Individuals exhibiting pronounced autistic traits (e.g., social differences and specialised interests) may struggle with cognitive empathy (i.e., the ability to infer others' emotions), although the relationship with affective empathy (i.e., the ability to share others' emotions) is less clear in that higher levels of autistic traits may be linked with increased affective empathy for negative emotions but reduced affective empathy for positive emotions. The current study investigates this empathy profile and whether alexithymia and emotion dysregulation help to explain it. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2024
• February 2024

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders which are more common in males. The 'prenatal sex steroid' hypothesis links excessive sex-steroid exposure during foetal life with the behavioural differences observed in ASD. However, the reason why sex steroid exposure may be excessive remains unclear. Epidemiological studies have identified several environmental risk factors associated with ASD, including developmental vitamin D (DVD) deficiency. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2020
• December 2020

Reduced eye contact early in life may play a role in the developmental pathways that culminate in a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. However, there are contradictory theories regarding the neural mechanisms involved. According to the amygdala theory of autism, reduced eye contact results from a hypoactive amygdala that fails to flag eyes as salient. However, the eye avoidance hypothesis proposes the opposite-that amygdala hyperactivity causes eye avoidance. This review evaluated studies that measured the relationship between eye gaze and activity in the 'social brain' when viewing facial stimuli. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2022
• February 2022

This paper profiles the functional pattern of DNA variants found at a higher rate in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), X-linked intellectual... ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2014
• June 2014

Comparable survey data on Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians are highly sought after by policymakers to inform policies aimed at closing ethnic... ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2015
• June 2015

Causal theories propose that functional asymmetry is an obligatory pattern of organisation, while statistical theories maintain this is a reflection... ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2009
• July 2009

These data highlight that early life levels of vitamin D are an important consideration for maternal behavioural adaptations as well as offspring neuropsychiatry ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2018
• May 2018

It has been suggested that quantitative measures of differential hand skill or reaching preference may provide more valid measures than traditional... ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2013
• May 2013

Andrew Whitehouse Watch and listen to Andrew AJ PhD Angela Wright Bennett Professor of Autism Research at Telethon Kids and University of Western ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2013
• September 2013

Here we investigate these features in an animal model related to autism spectrum disorder - the DVD-deficient rat ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2019
• May 2019