New Ways to Predict Autism Spectrum Disorders

Dear Colleagues,

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heritable, heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, as well as restricted, repetitive behavior presenting in early childhood. Therapeutic interventions are most effective if started early in life; however, diagnosis often remains delayed, partly because the diagnosis of ASD is based on identifying atypical behaviors that may not emerge until the disorder is well established.

It would signal great progress to find biomarkers that can help to identify children at risk during the pre-symptomatic period, assist with early diagnosis, stratify patients into subgroups, and predict therapeutic responses tailored for each different subtype of patient. The main aim of this Special Issue of Brain Sciences is to provide a collection of studies providing the most recent results in the field of research on promising biomarkers for ASD.

Authors are invited to submit cutting-edge research and reviews that present potential biomarkers related to the detection and identification of ASD, including studies on the following: neuroimaging and electrophysiologic, physical, and behavioral characteristics (adaptive behaviors, sensory profiles, language, cognitive). In particular, we aim to present biomarkers in autism research that may have a significant effect on therapeutic responses.

Dr. Marco Turi
Dr. Themis Karaminis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• autism
• screening and risk factor
• early diagnosis
• biomarkers
• therapeutic outcome