Genetic Heterogeneity between the Three Components of the Autism Spectrum: A Twin Study

Autor/inn/en	Ronald, Angelica; Happe, Francesca; Bolton, Patrick; Butcher, Lee M.; Price, Thomas S.; Wheelwright, Sally; Baron-Cohen, Simon; Plomin, Robert
Titel	Genetic Heterogeneity between the Three Components of the Autism Spectrum: A Twin Study
Quelle	In: Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 45 (2006) 6, S.691-699 (9 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0890-8567
DOI	10.1097/01.chi.0000215325.13058.9d
Schlagwörter	Twins; Autism; Asperger Syndrome; Genetics; Etiology; Environmental Influences; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Interpersonal Competence; Communication Problems; Behavior Problems + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Twin; Zwilling; Autismus; Asperger-Syndrom; Humangenetik; Ätiologie; Environmental influence; Umwelteinfluss; Psychiatrische Symptomatik; Interpersonale Kompetenz; Kommunikationsbarriere
Abstract	Objective: This study investigated the etiology of autistic-like traits in the general population and the etiological overlap between the three aspects of the triad of impairments (social impairments, communication impairments, restricted repetitive behaviors and interests) that together define autism spectrum disorders. Method: Parents of 3,400 8-year-old twin pairs from the Twins Early Development Study completed the Childhood Asperger Syndrome Test, a screening instrument for autism spectrum symptoms in mainstream samples. Genetic model-fitting of categorical and continuous data is reported. Results: High heritability was found for extreme autistic-like traits (0.64-0.92 for various cutoffs) and autistic-like traits as measured on a continuum (0.78-0.81), with no significant shared environmental influences. All three subscales were highly heritable but showed low covariation. In the genetic modeling, distinct genetic influences were identified for the three components. Conclusions: These results suggest the triad of impairments that define autism spectrum disorders is heterogeneous genetically. Molecular genetic research examining the three components separately may identify different causal pathways for the three components. The analyses give no indication that different genetic processes affect extreme autistic impairments and autistic impairments as measured on a continuum, but this can only be directly tested once genes are identified. (Contains 2 figures and 3 tables.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10