Frontiers in Psychology (Aug 2012)

Social Communication and Theory of Mind in Boys with Autism and Fragile X Syndrome

  • Molly eLosh,
  • Gary E. Martin,
  • Gary E. Martin,
  • Jessica eKlusek,
  • Jessica eKlusek,
  • Abigail Lee Hogan-Brown,
  • John eSideris

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00266
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 3

Abstract

Read online

Impairments in the social use of language, or pragmatics, constitute a core characteristic of autism. Problems with pragmatic language have also been documented in fragile X syndrome, a monogenic condition that is the most common known genetic cause of autism. Evidence suggests that social cognitive ability, or theory of mind, may also be impaired in both conditions, and in autism, may importantly relate to pragmatic language ability. Given the substantial overlap observed in autism and FXS, this study aimed to better define those social-communicative phenotypes that overlap in these two conditions by comparing pragmatic language ability and theory of mind in children with idiopathic autism and children with FXS, with and without autism, as well as children with Down syndrome and typically developing controls. We further examined correlations between these cognitive-behavioral phenotypes and molecular genetic variation related to FMR1 in the FXS group. Results indicated that children with idiopathic autism and those with FXS and autism performed comparably on direct-assessment measures of pragmatic language and theory of mind, whereas those with FXS only did not differ from controls. Theory of mind was related to pragmatic language ability in all groups. Pragmatic language and theory of mind also correlated with genetic variation at the FMR1 locus (CGG repeats and percent methylation). These results point towards substantial overlap in the social and language phenotypes in autism and FXS and suggest a molecular genetic basis to these phenotypic profiles.

Keywords