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Common variation near ROBO2 is associated with expressive vocabulary in infancyIn this paper we conduct a genome-wide screen and follow-up study of expressive vocabulary in toddlers of European descent from up to four studies of the...
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The correlation between central and peripheral oxytocin concentrations: A systematic review and meta-analysisThese results indicate a coordination of central and peripheral oxytocin release after stress and after intranasal administration
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Duration of general anaesthetic exposure in early childhood and long-term language and cognitive abilityAnaesthetic dose causing toxicity in animals has been evaluated, but the relationship between duration of VA exposure and development in children remains vague.
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Hypermasculinised facial morphology in boys and girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder and its association with symptomatologyThis is the first study demonstrating facial hypermasculinisation in ASD and its relationship to social-communication difficulties in prepubescent children
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Brief social attention bias modification for children with autism spectrum disorderSocial attention can be acutely modified in children with ASD, with an increased tendency to orient attention toward faces after brief social attention training
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Which emerging autism features at 12 months of age are associated with later parent-child interaction?Parent-child interactions (PCI) in infants with an elevated likelihood (EL) of autism start to diverge from other infants toward the end of the first year. This divergence is often attributed to emerging features of autism impacting infant social interactions in ways that become increasingly amplified. The aim was to identify which, if any, 12-month autism features were associated with later PCI qualities.
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Commentary: A spectrum for all? A response to Green et al. (2023), neurodiversity, autism and health careThe broadening of the clinical definition of autism over time-the so-called, autism spectrum-has run in parallel with the growth of a neurodiversity movement that has reframed the concept of autism entirely. Without a coherent and evidence-based framework through which both of these advances can be situated, the field is at risk of losing definition altogether.
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The Utility of Natural Language Samples for Assessing Communication and Language in Infants Referred with Early Signs of AutismNatural Language Sampling (NLS) offers clear potential for communication and language assessment, where other data might be difficult to interpret. We leveraged existing primary data for 18-month-olds showing early signs of autism, to examine the reliability and concurrent construct validity of NLS-derived measures coded from video-of child language, parent linguistic input, and dyadic balance of communicative interaction-against standardised assessment scores. Using Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) software and coding conventions, masked coders achieved good-to-excellent inter-rater agreement across all measures.
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Feasibility of a 2-minute eye-tracking protocol to support the early identification of autismWe tested the potential for Gazefinder eye-tracking to support early autism identification, including feasible use with infants, and preliminary concurrent validity of trial-level gaze data against clinical assessment scores. We embedded the ~ 2-min 'Scene 1S4' protocol within a comprehensive clinical assessment for 54 consecutively-referred, clinically-indicated infants (prematurity-corrected age 9-14 months).
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Interactions between the lipidome and genetic and environmental factors in autismAutism omics research has historically been reductionist and diagnosis centric, with little attention paid to common co-occurring conditions (for example, sleep and feeding disorders) and the complex interplay between molecular profiles and neurodevelopment, genetics, environmental factors and health. Here we explored the plasma lipidome in 765 children (485 diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)) within the Australian Autism Biobank.