Abstract
Background. Craniofacial anomalies and minor neurological dysfunction (MNDs) have been identified, in literature, as risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders. They represent physical indicators of embryonic development suggesting a possible contributory role of complications during early, even pre-conceptional, phases of ontogeny in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Limited research has been conducted about the co-occurrence of the two biomarkers in children with ASD. This study investigates the associative patterns of cranio-facial anomalies and MNDs in ASD children, and whether these neurodevelopmental markers correlate with intensity of ASD symptoms and overall functioning. Methods. Caucasian children with ASD (n = 33) were examined. Measures were based on five anthropometric cranio-facial indexes and a standardized and detailed neurological examination according to Touwen. Relationships between anthropometric z-scores, MNDs and participant characteristics (i.e., age, cognitive abilities, severity of autistic symptoms measured using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) checklist) were assessed. Results. With respect to specific MNDs, significant positive correlations were found between Cephalic Index and Sensory deficits (p-value < 0.001), which did not correlate with CARS score. Importantly, CARS score was positively linked with Intercanthal Index (p-value < 0.001), and negatively associated with posture and muscle tone (p-value = 0.027) and Facial Index (p-value = 0.004). Conclusion. Our data show a link between a specific facial phenotype and anomalies in motor responses, suggesting early brain dysmaturation involving subcortical structures in cerebro-craniofacial development of autistic children. This research supports the concept of a “social brain functional morphology” in autism spectrum disorders.
Highlights
Over the past few years, there has been mounting evidence to support the neurodevelopmental model of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which postulates that the etiological origins of the disease can be traced to events in the prenatal period [1].Brain Sci. 2020, 10, 566; doi:10.3390/brainsci10080566 www.mdpi.com/journal/brainsciBrain Sci. 2020, 10, 566Several studies have investigated brain structure and brain function in subjects with neurodevelopmental impairments including; autism spectrum disorders (ASD), ADHD and schizophrenia.These studies identified abnormal brain structure and a higher incidence of developmental brain anomalies, resulting in clinical, cognitive, electrophysiological and neuroanatomical markers. [2,3]
The aim of the present study was to investigate the associative patterns of cranio-facial anomalies and minor neurological dysfunction (MNDs) in ASD children, and to determine whether these neurodevelopmental markers correlate with intensity of ASD symptoms and overall functioning
The most frequent minor neurological dysfunction was associated movements (58%), and more than half of the sample suffered from sensory deficits (52%)
Summary
Over the past few years, there has been mounting evidence to support the neurodevelopmental model of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which postulates that the etiological origins of the disease can be traced to events in the prenatal period [1].Brain Sci. 2020, 10, 566; doi:10.3390/brainsci10080566 www.mdpi.com/journal/brainsciBrain Sci. 2020, 10, 566Several studies have investigated brain structure and brain function in subjects with neurodevelopmental impairments including; autism spectrum disorders (ASD), ADHD and schizophrenia.These studies identified abnormal brain structure and a higher incidence of developmental brain anomalies, resulting in clinical, cognitive, electrophysiological and neuroanatomical markers. [2,3]. Several studies have investigated brain structure and brain function in subjects with neurodevelopmental impairments including; autism spectrum disorders (ASD), ADHD and schizophrenia. These studies identified abnormal brain structure and a higher incidence of developmental brain anomalies, resulting in clinical, cognitive, electrophysiological and neuroanatomical markers. Craniofacial anomalies and minor neurological dysfunction (MNDs) have been identified, in literature, as risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders. They represent physical indicators of embryonic development suggesting a possible contributory role of complications during early, even pre-conceptional, phases of ontogeny in autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
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