Autism: Current Theories and Evidence

Andrew W. Zimmerman (auth.)978-3-540-64220-X

Creative thinking and collaborative scientific research have advanced our understanding of autism and we are now beginning to synthesize the data into evidence and theories. Autism: Current Theories and Evidence presents current theories about autism and the evidence that supports them. The goal is to show how the scientific method is revealing the biological bases of this spectrum of disorders, thereby leading the way to their treatment and prevention using evidence-based medicine. This book has 20 chapters divided into 6 sections: Molecular and Clinical Genetics; Neurotransmitters and Cell Signaling; Endocrinology, Growth and Metabolism; Immunology, Maternal-Fetal Effects and Neuroinflammation; Neuroanatomy, Imaging and Neural networks; and Environmental Mechanisms and Models. The subjects cover a wide range of current scientific work in the field of autism, with strong and growing evidence to support them, and demonstrate both the breadth and depth of current autism research. The reader is encouraged to consider how theories and the scientific method, in the hands of these and other dedicated researchers, are leading to greater knowledge and continued progress in autism research.

Table of contents :
Front Matter….Pages i-xix
Front Matter….Pages 1-1
Engrailed2 and Cerebellar Development in the Pathogenesis of Autism Spectrum Disorders….Pages 3-40
Teratogenic Alleles in Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders….Pages 41-68
Cholesterol Deficit in Autism: Insights from Smith–Lemli–Opitz Syndrome….Pages 69-79
Autism in Genetic Intellectual Disability….Pages 81-108
Front Matter….Pages 109-109
Serotonin Dysfunction in Autism….Pages 111-132
Excitotoxicity in Autism….Pages 133-145
Prenatal β 2 -Adrenergic Receptor Signaling and Autism:….Pages 147-182
Front Matter….Pages 183-183
A Role for Fetal Testosterone in Human Sex Differences….Pages 185-208
Interaction between Genetic Vulnerability and Neurosteroids in Purkinje cells as a Possible Neurobiological Mechanism in Autism Spectrum Disorders….Pages 209-231
Insulin-Like Growth Factors….Pages 233-244
Oxidative Stress and the Metabolic Pathology of Autism….Pages 245-268
Front Matter….Pages 269-269
The Immune System in Autism….Pages 271-288
Maternal Immune Activation, Cytokines and Autism….Pages 289-307
Maternal Antibodies and the Placental–Fetal IgG Transfer Theory….Pages 309-328
Can Neuroinflammation Influence the Development of Autism Spectrum Disorders?….Pages 329-346
Front Matter….Pages 347-347
The Significance of Minicolumnar Size Variability in Autism….Pages 349-360
Imaging Evidence for Pathological Brain Development in Autism Spectrum Disorders….Pages 361-379
Information Processing, Neural Connectivity, and Neuronal Organization….Pages 381-405
Front Matter….Pages 407-407
Evidence for Environmental Susceptibility in Autism….Pages 409-428
An Expanding Spectrum of Autism Models….Pages 429-463
Front Matter….Pages 407-407
Erratum….Pages E1-E1
Back Matter….Pages 465-474