012.2, , Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, ; Perth, 6008 Western Australia Australia
                [3 ]ISNI 0000 0004 1936 7910, GRID grid.1012.2, , School of Computer Science and Software Engineering, University of Western Australia, ; Perth, 6009 Western Australia Australia
                [4 ]ISNI 0000 0004 0625 8600, GRID grid.410667.2, , Craniomaxillofacial Department, Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, ; Perth, 6008 Western Australia Australia
                Article
                9939
                10.1038/s41598-017-09939-y
                5570931
                28839245
                61cda83e-f3f5-44ba-8221-a8c777419739
                © The Author(s) 2017

                Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

                History
                : 6 March 2017
                : 31 July 2017
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