Social and Affective Processes in Autism

社交情感互惠障碍是自闭症谱系障碍的核心症状之一。在复杂疾病的遗传学和数量性状分析、社会和情感神经科学的出现、与自闭症相关的不同行为表型和数量特征的测量以及对神经发育障碍的发育本质的重新关注方面的最新科技进步，为我们建立综合的多学科研究计划提供了基础，解决了自闭症的这一定义特征和潜在的治疗方法。这个STAART中心的多站点申请集中在自闭症的社会和情感过程的中心主题。波士顿的主要机构(波士顿大学医学院，塔夫茨纽约分校 新英格兰北部(达特茅斯医学中心)和威斯康星大学(威斯康星大学韦斯曼中心/威斯康星大学)将合作开展五个项目，从家庭影响(项目I)、使用数量性状方法的潜在遗传原因(项目II)、脑病理和功能(项目III和项目IV)以及社交情绪障碍的核心症状的治疗(项目V)来探讨自闭症的早期发展过程(项目I)、社会情绪障碍的核心症状的治疗(项目IV)。这些项目将得到临床核心(核心B)的支持，该核心将从以下方面收集诊断和表型数据、DNA和其他生物信息 自闭症儿童及其一级亲属；以及数据管理和统计核心(核心C)，该核心将创建和管理数据库，并为项目的数据输入、访问和统计分析提供主要支持。行政核心(核心A)将协调中心的科学组成部分，包括项目和其他核心，并将促进为地方、地区和国家自闭症社区发展新的教育、临床、培训和其他外展计划。我们的中心汇集了一支来自广泛地理基础的顶尖科学家团队，他们共同创造了 完成任务所需的基础设施不仅是为了我们自己的科学计划，也是为了合作研究，这将是NIH STAART中心计划的重要组成部分。

Impairments in social emotional reciprocity are among the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorders. Recent scientific and technological advances in the genetics of complex diseases and quantitative trait analysis, the emergence of the social and affective neurosciences, the measurement of heterogeneous behavioral phenotypes and quantitative traits associated with autism, and renewed attention to the developmental nature of neurodevelopmental disorders provide the foundation on which we have built our integrated, multidisciplinary research programs, addressing this defining feature of autism and potential treatments. This multi-site application for a STAART Center focuses on the central theme of social and affective processes in autism. Major institutions in Boston (Boston University School of Medicine, Tufts New England Medical Center, Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital), northern New England (Dartmouth Medical Center) and Wisconsin (Waisman Center/University of Wisconsin) will collaborate on five projects that explore the early developmental course viewed within the context of family influences (Project I), underlying genetic causes using a quantitative trait approach (Project II), brain pathology and functioning (Projects III and IV), and treatment (Project V) of the core symptoms of social emotional impairment, and co-occurring affective disorder and problem behaviors in autism. The projects will be supported by a Clinical Core (Core B), which will collect diagnostic and phenotype data, DNA, and other biological information from children with autism and their first degree relatives; and a Data Management and Statistics Core (Core C), that will create and manage the database and provide major support for data entry, access, and statistical analyses for the projects. The Administrative Core (Core A) will coordinate the scientific components of the Center including the projects and other Cores, and will foster the development of new educational, clinical, training, and other outreach programs for the local, regional and national autism community. Our center brings together a team of leading scientists drawn from a broad geographical base who together create the infrastructure needed to fulfill the mission not only for our own scientific programs but also for the collaborative research that will be an important part of the NIH STAART Centers Program.