A quarterly publication of the Autism Research Institute
Summer, 2022 | Number 3, Volume 36
A new study suggests that a diagnostic test called an electroretinogram (ERG) may aid in diagnosing autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and differentiating between the two conditions.
Paul Constable and colleagues performed ERG tests—which measure the electrical activity of the retina in response to a light stimulus—on 226 individuals, all of them children or young adults. Participants included 55 individuals with ASD, 15 individuals with ADHD, and 156 controls. The researchers found that individuals with ADHD showed elevated overall ERG energy, while those with ASD showed reduced ERG energy.
Constable notes that ASD and ADHD often share similar traits, which can make it difficult to differentiate between them. He says, “Retinal signals have specific nerves that generate them, so if we can identify these differences and localize them to specific pathways that use different chemical signals that are also used in the brain, then we can show distinct differences for children with ADHD and ASD and potentially other neurodevelopmental conditions.”
“Discrete wavelet transform analysis of the electroretinogram in autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,” Paul A. Constable, Fernando Marmolejo-Ramos, Mercedes Gauthier, Irene O. Lee, David H. Skuse, and Dorothy A. Thompson, Frontiers in Neuroscience, June 2022 (free online). Address: Paul Constable, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Caring Futures Institute, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia, [email protected].
—and—
“When it comes to ADHD and ASD, the eyes could reveal all,” news release, University of South Australia, June 16, 2022.
