Newcastle University

Autistic Spectrum Disorder and William's Syndrome

Our research in autistic spectrum disorder and William's syndrome involves developing an understanding of phenomena which characterise these disorders of development, including

• sensory processing,
• repetitive behaviour,
• neurocognitive functioning,
• and anxiety, worry and intrusive thinking.  

In exploring the underlying neurobiology, we conduct studies of the neurochemical changes that occur in the brains autistic individuals and contribute to the Autism Genome Project Consortium involved in identifying loci associated with the disorder. We have been involved in studies with both clinical and typically developing populations.  We are seeking to combine approaches coming from both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy paradigms and neurocognitive perspectives to further our understanding of key clinical phenomena that are associated with psychopathology and or distress in children and adolescents. Recent and current projects provide a strong basis in tools and methods on which to build studies that can address new questions. We have broad complementary knowledge and expertise in developmental approaches to both normal development and psychopathology, clinical intervention with children and adolescents and their families, and cognitive and neurocognitive processes. This work links to other projects in Developmental Neuroscience.

Staff:

Selected Publications:

• Ray MA, Graham AJ, Lee M, Perry RH, Court JA, Perry EK (2005) Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits in autism: An immunohistochemical investigation in the thalamus. Neurobiology of Disease 19: 366-377 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16023579)    
• Riby DM, Doherty-Sneddon G, Bruce V (2008) Atypical unfamiliar face processing in Williams syndrome: what can it tell us about typical familiarity effects? Cognitive Neuropsychiatry 13:47-58 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18092225)   
• Le Couteur A, McConachie H and 135 other members of the Autism Genome Project Consortium (2007) Mapping autism risk loci using genetic linkage and chromosomal rearrangements. Nature Genetics 39: 319-328 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17322880)
• Foxton JM, Stewart ME, Barnard L, Rodgers J, Young AH, O'Brien G, Griffiths TD (2003) Absence of auditory 'global interference' in autism. Brain 126: 2703-2709 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12937074)
• Mukaetova-Ladinska EB, Arnold H, Jaros E, Perry R, Perry E (2004) Depletion of MAP2 expression and laminar cytoarchitectonic changes in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in adult autistic individuals. Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology 30: 615-623 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15541002)
• Le Couteur A, Haden G, Hammal D, McConachie H (2008) Diagnosing autism spectrum disorders in pre-school children using two standardised assessment instruments: The ADI-R and the ADOS. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 38: 362-372 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17605097)
• Lee M, Martin-Ruiz C, Graham A, Court J, Jaros E, Perry R, Iversen P, Bauman M, Perry E (2002) Nicotinic receptor abnormalities in the cerebellar cortex in autism. Brain 125: 1483-1495 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12076999)
• McConachie H, Le Couteur A, Honey E (2005) Can a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome be made in very young children with suspected autism spectrum disorder? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 35: 167-176 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15909403)
• Brock J, Jarrold C, Farran EK, Laws G, Riby DM (2007) Do children with Williams syndrome really have good vocabulary knowledge? Methods for comparing cognitive and linguistic abilities in developmental disorders. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics 21: 673-688 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17701755) 
• McConachie H, Randle V, Hammal D, Le Couteur A (2005) A controlled trial of a training course for parents of children with suspected autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Pediatrics 147: 335-340 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16182672)