Autism: Current Theories and Evidence

ISBN-13: 9781617379017 / Angielski / Miękka / 2010 / 474 str.

Andrew W. Zimmerman

Opis

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.

Recenzje

From the reviews:

"Autism: Current Theories and Evidence, edited by Andrew Zimmerman, serves as an atlas or geophysical study of the archipelago of autism. ... this book is a valuable contribution to the effort to map autism, and it is a demonstration of the type of cooperation that is needed across scientific disciplines if progress is to be made in this effort." (Jeffrey A. Munson, The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 360 (23), June, 2009)

"All chapters are uniformely arranged with initial abstract, many informative subheadings, tables and impressive figures. All of them are clearly written ... . the present book provides an impressive, evidence-based review of pathogenesis, clinical features, genetics, biological bases, pathogenetic factors, current or future treatments of ASDs. It is therefore recommended to all clinicians and neuroscientist who are interested and engaged in the complex field of ASDs." (K. A. Jellinger, European Journal of Neurology, Vol. 16, 2009)

"The book has 20 chapters divided into 6 parts. ... Mainly, but not only, for neurobiologists, psychologists and psychiatrists. Recommended." (Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews, Vol. 8 (2), December, 2010)

Spis treści

Table of Contents Preface Moving Beyond Hypotheses: A Call for Theories and Evidence Andrew W. Zimmerman I. Molecular and Clinical Genetics Chapter 1 ENGRAILED2 and Cerebellar Development in the Pathogenesis of Autism Spectrum Disorders Ian T. Rossman and Emanuel DiCicco-Bloom Chapter 2 Teratogenic Alleles in Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders William G. Johnson, Madhura Sreenath, Steven Buyske and Edward S. Stenroos Chapter 3 Cholesterol Deficit in Autism: Insights from Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome Alka Aneja and Elaine Tierney Chapter 4 Autism in Genetic Intellectual Disability: Insight into the Bases and Features of Idiopathic Autism Walter E. Kaufmann, George T. Capone, Megan Clarke and Dejan B. Budimirovic II. Neurotransmitters and Cell Signaling Chapter 5 Serotonin Dysfunction in Autism Mary E. Blue, Michael V. Johnston, Carolyn Boylan Moloney and Christine F. Hohmann Chapter 6 Excitotoxicity in Autism: The Role of Glutamate in Pathogenesis and Treatment Martin Evers and Eric Hollander Chapter 7 Prenatal Beta 2 Adrenergic Receptor Signaling and Autism: Dysmaturation and Retained Fetal Function Susan L. Connors IV. Endocrinology, Growth and Metabolism Chapter 8 A role for fetal testosterone in human sex differences: Implications for Understanding autism Bonnie Auyeung and Simon Baron-Cohen Chapter 9 Interaction between Genetic Vulnerability and Neurosteroids in Purkinje cells as a Possible Neurobiological Mechanism in Autism Spectrum Disorders Flavio Keller, Roger Panteri, Filippo Biamonte Chapter 10 Insulin-like growth factors: Neurobiological regulators of brain growth in autism? Raili Riikonen Chapter 11 Oxidative Stress and the Metabolic Pathology of Autism S. Jill James V. Immunology, Maternal-Fetal Interaction and Neuroinflammation Chapter 12 The Immune System in Autism: is there a Connection? Luke Heuer, Paul Ashwood and Judy Van de Water Chapter 13 Maternal Immune Activation, Cytokines and Autism Paul H. Patterson, Wensi Xu, Stephen E. P. Smith and Benjamin E. Deverman Chapter 14 Maternal Antibodies and the Placental-Fetal IgG Transfer Theory Christina M. Morris, Mikhail Pletnikov, Andrew W. Zimmerman, and Harvey S. Singer Chapter 15 Can Neuroinflammation Influence the Development of Autism Spectrum Disorders? Carlos A. Pardo-Villamizar VI. Neuroanatomy and Neural networks Chapter 16 The Significance of Minicolumnar Size Variability in Autism: A Perspective from Comparative Anatomy Manuel F. Casanova Chapter 17 Imaging evidence for pathological brain development in Autism Spectrum Disorders Stephen R Dager, Seth D Friedman, Helen Petropoulos and Dennis WW Shaw Chapter 18 Information Processing, Neural Connectivity, and Neuronal Organization Nancy J. Minshew, Diane L. Williams, a