Background Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often exhibit symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Across both disorders, observations of distributed functional abnormalities suggest aberrant large-scale brain network connectivity. Yet, common and distinct network correlates of ASD and ADHD remain unidentified. Here, we aimed to examine patterns of dysconnection in school-age children with ASD, ADHD and typically developing children (TDC) who completed a resting state fMRI (R-fMRI) scan. Methods We measured voxel-wise network centrality, functional connectivity metrics indexing local (degree centrality; DC) and global (eigenvector centrality; EC) functional relationships across the entire brain connectome, in R-fMRI data from 56 children with ASD, 45 children with ADHD and 50 TDC. A one-way ANCOVA, with group as fixed factor (whole-brain corrected), was followed by post-hoc pair-wise comparisons. Results Cortical and subcortical areas exhibited centrality abnormalities; some common to both ADHD and ASD, such as in precuneus. Others were disorder-specific and included ADHD-related increases in DC in right striatum/pallidum, in contrast with ASD-related increases in bilateral temporolimbic areas. Secondary analyses differentiating children with ASD into those with or without ADHD-like comorbidity (ASD+ and ASD−, respectively) revealed that the ASD+ group shared ADHD-specific abnormalities in basal ganglia. By contrast, centrality increases in temporolimbic areas characterized children with ASD regardless of ADHD-like comorbidity. At the cluster level eignevector centrality group patterns were similar to DC. Conclusions ADHD and ASD are neurodevelopmental disorders with distinct and overlapping clinical presentations. This work provides evidence for both shared and distinct underlying mechanisms at the large-scale network level.

Research suggests that weight loss treatment generally benefits psychological well-being but these effects have never been quantitatively reviewed. A meta-analysis of 117 weight loss treatment tests showed that weight loss treatment was associated with lowered depression and increased self-esteem. Treatment type moderated treatment effects on depression and self-esteem. Actual weight loss moderated treatment effects on self-esteem but not depression; only treatments that produced actual weight loss predicted increased self-esteem whereas improvements in depression were independent of weight loss. The clinical implications of the findings and the possible causal relationships among weight, depression and self-esteem are discussed.

The moderating influence of binge eating status on obese individuals' responses to weight loss treatment was evaluated with a meta-analysis of 36 tests of weight loss treatment (n=792) that were matched to control key background variables. After controlling for pre-treatment weight, treatment produced more weight loss in samples of obese non-BED compared with obese BED participants. Weight loss treatment produced large posttreatment reductions in depression in both obese BED and non-BED samples. The results indicate that BED status moderated post-treatment weight loss among people in weight treatment programs. Obese BED (average weight loss=1.3 kg) samples lost negligible weight compared to obese non-BED (average weight loss=10.5 kg) samples. BED status did not moderate psychological responses to treatment: both BED and non-BED samples experienced large post-treatment reductions in depression. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Quick and effective screening measures are needed for detecting Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Thirty typically developing children and 30 children with ASD aged 24-68 months were used. This study explored if the ASD group would exhibit less object exploration, diversity of play, and turn-taking than the typically developing group. Older children with ASD performed less turn-taking. On all other measures, IQ accounted for more of the difference between groups than diagnosis. Implications of these results for future research are discussed.