Alessandra Piatti, Sara Van der Paelt, Petra Warreyn, Herbert Roeyers
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with life-long challenges with social cognition, and one of its earliest and most common manifestations is atypical joint attention, which is a pivotal skill in social-cognitive and linguistic development. Early interventions for ASD children often focus on training initiation of joint attention (IJA) and response to joint attention bids (RJA), which are important for social communication and cognition. Here, we used functional near-infrared spectroscopy and behavioral measures to test typically developing (TD, n = 17) and ASD children (n = 18), to address the relationship between the neural correlates of RJA and social-communicative behavior. Group-level differences were present for RJA-specific activation over right temporal sites, where TD children showed higher levels of activation during RJA than ASD children, whereas the two groups did not differ in the control condition. Correlations between neural activation and behavioral traits suggest that, in ASD children, neural activation during RJA is related to the frequency of RJA behavior when the former is measured over left temporal sites, and to social affect symptoms when considered for right temporal sites. Possible implications of the evidenced correlations are discussed.
{"title":"Neural correlates of response to joint attention in 2-to-5-year-olds in relation to ASD and social-communicative abilities: An fNIRS and behavioral study","authors":"Alessandra Piatti, Sara Van der Paelt, Petra Warreyn, Herbert Roeyers","doi":"10.1002/aur.3149","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3149","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with life-long challenges with social cognition, and one of its earliest and most common manifestations is atypical joint attention, which is a pivotal skill in social-cognitive and linguistic development. Early interventions for ASD children often focus on training initiation of joint attention (IJA) and response to joint attention bids (RJA), which are important for social communication and cognition. Here, we used functional near-infrared spectroscopy and behavioral measures to test typically developing (TD, <i>n</i> = 17) and ASD children (<i>n</i> = 18), to address the relationship between the neural correlates of RJA and social-communicative behavior. Group-level differences were present for RJA-specific activation over right temporal sites, where TD children showed higher levels of activation during RJA than ASD children, whereas the two groups did not differ in the control condition. Correlations between neural activation and behavioral traits suggest that, in ASD children, neural activation during RJA is related to the frequency of RJA behavior when the former is measured over left temporal sites, and to social affect symptoms when considered for right temporal sites. Possible implications of the evidenced correlations are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141082439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Engaging in meaningful activities (e.g., leisure, spiritual, fitness) significantly affects caregivers' quality of life (QoL), yet the determinants of participation in caregivers of Autistic children remain largely unknown. The current study examined child and caregiver correlates of primary caregiver participation in meaningful activities. One hundred and six primary caregivers of Autistic children (7–12 years) were recruited from three unique cohorts of Autistic children in this cross-sectional study. Primary caregivers completed online questionnaires measuring occupational gaps (i.e., desired activities caregivers are not participating in), QoL, parenting stress, perceived family outcomes, and social support. In addition to undertaking direct assessments of children's cognition and language, primary caregivers also reported on their child's adaptive behavior, social–emotional skills, and participation. Caregivers reporting fewer occupational gaps (i.e., ≤2 desired activities) were more likely to have Autistic children with no co-occurring conditions, who were older, and with better adaptive behaviors, social–emotional skills, and more frequent home and school participation, compared to caregivers reporting many gaps (i.e., ≥3 desired activities). Caregivers with fewer occupational gaps also reported improved QoL, parenting stress, social support, perceived community inclusiveness, and family outcomes. Logistic regression analysis identified child age, child adaptive behavior, social–emotional skills, home participation, and the caregivers' perceived family outcomes and QoL as important predictors of their occupational gaps. The findings demonstrate that caregiver participation in desired activities was associated with increased functional ability and independence of the child, as well as their perceived capacity to meet their child's needs. Supporting parents' sense of efficacy in meeting their children's needs and building their skills and knowledge will serve to improve both caregiver and child outcomes.
参与有意义的活动(如休闲、精神和健身)会极大地影响照顾者的生活质量(QoL),但自闭症儿童照顾者参与活动的决定因素在很大程度上仍不为人所知。本研究探讨了儿童和照顾者参与有意义活动的相关因素。这项横断面研究从三个独特的自闭症儿童队列中招募了 16 名自闭症儿童(7-12 岁)的主要照顾者。主要照护者填写了在线问卷,测量职业差距(即照护者未参与的理想活动)、QoL、养育压力、感知的家庭成果和社会支持。除了对孩子的认知和语言进行直接评估外,主要照顾者还报告了孩子的适应行为、社会情感技能和参与情况。与报告有较多空白(即≥3 项预期活动)的照护者相比,报告有较少空白(即≤2 项预期活动)的照护者更有可能照护无并发症、年龄较大、适应行为和社会情感技能较好、更经常参与家庭和学校活动的自闭症儿童。职业差距较小的照护者还报告说,他们的生活质量、养育压力、社会支持、社区包容性感知以及家庭成果都有所改善。逻辑回归分析表明,儿童年龄、儿童适应行为、社会情感技能、家庭参与以及照顾者感知到的家庭成果和 QoL 是预测其职业差距的重要因素。研究结果表明,照顾者参与所期望的活动与孩子功能能力和独立性的提高以及他们所认为的满足孩子需求的能力有关。支持父母在满足孩子需求方面的效能感,并培养他们的技能和知识,将有助于改善照顾者和孩子的结果。
{"title":"Child and caregiver predictors of primary caregiver participation in families of school-aged Autistic children","authors":"Gemma Davy, Josephine Barbaro, Katy Unwin, Megan Clark, Rachel Jellett, Perrin Date, Melanie Muniandy, Cheryl Dissanayake","doi":"10.1002/aur.3166","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3166","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Engaging in meaningful activities (e.g., leisure, spiritual, fitness) significantly affects caregivers' quality of life (QoL), yet the determinants of participation in caregivers of Autistic children remain largely unknown. The current study examined child and caregiver correlates of primary caregiver participation in meaningful activities. One hundred and six primary caregivers of Autistic children (7–12 years) were recruited from three unique cohorts of Autistic children in this cross-sectional study. Primary caregivers completed online questionnaires measuring occupational gaps (i.e., desired activities caregivers are not participating in), QoL, parenting stress, perceived family outcomes, and social support. In addition to undertaking direct assessments of children's cognition and language, primary caregivers also reported on their child's adaptive behavior, social–emotional skills, and participation. Caregivers reporting fewer occupational gaps (i.e., ≤2 desired activities) were more likely to have Autistic children with no co-occurring conditions, who were older, and with better adaptive behaviors, social–emotional skills, and more frequent home and school participation, compared to caregivers reporting many gaps (i.e., ≥3 desired activities). Caregivers with fewer occupational gaps also reported improved QoL, parenting stress, social support, perceived community inclusiveness, and family outcomes. Logistic regression analysis identified child age, child adaptive behavior, social–emotional skills, home participation, and the caregivers' perceived family outcomes and QoL as important predictors of their occupational gaps. The findings demonstrate that caregiver participation in desired activities was associated with increased functional ability and independence of the child, as well as their perceived capacity to meet their child's needs. Supporting parents' sense of efficacy in meeting their children's needs and building their skills and knowledge will serve to improve both caregiver and child outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.3166","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141089345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Kember, P. Patenaude, H. Sweatman, L. Van Schaik, Z. Tabuenca, X. J. Chai
Structural and functional differences in the hippocampus have been related to the episodic memory and social impairments observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In neurotypical individuals, hippocampal–cortical functional connectivity systematically varies between anterior and posterior hippocampus, with changes observed during typical development. It remains unknown whether this specialization of anterior–posterior hippocampal connectivity is disrupted in ASD, and whether age-related differences in this specialization exist in ASD. We examined connectivity of the anterior and posterior hippocampus in an ASD (N = 139) and non-autistic comparison group (N = 133) aged 5–21 using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from the Healthy Brain Network (HBN). Consistent with previous results, we observed lower connectivity between the whole hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex in ASD. Moreover, preferential connectivity of the posterior relative to the anterior hippocampus for memory-sensitive regions in posterior parietal cortex was reduced in ASD, demonstrating a weaker anterior–posterior specialization of hippocampal–cortical connectivity. Finally, connectivity between the posterior hippocampus and precuneus negatively correlated with age in the ASD group but remained stable in the comparison group, suggesting an altered developmental specialization. Together, these differences in hippocampal–cortical connectivity may help us understand the neurobiological basis of the memory and social impairments found in ASD.
{"title":"Specialization of anterior and posterior hippocampal functional connectivity differs in autism","authors":"J. Kember, P. Patenaude, H. Sweatman, L. Van Schaik, Z. Tabuenca, X. J. Chai","doi":"10.1002/aur.3170","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3170","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Structural and functional differences in the hippocampus have been related to the episodic memory and social impairments observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In neurotypical individuals, hippocampal–cortical functional connectivity systematically varies between anterior and posterior hippocampus, with changes observed during typical development. It remains unknown whether this specialization of anterior–posterior hippocampal connectivity is disrupted in ASD, and whether age-related differences in this specialization exist in ASD. We examined connectivity of the anterior and posterior hippocampus in an ASD (<i>N =</i> 139) and non-autistic comparison group (<i>N</i> = 133) aged 5–21 using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from the Healthy Brain Network (HBN). Consistent with previous results, we observed lower connectivity between the whole hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex in ASD. Moreover, preferential connectivity of the posterior relative to the anterior hippocampus for memory-sensitive regions in posterior parietal cortex was reduced in ASD, demonstrating a weaker anterior–posterior specialization of hippocampal–cortical connectivity. Finally, connectivity between the posterior hippocampus and precuneus negatively correlated with age in the ASD group but remained stable in the comparison group, suggesting an altered developmental specialization. Together, these differences in hippocampal–cortical connectivity may help us understand the neurobiological basis of the memory and social impairments found in ASD.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.3170","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141072426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MaryKate Frisch, Kirsty L. Coulter, Rebecca P. Thomas, Marianne L. Barton, Diana L. Robins, Deborah A. Fein
Preferred interests are characteristic of autism spectrum disorder and are reported by parents starting at an early age. However, limited research has explored the presentation of preferred interests in toddlerhood. Previous literature suggests that both the intensity and type of preferred interests held by autistic individuals differ from those held by peers with developmental delay and no diagnosis and that autistic interests are more unusual in nature. While preferred interests are seen in typical child development, previous research suggests that the presence of preferred interests in children with no diagnosis declines with age. Literature also indicates that the sex and cognitive ability of autistic children influences preferred interests. Identification of early preferred interests commonly held by autistic toddlers could serve as a useful clinical indicator of future diagnosis. This article explored whether diagnostic group, age, sex, and cognitive ability predict the likelihood that parents reported preferred interests in children aged 12–36 months with diagnoses of autism, developmental delay, and those with no diagnosis. Additionally, we explored potential diagnostic group differences in interest type. Results suggest that diagnostic group, but not age, sex, or cognitive ability, predicts the likelihood that parents report preferred interests. No differences in the type of interests among diagnostic groups were identified. These results support the use of preferred interests as an early sign of autism but suggest that interest type may not be a helpful clinical indicator of autism in toddlerhood.
{"title":"Categorizing and identifying preferred interests in autistic toddlers","authors":"MaryKate Frisch, Kirsty L. Coulter, Rebecca P. Thomas, Marianne L. Barton, Diana L. Robins, Deborah A. Fein","doi":"10.1002/aur.3169","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3169","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Preferred interests are characteristic of autism spectrum disorder and are reported by parents starting at an early age. However, limited research has explored the presentation of preferred interests in toddlerhood. Previous literature suggests that both the intensity and type of preferred interests held by autistic individuals differ from those held by peers with developmental delay and no diagnosis and that autistic interests are more unusual in nature. While preferred interests are seen in typical child development, previous research suggests that the presence of preferred interests in children with no diagnosis declines with age. Literature also indicates that the sex and cognitive ability of autistic children influences preferred interests. Identification of early preferred interests commonly held by autistic toddlers could serve as a useful clinical indicator of future diagnosis. This article explored whether diagnostic group, age, sex, and cognitive ability predict the likelihood that parents reported preferred interests in children aged 12–36 months with diagnoses of autism, developmental delay, and those with no diagnosis. Additionally, we explored potential diagnostic group differences in interest type. Results suggest that diagnostic group, but not age, sex, or cognitive ability, predicts the likelihood that parents report preferred interests. No differences in the type of interests among diagnostic groups were identified. These results support the use of preferred interests as an early sign of autism but suggest that interest type may not be a helpful clinical indicator of autism in toddlerhood.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141072425","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rujuta B. Wilson, Sitaram Vangala, Rachel Reetzke, Antonia Piergies, Sally Ozonoff, Meghan Miller
Early motor delays and differences are common among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Yet, little work has shown whether there are early atypical motor signs that differentiate these groups. Quantitative measures of movement variability hold promise for improving the identification of subtle and specific differences in motor function among infants and toddlers at high likelihood for ASD and ADHD. To this end, we created a novel quantitative measure of movement variability (movement curvature) and conducted a preliminary investigation as to whether this measure improves outcome predictions. We used a wearable triaxial accelerometer to evaluate continuous motion-based activity in infants at high and low likelihood for ASD and ADHD at 12, 18, 24, and 36 months of age. At 36 months, participants were categorized into three outcome groups: ASD (n = 19), ADHD concerns (n = 17), and a comparison group (n = 82). We examined group differences in movement curvature and whether movement curvature is predictive of a later ASD or ADHD concerns classification. We found that movement curvature was significantly lower in infants with later ASD diagnosis at 18, 24, and 36 months of age compared to infants with either ADHD concerns or those in the comparison group. Movement curvature was also a significant predictor of ASD at 18, 24, and 36 months (AUC 0.66–0.71; p = 0.005–0.039) and when adjusting for high ASD likelihood at 18 and 24 months (AUC 0.90, p = 0.05–0.019). These results indicate that lower movement curvature may be a feature of early motor differences in infants with later ASD diagnosis as early as 18 months of age.
{"title":"Objective measurement of movement variability using wearable sensors predicts ASD outcomes in infants at high likelihood for ASD and ADHD","authors":"Rujuta B. Wilson, Sitaram Vangala, Rachel Reetzke, Antonia Piergies, Sally Ozonoff, Meghan Miller","doi":"10.1002/aur.3150","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3150","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Early motor delays and differences are common among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Yet, little work has shown whether there are early atypical motor signs that differentiate these groups. Quantitative measures of movement variability hold promise for improving the identification of subtle and specific differences in motor function among infants and toddlers at high likelihood for ASD and ADHD. To this end, we created a novel quantitative measure of movement variability (movement curvature) and conducted a preliminary investigation as to whether this measure improves outcome predictions. We used a wearable triaxial accelerometer to evaluate continuous motion-based activity in infants at high and low likelihood for ASD and ADHD at 12, 18, 24, and 36 months of age. At 36 months, participants were categorized into three outcome groups: ASD (<i>n</i> = 19), ADHD concerns (<i>n</i> = 17), and a comparison group (<i>n</i> = 82). We examined group differences in movement curvature and whether movement curvature is predictive of a later ASD or ADHD concerns classification. We found that movement curvature was significantly lower in infants with later ASD diagnosis at 18, 24, and 36 months of age compared to infants with either ADHD concerns or those in the comparison group. Movement curvature was also a significant predictor of ASD at 18, 24, and 36 months (AUC 0.66–0.71; <i>p</i> = 0.005–0.039) and when adjusting for high ASD likelihood at 18 and 24 months (AUC 0.90, <i>p</i> = 0.05–0.019). These results indicate that lower movement curvature may be a feature of early motor differences in infants with later ASD diagnosis as early as 18 months of age.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.3150","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140923705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Autistic people exhibit atypical use of prior information when processing simple perceptual stimuli; yet, it remains unclear whether and how these difficulties in using priors extend to complex social stimuli. Here, we compared autistic people without accompanying intellectual disability and nonautistic people in their ability to acquire an “emotional prior” of a facial expression and update this prior to a different facial expression of the same identity. Participants performed a two-interval same/different discrimination task between two facial expressions. To study the acquisition of the prior, we examined how discrimination was modified by the contraction of the perceived facial expressions toward the average of presented stimuli (i.e., regression to the mean). At first, facial expressions surrounded one average emotional prior (mostly sad or angry), and then the average switched (to mostly angry or sad, accordingly). Autistic people exhibited challenges in facial discrimination, and yet acquired the first prior, demonstrating typical regression-to-the-mean effects. However, unlike nonautistic people, autistic people did not update their perception to the second prior, suggesting they are less flexible in updating an acquired prior of emotional expressions. Our findings shed light on the perception of emotional expressions, one of the most pressing challenges in autism.
{"title":"Is she still angry? Intact learning but no updating of facial expressions priors in autism","authors":"Renana Twito, Bat-Sheva Hadad, Sarit Szpiro","doi":"10.1002/aur.3145","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3145","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Autistic people exhibit atypical use of prior information when processing simple perceptual stimuli; yet, it remains unclear whether and how these difficulties in using priors extend to complex social stimuli. Here, we compared autistic people without accompanying intellectual disability and nonautistic people in their ability to acquire an “emotional prior” of a facial expression and update this prior to a different facial expression of the same identity. Participants performed a two-interval same/different discrimination task between two facial expressions. To study the acquisition of the prior, we examined how discrimination was modified by the contraction of the perceived facial expressions toward the average of presented stimuli (i.e., regression to the mean). At first, facial expressions surrounded one average emotional prior (mostly sad or angry), and then the average switched (to mostly angry or sad, accordingly). Autistic people exhibited challenges in facial discrimination, and yet acquired the first prior, demonstrating typical regression-to-the-mean effects. However, unlike nonautistic people, autistic people did not update their perception to the second prior, suggesting they are less flexible in updating an acquired prior of emotional expressions. Our findings shed light on the perception of emotional expressions, one of the most pressing challenges in autism.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.3145","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140878043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Damien Wright, Aisling Kenny, Sarah Eley, Andrew G. McKechanie, Andrew C. Stanfield
SYNGAP1-ID is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a mutation of the SYNGAP1 gene. Characterized by moderate to severe developmental delay, it is associated with several physical and behavioral issues as well as additional diagnoses, including autism. However, it is not known whether social cognitive differences seen in SYNGAP1-ID are similar to those previously identified in idiopathic or other forms of autism. This study therefore investigated visual social attention in SYNGAP1-ID. Eye movements were recorded across three passive viewing tasks (face scanning, pop-out, and social preference) of differing social complexity in 24 individuals with SYNGAP1-ID and 12 typically developing controls. We found that SYNGAP1-ID participants looked at faces less than the controls, and when they did look at faces, they had less time looking at and fewer fixations to the eyes. For the pop-out task, where social and nonsocial objects (Phone, car, face, bird, and face-noise) were presented in an array, those with SYNGAP1-ID spent significantly less time looking at the phone stimulus as well as fewer fixations to the face compared with the typically developing controls. When looking at two naturalistic scenes side by side, one social in nature (e.g., with children present) and the other not, there were no differences between the SYNGAP1-ID group and typically developing controls on any of the examined eye tracking measures. This study provides novel findings on the social attention of those with SYNGAP1-ID and helps to provide further evidence for using eye tracking as an objective measure of the social phenotype in this population in future clinical trials.
{"title":"Visual social attention in SYNGAP1-related intellectual disability","authors":"Damien Wright, Aisling Kenny, Sarah Eley, Andrew G. McKechanie, Andrew C. Stanfield","doi":"10.1002/aur.3148","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3148","url":null,"abstract":"<p>SYNGAP1-ID is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a mutation of the <i>SYNGAP1</i> gene. Characterized by moderate to severe developmental delay, it is associated with several physical and behavioral issues as well as additional diagnoses, including autism. However, it is not known whether social cognitive differences seen in SYNGAP1-ID are similar to those previously identified in idiopathic or other forms of autism. This study therefore investigated visual social attention in SYNGAP1-ID. Eye movements were recorded across three passive viewing tasks (face scanning, pop-out, and social preference) of differing social complexity in 24 individuals with SYNGAP1-ID and 12 typically developing controls. We found that SYNGAP1-ID participants looked at faces less than the controls, and when they did look at faces, they had less time looking at and fewer fixations to the eyes. For the pop-out task, where social and nonsocial objects (Phone, car, face, bird, and face-noise) were presented in an array, those with SYNGAP1-ID spent significantly less time looking at the phone stimulus as well as fewer fixations to the face compared with the typically developing controls. When looking at two naturalistic scenes side by side, one social in nature (e.g., with children present) and the other not, there were no differences between the SYNGAP1-ID group and typically developing controls on any of the examined eye tracking measures. This study provides novel findings on the social attention of those with SYNGAP1-ID and helps to provide further evidence for using eye tracking as an objective measure of the social phenotype in this population in future clinical trials.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.3148","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140835872","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Josefa Canals, Paula Morales-Hidalgo, Núria Voltas, Carmen Hernández-Martínez
Autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) comorbidity in the school population have been understudied. This study estimates its prevalence considering both parents' and teachers' reports and clinical diagnosis. Sociodemographic, clinical, and cognitive data were compared by diagnostic groups: autism, ADHD, autism and ADHD, subthreshold autism spectrum disorder (ASD), subthreshold ADHD, and children without neurodevelopmental conditions. Following a two-phase design, 3727 parents and teachers (1802 preschoolers, 1925 school-age children) participated in the first phase. Subsequently, 781 participants underwent individual assessment for DSM-5 diagnoses. The estimated prevalence of the comorbid diagnosis was 0.51% (0.28%–0.74%), with significant sex differences (0.16% girls, 0.89% boys). The cooccurrence of symptoms of autism and ADHD reported by parents or teachers was 3.2% and 2.6%, respectively. ADHD comorbidity was observed in 32.8% of autistic children and 31.4% of those with subthreshold ASD. ASD comorbidity was observed in 9.8% of children with ADHD and 5.7% of those with subthreshold ADHD. Comorbidity was reported by at least one informant in 95% of children. Only 15.8% of children with autism and ADHD had been previously diagnosed with both conditions. Early detection and accurate comorbidity diagnosis are crucial to address the clinical and socio-educational needs of these children.
{"title":"Prevalence of comorbidity of autism and ADHD and associated characteristics in school population: EPINED study","authors":"Josefa Canals, Paula Morales-Hidalgo, Núria Voltas, Carmen Hernández-Martínez","doi":"10.1002/aur.3146","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3146","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) comorbidity in the school population have been understudied. This study estimates its prevalence considering both parents' and teachers' reports and clinical diagnosis. Sociodemographic, clinical, and cognitive data were compared by diagnostic groups: autism, ADHD, autism and ADHD, subthreshold autism spectrum disorder (ASD), subthreshold ADHD, and children without neurodevelopmental conditions. Following a two-phase design, 3727 parents and teachers (1802 preschoolers, 1925 school-age children) participated in the first phase. Subsequently, 781 participants underwent individual assessment for DSM-5 diagnoses. The estimated prevalence of the comorbid diagnosis was 0.51% (0.28%–0.74%), with significant sex differences (0.16% girls, 0.89% boys). The cooccurrence of symptoms of autism and ADHD reported by parents or teachers was 3.2% and 2.6%, respectively. ADHD comorbidity was observed in 32.8% of autistic children and 31.4% of those with subthreshold ASD. ASD comorbidity was observed in 9.8% of children with ADHD and 5.7% of those with subthreshold ADHD. Comorbidity was reported by at least one informant in 95% of children. Only 15.8% of children with autism and ADHD had been previously diagnosed with both conditions. Early detection and accurate comorbidity diagnosis are crucial to address the clinical and socio-educational needs of these children.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.3146","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140836128","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chelsea La Valle, Lue Shen, Lindsay K. Butler, Helen Tager-Flusberg
Prior work examined how minimally verbal (MV) children with autism used their gestural communication during social interactions. However, interactions are exchanges between social partners. Examining parent–child social interactions is critically important given the influence of parent responsivity on children's communicative development. Specifically, parent responses that are semantically contingent to the child's communication plays an important role in further shaping children's language learning. This study examines whether MV autistic children's (N = 47; 48–95 months; 10 females) modality and form of communication are associated with parent responsivity during an in-home parent–child interaction (PCI). The PCI was collected using natural language sampling methods and coded for child modality and form of communication and parent responses. Findings from Kruskal-Wallis H tests revealed that there was no significant difference in parent semantically contingent responses based on child communication modality (spoken language, gesture, gesture-speech combinations, and AAC) and form of communication (precise vs. imprecise). Findings highlight the importance of examining multiple modalities and forms of communication in MV children with autism to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of their communication abilities; and underscore the inclusion of interactionist models of communication to examine children's input on parent responses in further shaping language learning experiences.
{"title":"Are minimally verbal autistic children's modality and form of communication associated with parent responsivity?","authors":"Chelsea La Valle, Lue Shen, Lindsay K. Butler, Helen Tager-Flusberg","doi":"10.1002/aur.3131","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3131","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Prior work examined how minimally verbal (MV) children with autism used their gestural communication during social interactions. However, interactions are exchanges between social partners. Examining parent–child social interactions is critically important given the influence of parent responsivity on children's communicative development. Specifically, parent responses that are semantically contingent to the child's communication plays an important role in further shaping children's language learning. This study examines whether MV autistic children's (<i>N</i> = 47; 48–95 months; 10 females) modality and form of communication are associated with parent responsivity during an in-home parent–child interaction (PCI). The PCI was collected using natural language sampling methods and coded for child modality and form of communication and parent responses. Findings from Kruskal-Wallis H tests revealed that there was no significant difference in parent semantically contingent responses based on child communication modality (spoken language, gesture, gesture-speech combinations, and AAC) and form of communication (precise vs. imprecise). Findings highlight the importance of examining multiple modalities and forms of communication in MV children with autism to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of their communication abilities; and underscore the inclusion of interactionist models of communication to examine children's input on parent responses in further shaping language learning experiences.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140835876","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Francesca Capiotto, Giulia Romano Cappi, Ilaria Mirlisenna, Alessandro Mazza, Giovanni Cicinelli, Chiara Lauritano, Roberto Keller, Olga Dal Monte
Interpersonal touch plays a crucial role in shaping relationships and encouraging social connections. Failure in processing tactile input or abnormal tactile sensitivity may hamper social behaviors and have severe consequences in individuals' relational lives. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by both sensory disruptions and social impairments, making affective touch an ideal meeting point for understanding these features in ASD individuals. By integrating behavioral and physiological measures, we investigated the effects of affective touch on adult individuals with ASD from both an implicit and explicit perspective. Specifically, at an implicit level, we investigated whether and how receiving an affective touch influenced participants' skin conductance tonic and phasic components. At the explicit level, we delved into the affective and unpleasant features of affective touch. Overall, we observed lower skin conductance level in ASD compared to TD subjects. Interestingly, the typically developing (TD) group showed an increased autonomic response for affective touch compared to a control touch, while ASD subjects' autonomic response did not differ between the two conditions. Furthermore, ASD participants provided higher ratings for both the affective and unpleasant components of the touch, compared to TD subjects. Our results reveal a noteworthy discrepancy in ASD population between the subjective experience, characterized by amplified hedonic but also unpleasant responses, and the physiological response, marked by a lack of autonomic activation related to affective touch. This insightful dissociation seems crucial for a deeper understanding of the distinctive challenges characterizing people with ASD and may have implications for diagnosis and therapeutic approaches.
{"title":"Autonomic and hedonic response to affective touch in autism spectrum disorder","authors":"Francesca Capiotto, Giulia Romano Cappi, Ilaria Mirlisenna, Alessandro Mazza, Giovanni Cicinelli, Chiara Lauritano, Roberto Keller, Olga Dal Monte","doi":"10.1002/aur.3143","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3143","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Interpersonal touch plays a crucial role in shaping relationships and encouraging social connections. Failure in processing tactile input or abnormal tactile sensitivity may hamper social behaviors and have severe consequences in individuals' relational lives. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by both sensory disruptions and social impairments, making <i>affective touch</i> an ideal meeting point for understanding these features in ASD individuals. By integrating behavioral and physiological measures, we investigated the effects of <i>affective touch</i> on adult individuals with ASD from both an implicit and explicit perspective. Specifically, at an implicit level, we investigated whether and how receiving an <i>affective touch</i> influenced participants' skin conductance tonic and phasic components. At the explicit level, we delved into the affective and unpleasant features of <i>affective touch</i>. Overall, we observed lower skin conductance level in ASD compared to TD subjects. Interestingly, the typically developing (TD) group showed an increased autonomic response for <i>affective touch</i> compared to a control touch, while ASD subjects' autonomic response did not differ between the two conditions. Furthermore, ASD participants provided higher ratings for both the affective and unpleasant components of the touch, compared to TD subjects. Our results reveal a noteworthy discrepancy in ASD population between the subjective experience, characterized by amplified hedonic but also unpleasant responses, and the physiological response, marked by a lack of autonomic activation related to <i>affective touch.</i> This insightful dissociation seems crucial for a deeper understanding of the distinctive challenges characterizing people with ASD and may have implications for diagnosis and therapeutic approaches.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140836047","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}