Simon Baron-Cohen

Qualitative studies of autistic people’s pregnancy experiences have indicated sensory and communication related barriers to accessing adequate prenatal healthcare. However, quantitative work on the topic is scarce. This online survey study explored pregnancy experiences among 417 autistic and 524 non-autistic people. Compared with non-autistic people, autistic people reported heightened sensory and physical experiences during pregnancy and were more likely to experience prenatal depression and anxiety. Autistic people experienced lower satisfaction with prenatal healthcare, including having lower perceptions of their relationships with healthcare professionals and greater difficulties with antenatal classes. This study identifies key adjustments that can be made to prenatal healthcare, including sensory and communication adjustments. The findings highlight the need for greater autism understanding and …

Background: Autistic people with co-occurring attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appear to be at heightened risk of suicide. To understand why, we explored two explanatory mechanisms from the interpersonal theory of suicide: first, that co-occurring ADHD might be associated with greater risk through greater thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness and, secondly, that hyperactive/impulsive features might incur additional risk through their association with painful and provocative events, which are suggested to create “capability” for suicide. Methods: Autistic adults (n = 314) completed an online survey including measures of thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, painful and provocative events, acquired capability for suicide, and ADHD features. Creating an overall index of likely ADHD, we examined associations between likely ADHD, suicide ideation, and lifetime …

Background Differences in face processing are commonly reported in case/control studies of autism. Their neural correlates have been explored extensively across single neuroimaging modalities within key regions of the face processing network, such as the fusiform gyrus (FFG). Nonetheless, it is poorly understood how different variation(s) in brain anatomy and function combine to impact face processing and social functioning. Extracting the shared information across different modalities is essential to better delineate the complex relationship between brain structure and function, leading to a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying autism. Methods Here, we leveraged data from the large multimodal EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project (LEAP) to study the cross-modal signature of face processing within the FFG across structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI), task-fMRI (based on the Hariri emotional faces task) and electroencephalography (EEG; recorded when observing facial stimuli) in a sample of 99 autistic and 105 non-autistic individuals (NAI) aged 6-30 years. We combined two methodological innovations: (i) normative modelling was employed on each imaging modality separately in order to derive individual-level deviations from a predicted developmental trajectory and (ii) unimodal deviations were fused through Linked Independent Component (IC) Analysis to simultaneously decompose the imaging data into underlying modes that characterise multi-modal signatures across the cohort. Next, we tested whether ICs significantly differed between autistic and non …

The terminology used in discussions on mental state attribution is extensive and lacks consistency. In the current paper, experts from various disciplines collaborate to introduce a shared set of concepts and make recommendations regarding future use.

BackgroundPatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) can present with altered brain structure and deficits in cognitive function similar to aging. Yet, the interaction between age-related brain changes and brain development in MDD remains understudied. In a cohort of adolescents and adults with and without MDD, we assessed brain aging differences and associations through a newly developed tool quantifying normative neurodevelopmental trajectories.Methods304 MDD participants and 236 non-depressed controls were recruited and scanned from three studies under the Canadian Biomarker Integration Network for Depression. Volumetric data were used to generate brain centile scores, which were examined for: a) differences in MDD relative to controls; b) differences in individuals with versus without severe childhood maltreatment; and c) correlations with depressive symptom severity, neurocognitive …

I welcome James Howard's eLetter prompted by my article on autism in your Journal. The hypothesis that one risk factor for autism may be maternal levels of testosterone (T) has several pieces of supportive evidence.First, second-to-fourth digit (2D: 4D) ratios show sexual dimorphism related to T levels, and mothers of children with autism have masculinized 2D: 4D ratios. Second, mothers of children with autism have a hypermasculinized pattern of brain activity (measured by blood flow during fMRI whilst performing tasks which demonstrate sexual dimorphism in the typical brain)(Baron-Cohen et al, in press). Whether this reflects T levels is not known, but there is a large literature from animal research demonstrating foetal testosterone (FT) levels shape sexual dimorphism in the brain. Finally, and most directly relevant to the maternal T hypothesis, we have just completed a study surveying mothers of children with …

1 BACKGROUNDAutism is one of most common disabilities, with recent estimates that 1 in 36 children 1 have an autism diagnosis and late diagnoses in adults also increasing. The DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for autism now include sensory sensitivities alongside the long-established criteria of social and communication challenges and repetitive and restrictive behaviours and interests. Most clinicians no longer view autism as something to be cured or treated, instead providing support for the challenges that autistic people experience and treatments or interventions for any co-occurring conditions, while respecting their unique differences and strengths. As the prevalence of autism, who is being diagnosed with autism, and clinical understanding of autism are changing, so are perspectives on what it means to be autistic.

Genetic variants linked to autism are thought to change cognition and behaviour by altering the structure and function of the brain. Although a substantial body of literature has identified structural brain differences in autism, it is unknown whether autism-associated common genetic variants are linked to changes in cortical macro- and micro-structure. We investigated this using neuroimaging and genetic data from adults (UK Biobank, N = 31,748) and children (ABCD, N = 4,928). Using polygenic scores and genetic correlations we observe a robust negative association between common variants for autism and a magnetic resonance imaging derived phenotype for neurite density (intracellular volume fraction) in the general population. This result is consistent across both children and adults, in both the cortex and in white matter tracts, and confirmed using polygenic scores and genetic correlations. There were no sex differences in this association. Mendelian randomisation analyses provide no evidence for a causal relationship between autism and intracellular volume fraction, although this should be revisited using better powered instruments. Overall, this study provides evidence for shared common variant genetics between autism and cortical neurite density.