AUTISTIC TRAITS AND DEVELOPMENTAL MARKERS IN ADULT ONSET SCHIZOPHRENIA

Abstract

genetic and imaging findings has pointed out the interest of core neurobiological processes common for subsets of these two heterogeneous clinical groups (3). There is no wonder that this remarkable heterogeneity is intimately related to the complexity of the genetic control of brain development and function. In this sense, there are numerous direct and indirect genetic data linking both disorders (4-6). Specifically, various candidate gene and linkage studies (based on genes implicated in brain development and functioning pathways such as DISC1, NRXN1, RELN or GAD1), highlighting the emerging evidence for biological links between both disorders (3). Moreover, more recently, genomic microduplications and deletions or copy number variants (CNVs) have been reported in both Autism and Psychosis (7-10). Accordingly, it is likely that genetic studies will increasingly implicate patterns of brain developmental disturbance, leading to define disorders in novel ways.The present Symposium aims to focus on: i) common clinical and biological traits between Autistic Spectrum Disorders and Psychotic Disorders and the use of autistic and neurocognitve traits in Schizophrenia as intermediate phenotypes to define a putatively more homogeneous subgroup, ii) the recently described common and rare genomic arrangements and their association not onlywith Autism and Psychosis risk but also with specific clinical and cognitive traits. 1. Fombonne E. Epidemiology of autistic disorder and other pervasive developmental disorders. J Clin Psychiatry. 2005;66 Suppl 10:3-8.2. Perala J, Suvisaari J, et al. Lifetime prevalence of psychotic and bipolar I disorders in a general population. ArchGen Psychiatry. 2007 Jan;64(1):19-28.3. Rapoport J, Chavez A, et al. Autism spectrum disorders and childhood-onset schizophrenia: clinical and biological contributions to a relation revisited. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2009 Jan;48(1):10-8.4. Chagnon YC. Shared susceptibility region on chromosome 15 between autism and catatonia. Int Rev Neurobiol. 2006;72:16578.5. Di Cristo G. Development of cortical GABAergic circuits and its implications for neurodevelopmental disorders. Clin Genet. 2007 Jul;72(1):1-8.6. Fatemi SH. Reelin glycoprotein in autism and schizophrenia. Int Rev Neurobiol. 2005;71:179-87.7. Sebat J, Lakshmi B, et al. Strong association of de novo copy number mutations with autism. Science. 2007 Apr 20;316(5823):445-9.8. Stefansson H, Rujescu D, Cichon S, Pietilainen OP, Ingason A, Steinberg S, et al. Large recurrent microdeletions associated with schizophrenia. Nature. 2008 Jul 30.9. Stone JL, O'Donovan MC, et al. Rare chromosomal deletions and duplications increase risk of schizophrenia. Nature. 2008 Jul 30.10. Walsh T, McClellan JM, et al. Rare structural variants disrupt multiple genes in neurodevelopmental pathways in schizophrenia. Science. 2008 Apr 25;320(5875):539-43.