Piven J, Palmer P, Landa R, Santangelo S, Jacobi D, Childress D
Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, USA.
Am J Med Genet. 1997 Jul 25;74(4):398-411.
Several studies have suggested that the genetic liability for autism may be expressed in non-autistic relatives of autistic probands, in behavioral characteristics that are milder but qualitatively similar to the defining features of autism. We employ a variety of direct assessment approaches to examine both personality and language in parents ascertained through having two autistic children (multiple-incidence autism parents) and parents of Down syndrome probands. Multiple-incidence autism parents had higher rates of particular personality characteristics (rigidity, aloofness, hypersensitivity to criticism, and anxiousness), speech and pragmatic language deficits, and more limited friendships than parents in the comparison group. The implications of these findings for future genetic studies of autism are discussed.
多项研究表明，自闭症的遗传易感性可能在自闭症先证者的非自闭症亲属中表现出来，体现在一些行为特征上，这些特征虽较为轻微，但在性质上与自闭症的典型特征相似。我们采用多种直接评估方法，对通过生育两个自闭症孩子确诊的父母（多例自闭症患儿父母）以及唐氏综合征先证者的父母的性格和语言进行了研究。与对照组的父母相比，多例自闭症患儿父母具有特定性格特征（刻板、冷漠、对批评过度敏感和焦虑）、言语和语用语言缺陷的比例更高，且拥有的友谊更少。本文讨论了这些发现对未来自闭症基因研究的意义。
