Bio-behavioral model of aggression in autism spectrum disorders-pilot study

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have a high rate of irritability and aggressive symptoms which have signifi cant impact on their lives, families and society. The etiology of aggression in humans is likely complex and includes both biological and behavioral causes. Biological approaches have focused on hormones and neurotransmitters that are hypothesized to contribute to the etiology and clinical manifestation of aggressive behavior in humans. Testosterone is a male sex hormone and some studies suggest that it can play a role in the complex etiology of aggressive behavior. Two specifi c subtypes of aggression have been identifi ed: explosive and non-explosive. Explosive aggression is accompanied by a raged affect and is usually more dangerous and not immediately responsive to behavioral treatment. We propose that individuals with ASD and explosive aggression will have higher androgen activity and higher arousal than neurotypical children and children with ASD without explosive aggression. We employed a unique method for aggression assessment-functional behavioral analysis-to obtain objective and quantitative measures of aggression and arousal signs. In our pilot study, we proposed to determine bio-behavioral model of explosive aggression in children with ASD which will predict which children will be most responsive to antiandrogen therapy and behavioral therapy (Tab. 1, Fig. 1

Salivary testosterone in male and female youth with and without autism spectrum disorder: considerations of development, sex, and diagnosis

“…In favor of an elevated testosterone hypothesis, a sample of prepubertal youth (ages 3-4 and 7-9 years) demonstrated elevated levels of adrenal hormones dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and androsterone in males and females with ASD relative to age-matched TD controls [33]. Furthermore, associations have been reported between plasma testosterone and problem behaviors in prepubertal males (3-15 years) with ASD [34][35][36]. Significantly elevated serum and bioactive testosterone levels have been found for adult females with ASD (after correcting for Body Mass Index and excluding participants on oral contraceptives), although the study found no difference between ASD and TD adult males [37].…”