title: Whole-blood serotonin and cognitive functioning in autistic individuals and their first-degree relatives.
abstract: The relationship between cognitive-intellectual abilities and whole-blood serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) in 18 autistic probands and their first-degree relatives (n = 21 parents, n = 13 siblings) was investigated. Whole-blood 5-HT was significantly negatively associated with verbal-expressive/symbolic abilities for the entire sample. The proportion of variance in cognitive-intellectual performances attributable to whole-blood 5-HT was substantial in the context of variance attributable to familial classification. The relationship between verbal-expressive abilities and whole-blood 5-HT, adjusted for race and familial classification, was noteworthy. Simple correlations between 5-HT and cognitive-intellectual performances were conducted. However, bias related to covariance attributable to race seriously limits such findings. The issue of bias and its relevance to previous research is discussed further.
authors.affiliation: William S. Hall Psychiatric Institute, Columbia, South Carolina.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Cuccaro
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Abramson
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Marsteller
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Valentine
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012701:Serotonin / Q000097:blood*; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014888:Wechsler Scales
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin