The Longitudinal European Autism Project: AIMS-2-TRIALS
Aims:
To identify biomarkers with an established link to heritable likelihood for autism.
Background:
The Longitudinal European Autism Project is part of a European multi-centre study. This includes the Institute of Psychiatry (King’s College London), the Autism Research Centre (University of Cambridge), the University Medical Centre (Utrecht), Radboud University Medical Centre (Nijmegen), Central Institute of Mental Health (Germany), University Campus Bio-medico (Rome, Italy) and the Karolinska Institute (Stockholm).
Method:
Approximately 420 autistic participants aged 6-30 years old and 325 typical participants were involved. The same study protocol will be carried out simultaneously at seven study sites across Europe. Each participant will be seen at two time-points within a 12-24 months period. Each assessment wave includes 1-2 Institute visits. Participants will be asked to take part in clinical assessments, cognitive tasks, eye tracking and a structural and functional MRI scan. Blood, urine and saliva samples will be taken. This study has now been extended as part of AIMS-2-TRIALS.
Results:
Results will appear on our website.
Importance:
This will teach us about how brain development is different in autistic and non-autistic people.
Relevance:
This is a study of neurodiversity using MRI, and will inform models of what causes autism, from genes, to brain and behaviour.
Funders:
The research leading to these results has received support from the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking under grant agreement n° 115300, resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007 – 2013) and EFPIA companies’ in kind contribution.
Selected Publications
- Investigating the factors underlying adaptive functioning in autism in the EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project, Autism Research (2019), J Tillmann, A S J Cáceres, C H Chatham, D Crawley, R Holt, B Oakley, B T Banaschewski, S Baron-Cohen, S Bölte, J K Buitelaar, S Durston, L Ham, E Loth E Simonoff, W Spooren D G Murphy, T Charman, the EU-AIMS LEAP Group
- Altered Connectivity Between Cerebellum, Visual, and Sensory-Motor Networks in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Results from the EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project, Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging 4, 260-270 (2018), M Oldehinkel, M Mennes, A Marquand, T Charman, J Tillmann, C Ecker, F Dell’Acqua, D Brandeis, T Banaschewski, S Baumeister, C Moessnang, S Baron-Cohen, R Holt, S Bolte, S Durston, S, P Kundu, M V Lombardo, W Spooren, E Loth, D G M Murphy, C F Beckman, J K Buitelaar, the EU-AIMS LEAP Group
- The EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project (LEAP): clinical characterisation, Molecular Autism 08:27 (2017), T Charman, E Loth, J Tillmann, D Crawley, C Wooldridge, D Goyard, J Ahmad, B Auygeung, S Ambrosino, T Banaschewski, S Baron-Cohen, S Baumeister, C Beckmann, S Bölte, T Bourgeron, C Bours, M Brammer, D Brandeis, C Brogna, Y de Brujin, B Chakrabarti, I Cornelissen, F Dell’ Acqua, G Dumas, S Durston, C Ecker, J Faulkner, V Frouin, P Garcés, L Ham, H Hayward, J Hipp, R Holt, J Isaksson, M Johnson, E Jones, P Kundu, M-C Lai, X D’ardhuy, M Lombardo, D Lythgoe, R Mandl, L Mason, A Meyer-Lindenberg, C Moessnang, N Mueller, L O’Dwyer, M Oldehinkel, B Oranje, G Pandina, A Persico, B Ruggeri, A Ruigrok, J Sabet, R Sacco, A San José Cáceres, E Simonoff, R Toro, H Tost, J Waldman, S Williams, M Zwiers, W Spooren, D Murphy & J Buitelaar
- The EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project (LEAP): design and methodologies to identify and validate stratification biomarkers for autism spectrum disorders, Molecular Autism 08:24 (2017), E Loth, T Charman, L Mason, J Tillmann, E Jones, C Wooldridge, J Ahmad, B Auygeung, C Brogna, S Ambrosino, T Banaschewski, S Baron-Cohen, S Baumeister, C Beckmann, M Brammer, D Brandeis, S Bölte, T Bourgeron, C Bours, Y de Brujin, B Chakrabarti, D Crawley, I Cornelissen, F Dell’ Acqua, G Dumas, S Durston, C Ecker, J Faulkner, V Frouin, P Garces, D Goyard, H Hayward, L Ham, J Hipp, R Holt, M Johnson, J Isaksson, P Kundu, M-C Lai, X D’ardhuy, M Lombardo, D Lythgoe, R Mandl, A Meyer-Lindenberg, C Moessnang, N Mueller, L O’Dwyer, M Oldehinkel, B Oranje, G Pandina, A Persico, A Ruigrok, B Ruggeri, J Sabet, R Sacco, A San José Cáceres, E Simonoff, R Toro, H Tost, J Waldman, S Williams, M Zwiers, W Spooren, D Murphy & J Buitelaar