title: Startle and blink reflex in high functioning autism.
abstract: An important clinical feature of autism is the presence of atypical responses to sensory stimuli. In this study, we investigated if high functioning autistic patients had abnormalities in the blink reflex and the startle reaction to auditory or somatosensory stimuli. Fourteen patients aged between 7 and 16 years were included in the study. We found a longer latency of the blink reflex, an increased duration and amplitude of the auditory startle reaction and a lower presence rate of the somatosensorial startle reaction in autistic patients. To better define the sensorial characteristics of the disease could improve the therapeutic management of children with autism spectrum disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of neurology, Cerrahpasa faculty of medicine, Istanbul university, 34098 KMPasa, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey. Electronic address: ozdemerturk@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Ozdem
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Erturk
authors.affiliation: Department of neurology, Cerrahpasa faculty of medicine, Istanbul university, 34098 KMPasa, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Baris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Korkmaz
authors.affiliation: Institute of health sciences, speech and language therapy, Anadolu university, Eskisehir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gulce
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alev
authors.affiliation: Department of neurology, Cerrahpasa faculty of medicine, Istanbul university, 34098 KMPasa, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Veysi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Demirbilek
authors.affiliation: Department of neurology, Cerrahpasa faculty of medicine, Istanbul university, 34098 KMPasa, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Meral
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kiziltan
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001767:Blinking; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D013216:Reflex, Startle
keywords: Autism; Blink reflex; Réflexe de clignement; Réflexe de sursaut; Startle reflex