Mild Dermatoglyphic Deviations in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Average Intellectual Abilities as Compared to Typically Developing Boys

Abstract

Dermatoglyphics, ridge constellations on the hands and feet, are permanently formed by the second trimester of pregnancy. Consequently, they are considered “fossilized” evidence of a specific prenatal period. A high frequency of dermatoglyphic anomalies, or a high rate of dermatoglyphic asymmetry (discordance), is an indication of developmental instability (prenatal disturbances) prior to 24-week gestation. Most dermatoglyphic studies in psychiatry focus on adult schizophrenia. Studies on dermatoglyphic deviances and autism are sparse, include severely disturbed and intellectually retarded patients with autism, and are carried out mainly in non-Western European populations. In this study, finger print patterns, atd-angles, and palmar flexion crease patterns (PFCs) are compared between Western European adolescent teenage males, of average intellect, with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD; n = 46) and typically developing adolescent teenage males (TD; n = 49). Boys with ASD had a higher rate of discordance in their finger print patterns than TD boys. Thus, the hypothesized prenatal disturbances that play a role in the etiology of schizophrenia and severe autism might not be specific to these severe psychiatric disorders but might also be involved in the etiology of varying degrees of ASD.

Fluctuating Asymmetry of Human Populations: A Review

“…Like schizophrenia, the autism spectrum has a complex genetic basis [280,281] and one might expect developmental disturbances similar to those that accompany schizophrenia. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no complete analyses of fluctuating asymmetry in autistic children, but pattern discordance is present in individuals having mild autism and average IQ [86]. There were no significant differences in atd angle asymmetry, and ridge count asymmetry was not examined.…”

“…The authors found this approach to be more sensitive than traditional approaches to right-left asymmetry in a sample of schizophrenic patients. For ridge patterns (arches, radial loops, ulnar loops, and whorls), pattern discordance is used [38,86,87]. For example, if right and left index fingers both have the same ridge pattern (e.g., whorls on both fingers), then the patterns are concordant.…”

Role of the Serotonin Receptor 7 in Brain Plasticity: From Development to Disease

“…For instance, mice lacking brain 5-HT, in addition to several abnormal phenotypes (growth retardation, high aggressive behavior, maternal neglect), show selective deficits resembling ASD's symptoms, including impairment in social interactions and repetitive behavior [3,4]. Various pharmacological studies are providing evidence that targeting 5-HTRs has the potential to treat the core symptoms of ASD and associated intellectual disabilities [93,94]. Recent evidence in animal models suggests that, among other subtypes, the 5-HT7R might be one of the players involved in ASD (see below).…”

Role of the Serotonin Receptor 7 in Brain Plasticity: From Development to Disease

“…For instance, mice lacking brain 5-HT, in addition to several abnormal phenotypes (growth retardation, high aggressive behavior, maternal neglect), show selective deficits resembling ASD's symptoms, including impairments in social interactions and repetitive behavior [3,4]. Various pharmacological studies are providing evidence that targeting 5-HTRs has the potential to treat the core symptoms of ASD and associated intellectual disabilities [91][92][93][94]. Recent evidence in animal models suggest that, among other subtypes, the 5-HT7R might be one of the players involved in ASD (see below).…”