Abnormal Psychobiology Exam 2 Part 1

true

True or false?

The US had considered measles—a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours—eliminated in 2000.

false

True or false?

There are many treatments for measles.

prevalence

includes all cases, both new and existing

false

True or false?

Black, Hispanic, and Asian children are now slightly less likely to be diagnosed with ASD compared to white children.

12-15; 4-6

CDC recommends two doses of MMR vaccine at ______ months and ______ years of age; developmental milestones often lacking in ASD coincide with this schedule.

thimerosal

contains trace amounts of mercury; was removed from all vaccines due to safety concerns for young children

true

True or false?

Vaccinated and unvaccinated children do not differ in their susceptibility to infections not prevented by vaccines.

mirror neurons

fire both when an organism acts and when the organism observes the same action performed by another; mirroring behavior as though the observer were acting; thought to be involved in empathy

disrupted connectivity hypothesis

ASD is a distributed disorder marked by inefficiencies in the synchronization of brain activity; cortical underconnectivity of long-distance connections, coupled with local overconnectivity

diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)

uses MRI technology to study white matter tracts

fractional anisotropy (FA)

measures functional integrity of white matter tracts

DTI tractography

measures structural integrity of white matter tracts

isotropic; anisotropic

Diffusion of water can be _________ (unrestricted) or _________ (restricted).

hydrogen

most commonly used particle in DTI; abundant in water and fat

gyri; sulci

Strongly connected cortical regions may be pulled together during development, with ______ (folds) forming in between, while weakly connected regions drift apart, with ________ (grooves) forming between them.

language production

There is some evidence that the deeper the sulcal pits are, the more _______________ is affected.

true

True or false?

Intellectual disability is a separate diagnosis from ASD.

pervasive developmental disorder (PDD)

In previous versions of the DSM, instead of an autism spectrum there were discrete diagnoses within the ____________ category: autistic disorder, Asperger’s syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified

environment

any factor that is not directly genetic; a broad definition

aetiology (etiology)

the causes of a disease or condition

All of the above

Which of the following factors may potentially increase the likelihood of developing ASD?

• Genetics

• Genetic male sex (XY)

• Advanced age of father and/or mother

• Pregnancy complications (viral infections, hypoxia during delivery, preterm delivery)

• All of the above

gene-environment interaction

genetic makeup influences responses to environmental factors; implies a functional relationship

epigenetics

the biological mechanism by which the gene-environment interaction occurs (the molecular link between genes and the environment)

gene-environment correlation

individuals with certain genetic makeups are more likely to be exposed to specific environments; indicates a statistical association

60-90

When one identical twin is on the autism spectrum, the other twin falls on the spectrum ~_______% of the time.

fraternal

The rate of ASD recurrence for _______ twins and among single-birth brothers and sisters are both ~20%.

false

True or false?

Males with ASD may be more likely to have children earlier.

de novo

Male sex cells that carry genetic material contain an increasing number of __________ (seen for the first time, not appearing in previous generations) mutations with age.

35

Mothers over the age of _____ are more likely to have children with ASD, while younger than average mothers are less likely (by ~25%).

54; 38

In the US, 1 in ____ children (at age 8) are diagnosed with ASD; in South Korea, it is about 1 in ____ children.

APGAR score

stands for activity, pulse, grimace, appearance, respiration; given at 1 and 5 minutes after birth; checks a baby’s heart rate, muscle tone, and other signs to see if extra medical care or emergency care is needed; low score is associated with higher risk of ASD and many other neurodevelopmental disorders

prodromal

before full manifestation of symptoms

evocative gene-environment correlation

genes predispose the infant to experience a less-nurturing parenting environment

valproate

an anticonvulsant for epilepsy, a mood stabilizer for bipolar disorder, and a migraine preventative; consuming during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of the child developing ASD, ADHD, dyspraxia, and low IQ

folate (vitamin B9)

found in dark green leafy vegetables, beans, peas, and nuts; a prenatal protective measure that is crucial during early pregnancy to reduce the risk of birth defects of the brain and spine

thiamine; folate

Three of the best-known vitamin deficiencies that can result in mental and neurological symptoms include ________ (B1), _________ (B9), and vitamin B12. All are required for energy metabolism with mitochondria; deficits impair energy production.

schizophrenia

Autism was originally described as a form of childhood __________ marked by a detachment from reality.

All of these are risk factors

Which of the following is not a risk factor shared by ASD and schizophrenia?

• Viral infections during pregnancy

• Complications during delivery

• Living in large cities (pollution)

• Older father

• All of these are risk factors

Williams Syndrome (WS; elfin facies)

has characteristic elf-like facial features (long upper lip, small chin, generous lips, chubby face, upturned nose, and flattened nose bridge); rare neurodevelopmental genetic condition; delayed physical development, impaired intellectual development, and cardiovascular abnormalities

centromeric

towards the centromere

telomeric

towards the telomere

genes

DNA sections that code for specific proteins or functional RNA

alleles

variations of genes, leading to diverse traits such as eye color

hemizygous; 7

WS is caused by a ________ (only one copy) deletion of ~28 genes on chromosome ____.

7q11.23

specific “address” on the q arm of chromosome 7 that is affected in Williams syndrome

haploinsufficiency

Cardiovascular problems and some of the distinctive facial features of WS have been linked to __________ (only a single functional copy of a gene) for elastin; a functional consequence of a deletion where having only one copy of a gene is not enough to maintain normal function

elastin

a protein that provides stretchiness and elastic recoil in tissues like large arteries, heart valves, skin, and certain ligaments and cartilages

hemizygous deletion

the genetic condition that can lead to haploinsufficiency

Down syndrome

trisomy 21, the most common chromosomal abnormality, occurring in about 1 in every 700 babies (about 2-3 times as often as WS)

true

True or false?

Both Down syndrome and WS are potential genetic causes of intellectual developmental disorders.

sociability; empathy

WS is characterized by high _________ and ________ for others; often a clinical opposite of ASD, though the two can be comorbid.

reduced; increased

_______ amygdala activation in individuals with WS for threatening faces, but __________ activation for threatening scenes, relative to matched normal controls.

orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)

Amygdala activity differences in WS may be attributable to lack of inhibition from the ___________

amygdala

The OFC does not interact with the _________ in WS, whereas a significant negative correlation is found in healthy controls.

social disinhibition

Lesions of the OFC are associated with ____________.

hippocampal

Deficits in cognitive domains dependent on ____________ function including spatial navigation and long-term memory are common in WS; little difference in structure of hippocampus vs healthy controls

differential; visual

Reduced resting blood flow and absent __________ response to _______ stimuli (faces vs houses) in WS

visuospatial construction (VC)

the ability to see an object or picture as a set of parts and then to construct a replica of the original from these parts

dorsal stream

Impaired visuospatial construction in WS but good face and object processing indicates abnormality in ____________ processing

intraparietal sulcus; dorsal

Hypofunction of the _______________ along with decreased gray matter volume and sulcal depth in this area found in WS is thought to be responsible for ________ stream dysfunction

schizophrenia spectrum

consists of schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder, schizotypal personality disorder, and delusional disorder

schizophrenia; schizoaffective disorder

~25 possible symptom combinations for __________; 12,225 for _______________ under the DSM-5

psychosis

a collection of symptoms that affect the mind, where there has been some loss of contact with reality; the defining feature of schizophrenia spectrum disorder, but it also common in mood, substance use disorders, and many developmental and degenerative neurological and medical conditions

positive symptoms

presence of unusual behaviors, in excess of typical functioning; ex. delusions and hallucinations

thinking; motor

Symptoms of psychosis include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized _______ (speech), disorganized or abnormal ________ behavior, and negative symptoms