Life Span Institute, Neurocognitive Development of Autism Research Laboratory, The University of Kansas, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Room 1052, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
Dev Psychobiol. 2013 Jul;55(5):465-82. doi: 10.1002/dev.21051. Epub 2012 May 29.
Dysregulated tonic pupil size has been reported in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Among the possible sources of this dysregulation are disruptions in the feedback loop between norepinephrine (NE) and hypothalamic systems. In the current study, we examined afternoon levels of salivary alpha-amylase (sAA, a putative correlate of NE) and cortisol (used to assess stress-based responses) in two independent samples of children with ASD. We found a larger pupil size and lower sAA levels in ASD, compared to typical and clinical age-matched controls. This was substantiated at the individual level, as sAA levels were strongly correlated with tonic pupil size. Relatively little diurnal variation in sAA taken in the home environment in the ASD group was also observed, while typical controls showed a significant linear increase throughout the day. Results are discussed in terms of potential early biomarkers and the elucidation of underlying neural dysfunction in ASD.
在自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）中，已经报道了张力性瞳孔大小失调。这种失调的可能来源之一是去甲肾上腺素（NE）和下丘脑系统之间的反馈回路中断。在当前的研究中，我们检查了两个独立的 ASD 儿童样本中唾液淀粉酶（sAA，一种可能与 NE 相关的物质）和皮质醇（用于评估基于压力的反应）的下午水平。与典型和临床年龄匹配的对照组相比，我们发现 ASD 患者的瞳孔更大，sAA 水平更低。这在个体水平上得到了证实，因为 sAA 水平与张力性瞳孔大小呈强相关。在 ASD 组中，在家庭环境中采集的 sAA 昼夜变化相对较小，而典型对照组则在全天呈显著线性增加。结果从潜在的早期生物标志物和 ASD 中潜在的神经功能障碍的阐明方面进行了讨论。
