This book presents current theories about autism and the evidence that supports them. It reveals how the scientific method is identifying the biological bases of these disorders, leading the way to their treatment and prevention using evidence-based medicine.

Creative thinking and collaborative scientific research have advanced our understanding of autism, and we are now beginning to synthesize the data into evidence and theories. Autism: Current Theories and Evidence presents current theories about autism and the evidence that supports them. The goal is to show how the scientific method is revealing the biological bases of this spectrum of disorders, thereby leading the way to their treatment and prevention using evidence-based medicine. This book has 20 chapters divided into 6 sections: Molecular and Clinical Genetics; Neurotransmitters and Cell Signaling; Endocrinology, Growth and Metabolism; Immunology, Maternal-Fetal Effects and Neuroinflammation; Neuroanatomy, Imaging and Neural networks; and Environmental Mechanisms and Models. The subjects cover a wide range of current scientific work in the field of autism, with strong and growing evidence to support them, and demonstrate both the breadth and depth of current autism research. The reader is encouraged to consider how theories and the scientific method, in the hands of these and other dedicated researchers, are leading to greater knowledge and continued progress in autism research.

A state-of-the-art synthesis of credible biological theories of autism and the evidence that supports them Unique, evidence-based review of pathogenesis, clinical features, and current or potential treatments Wide-ranging, covering six main areas that probe and reveal the biological bases of autistic spectrum disorders Chapters cover molecular and clinical genetics; neurotransmitters and cell signaling; endocrinology, growth, and metabolism; immunology, maternal-fetal effects, and neuroinflammation; neuroanatomy, imaging, and neural networks, and environmental mechanisms and models

Inhalt
Molecular and Clinical Genetics.- Engrailed2 and Cerebellar Development in the Pathogenesis of Autism Spectrum Disorders.- Teratogenic Alleles in Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders.- Cholesterol Deficit in Autism: Insights from SmithLemliOpitz Syndrome.- Autism in Genetic Intellectual Disability.- Neurotransmitters and Cell Signaling.- Serotonin Dysfunction in Autism.- Excitotoxicity in Autism.- Prenatal ?2-Adrenergic Receptor Signaling and Autism:.- Endocrinology, Growth, and Metabolism.- A Role for Fetal Testosterone in Human Sex Differences.- Interaction between Genetic Vulnerability and Neurosteroids in Purkinje cells as a Possible Neurobiological Mechanism in Autism Spectrum Disorders.- Insulin-Like Growth Factors.- Oxidative Stress and the Metabolic Pathology of Autism.- Immunology, Maternal-Fetal Interaction, and Neuroinflammation.- The Immune System in Autism.- Maternal Immune Activation, Cytokines and Autism.- Maternal Antibodies and the PlacentalFetal IgG Transfer Theory.- Can Neuroinflammation Influence the Development of Autism Spectrum Disorders?.- Neuroanatomy and Neural networks.- The Significance of Minicolumnar Size Variability in Autism.- Imaging Evidence for Pathological Brain Development in Autism Spectrum Disorders.- Information Processing, Neural Connectivity, and Neuronal Organization.- Environmental Mechanisms and Models.- Evidence for Environmental Susceptibility in Autism.- An Expanding Spectrum of Autism Models.- Erratum.