Bitsika, Vicki

Sharpley, Christopher F

2024-06

<p><b>Objectives</b> Although a great deal of research is conducted into the neurobiological correlates of autism, there has been no recent overview of the findings from this research in terms of how they translate to clinical practice. To provide an overview of recent literature in the fields of head size, brain volume, brain region, connectivity between brain regions, and synaptic function, as they apply to autism, with a view to informing clinical practice.</p> <p><b>Methods</b> Major empirical and review papers on these topics from the last 30 years were identifed via a search of PubMed, Google Scholar, and PsychInfo, using the descriptors ‘autism’, ‘head size’, ‘brain volume’, ‘brain region’, ‘connectivity between brain regions’, and ‘synaptic function’. To distil the key findings relevant to clinical practice, both authors conducted blind reviews, producing a set of ‘key’ papers for this purpose.</p> <p><b>Results</b> Each feld produced a number of major fndings, which were then described and discussed, and translated into a table of ‘Findings’, ‘Diagnostic suggestions’ (for the clinician’s protocols), and ‘Clinical actions’ (suggestions for interactions with carers of autistic children and adults).</p> <p><b>Conclusions</b> The stability of the research within each field varies, with some clear findings and others that are yet to be consistently verified. Despite this, some specific clinical implications for diagnosis and treatment (particularly clinician-carer interactions) are described.</p>

Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 8(2), p. 209-221

2366-7540

2366-7532

https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/69119

Springer Cham

Attribution 4.0 International

Neurobiological Concomitants of Autism as Informers of Clinical Practice: a Status Review

Journal Article

Publication