The differential diagnosis between schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) remains an important clinical question, because they have overlap in clinical diagnosis. This study explored the differences between ASD (n = 44) and SSD patients (n = 59), compared to typically developing peers (n = 63), in completing an…

The clinical similarity among different neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs) suggested a shared genetic basis. We catalogued 23,109 coding de novo mutations (DNMs) from 6511 patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 4,293 undiagnosed developmental disorder (UDD), 933 epileptic encephalopathy (EE), 1022 intellectual disability (ID), 1094…

Assessment of schizophrenia (SCZ) in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is complicated due to confounding symptoms between ASD and SCZ. These confounding factors are aggravated when the patient has sparse verbal skills. A selective review was conducted to identify behavioural equivalents when assessing SCZ in individuals with ASD with…

Previous research has attempted to understand why countries with relatively favorable conditions and high estimated average IQs (such as Finland and Japan) have a relatively low per capita number of scientific Nobel prizes. In the present study, we examine whether there is a relationship between national schizophrenia and left-handedness…

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder appear to experience high levels of psychological distress, yet little is known about the prevalence of psychological disorders in this population. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to estimate the proportion of these parents who experience clinically significant…

The objective of this study was to adapt and validate the abbreviated version of the "Autism-Spectrum Quotient" (AQ-Short) in a sample of Spanish native adults. A total of 46 individuals with ASD, 41 ASD-relatives, 17 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and 190 non-clinical adults were administered the Spanish version of the…

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been linked to many psychiatric disorders. Ketogenic diets have been shown to reduce mitochondrial dysfunction and thus may be helpful to patients who suffer from these disorders. In this article, we review the effects of a ketogenic diet in patients with psychiatric disorders such as autism, depression, anxiety, and…

Social cognition impairment is a core shared phenotype in both schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This study compares social cognition performance through four different instruments in a sample of 147 individuals with ASD or SSD and in healthy controls. We found that both clinical groups perform similarly…

The co-occurrence of psychotic and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms represents an important clinical challenge. Here we consider this problem in the context of a computational psychiatry approach that has been applied to both conditions--predictive coding. Some symptoms of schizophrenia have been explained in terms of a failure of top-down…

The similarities between high functioning autism (HFA) and schizotypal-schizoid personality disorder (SSPD) in terms of social cognition and interpersonal deficits may lead to confusion in symptom interpretation, and consequently result in misdiagnosis. Thus, this study aims to investigate differences in mentalizing with particular interest on the…

Since their separation as independent diagnostics, autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) have been conceptualized as mutually exclusive disorders. Similarities between both disorders can lead to misdiagnosis, especially when it comes to average-IQ adults who were not identified during childhood. The aim of this…

Primary caregivers experience consequences from being in close contact to a person with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study used the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire to explore the level of consequences of 104 caregivers involved with adults with High Functioning ASD (HF-ASD) and compared these with the consequences reported by…

Continued human and animal research has strengthened evidence for aberrant excitatory-inhibitory neural processes underlying autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorder psychopathology, particularly psychosocial functioning, in clinical and nonclinical populations. We investigated the extent to which autistic traits and schizotypal dimensions were…

Examined the psychiatric and clinical correlates of loss of previously acquired skills (regression) as reported by parents of youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Study sample comprised 6- to 18-year old (N = 213) children and adolescents with ASD. Parents reported regression in 77 (36%) youth. A more homogeneous subgroup with regression…

The serine protease inhibitor neuroserpin regulates the activity of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) in the nervous system. Neuroserpin expression is particularly prominent at late stages of neuronal development in most regions of the central nervous system (CNS), whereas it is restricted to regions related to learning and memory in the…