title: Mild dermatoglyphic deviations in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders and average intellectual abilities as compared to typically developing boys.
abstract: Dermatoglyphics, ridge constellations on the hands and feet, are permanently formed by the second trimester of pregnancy. Consequently, they are considered "fossilized" evidence of a specific prenatal period. A high frequency of dermatoglyphic anomalies, or a high rate of dermatoglyphic asymmetry (discordance), is an indication of developmental instability (prenatal disturbances) prior to 24-week gestation. Most dermatoglyphic studies in psychiatry focus on adult schizophrenia. Studies on dermatoglyphic deviances and autism are sparse, include severely disturbed and intellectually retarded patients with autism, and are carried out mainly in non-Western European populations. In this study, finger print patterns, atd-angles, and palmar flexion crease patterns (PFCs) are compared between Western European adolescent teenage males, of average intellect, with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD; n = 46) and typically developing adolescent teenage males (TD; n = 49). Boys with ASD had a higher rate of discordance in their finger print patterns than TD boys. Thus, the hypothesized prenatal disturbances that play a role in the etiology of schizophrenia and severe autism might not be specific to these severe psychiatric disorders but might also be involved in the etiology of varying degrees of ASD.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Child Development and Education (RICDE), University of Amsterdam, 1018 WS Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; Research Priority Area Yield, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WS Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Esther I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: de Bruin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA 30149, USA.
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC-Sophia, 3015 CN Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anneke
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5186-1885
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Louwerse
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology & Education, VU University Amsterdam, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anja C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Huizink