Neural Responses to a Putative Set-shifting Task in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder are differentially sensitive to interference from previous verbal feedback

LAY ABSTRACT

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder can find behavioural flexibility challenging, often exhibited in terms of repetitive behaviours or restricted ranges of interests and activities. An inability to shift efficiently from one situation to another is connected with problems in daily life, and identifying factors associated with this ability may help develop teaching strategies to improve behavioural flexibility. Some existing findings imply shifting performance for individuals with autism spectrum disorder is better with nonverbal, compared to verbal, feedback - even for those with strong verbal abilities. Unfortunately, there are few behavioural examinations that further explore these findings, which is the aim of this study. In this study, 28 children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and 28 typically developing children matched on cognitive and verbal abilities learned to sort cards according to one out of a possible three dimensions (colour, shape and number), and then had to relearn the sorting rule. One group of typically developing children, and one group of autism spectrum disorder children, received verbal feedback on their performance, and one group received nonverbal feedback. Children with autism spectrum disorder learned an initial categorisation rule as fast as matched typically developing children, and there was little difference in the impact of the type of feedback on acquisition. However, on shifting the classification rule, children with autism spectrum disorder showed slower rates of learning the new rule, which was worse when verbal feedback was used compared to nonverbal feedback. This finding has implications for the interpretations of set-shifting performance and for classroom use of feedback strategies.

Neural correlates of perceptual switching and their association with empathy and alexithymia in individuals with and without autism spectrum disorder

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often show limited empathy (poor recognition of others' emotions) and high alexithymia (poor recognition of own emotions and external thinking), which can negatively impact their social functioning. Previous experimental studies suggest that alterations in cognitive flexibility play key roles in the development of these characteristics in ASD. However, the underlying neural mechanisms that link cognitive flexibility and empathy/alexithymia are still largely unknown. In this study, we examined the neural correlates of cognitive flexibility via functional magnetic resonance imaging during perceptual task-switching in typical development (TD) adults and adults with ASD. We also investigated associations between regional neural activity and psychometric empathy and alexithymia scores among these populations. In the TD group, stronger activation of the left middle frontal gyrus was associated with better perceptual switching and greater empathic concern. Among individuals with ASD, stronger activation of the left inferior frontal gyrus was associated with better perceptual switching, greater empathy, and lower alexithymia. These findings will contribute to develop a better understanding of social cognition, and could be informative for the development of new ASD therapies.

Gray matter volume alteration is associated with insistence on sameness and cognitive flexibility in autistic youth

Restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) are hallmark characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous studies suggest that insistence on sameness (IS) characterized as higher-order RRBs may be a promising subgrouping variable for ASD. Cognitive inflexibility may underpin IS behaviors. However, the neuroanatomical correlates of IS and associated cognitive functions remain unclear. We analyzed data from 140 autistic youth and 124 typically developing (TD) youth (mean age = 15.8 years). Autistic youth were stratified by median-split based on three current IS items in the autism diagnostic interview-revised into two groups (high, HIS, n = 70, and low, LIS, n = 70). Differences in cognitive flexibility were assessed by the Cambridge neuropsychological test automated battery (CANTAB). T1-weighted brain structural images were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to identify differences in gray matter (GM) volume among the three groups. GM volume of regions showing group differences was then correlated with cognitive flexibility. The HIS group showed decreased GM volumes in the left supramarginal gyrus compared to the LIS group and increased GM volumes in the vermis VIII and left cerebellar lobule VIII compared to TD individuals. We did not find significant correlations between regional GM volumes and extra-dimensional shift errors. IS may be a unique RRB component and a potentially valuable stratifier of ASD. However, the neurocognitive underpinnings require further clarification. LAY SUMMARY: The present study found parietal, temporal and cerebellar gray matter volume alterations in autistic youth with greater insistence on sameness. The findings suggest that insistence on sameness may be a useful feature to parse the heterogeneity of the autism spectrum yet further research investigating the underlying neurocognitive mechanism is warranted.

Atypical Neural Responses of Cognitive Flexibility in Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Impaired cognitive flexibility has been repeatedly demonstrated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There is strong evidence for genetic involvement in ASD. First-degree relatives of individuals with ASD may show mild deficits in cognitive inflexibility. The present study investigated cognitive flexibility and its neuroelectrophysiological mechanisms in first-degree relatives of individuals with ASD to assess its potential familiality. Forty-five biological parents of individuals/children with ASD (pASD) and thirty-one biological parents of typically developing individuals/children (pTD), matched by gender, age, and IQ, were enrolled. The broad autism phenotype questionnaire (BAPQ) and cognitive flexibility inventory (CFI) were used to quantitatively assess autistic traits and cognitive flexibility in daily life, respectively. The task-switching paradigm was used to evaluate the behavioral flexibility in a structured assessment situation. Event-related potentials (ERPs) induced by this paradigm were also collected. Results showed that compared with the pTD group, the pASD group had lower CFI scores (t = −2.756, p < 0.01), while both groups showed an equivalent “switch cost” in the task-switching task (p > 0.05). Compared with the pTD group, the pASD group induced greater N2 amplitude at F3, F4, Fz, and C4 (F = 3.223, p < 0.05), while P3 amplitude and latency did not differ between the two groups. In addition, there was a significant negative correlation between the CFI total scores and BAPQ total scores in the pASD group (r = −0.734, p < 0.01). After controlling for age and IQ, the N2 amplitude in the frontal lobe of pASD was negatively correlated with the CFI total scores under the repetition sequence (r = −0.304, p = 0.053). These results indicated that pASD had deficit in cognitive flexibility at the self-reported and neurological levels. The cognitive flexibility difficulties of parents of children with ASD were related to autistic traits. These findings support that cognitive flexibility is most likely a neurocognitive endophenotype of ASD, which is worthy of further investigation.

Looking Back at the Next 40 Years of ASD Neuroscience Research

During the last 40 years, neuroscience has become one of the most central and most productive approaches to investigating autism. In this commentary, we assemble a group of established investigators and trainees to review key advances and anticipated developments in neuroscience research across five modalities most commonly employed in autism research: magnetic resonance imaging, functional near infrared spectroscopy, positron emission tomography, electroencephalography, and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Broadly, neuroscience research has provided important insights into brain systems involved in autism but not yet mechanistic understanding. Methodological advancements are expected to proffer deeper understanding of neural circuitry associated with function and dysfunction during the next 40 years.

Brain Mechanisms Supporting Flexible Cognition and Behavior in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Cognitive flexibility enables appropriate responses to a changing environment and is associated with positive life outcomes. Adolescence, with its increased focus on transitioning to independent living, presents particular challenges for youths with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who often struggle to behave in a flexible way when faced with challenges. This review focuses on brain mechanisms underlying the development of flexible cognition during adolescence and how these neural systems are affected in ASD. Neuroimaging studies of task switching and set-shifting provide evidence for atypical lateral frontoparietal and midcingulo-insular network activation during cognitive flexibility task performance in individuals with ASD. Recent work also examines how intrinsic brain network dynamics support flexible cognition. These dynamic functional connectivity studies provide evidence for alterations in the number of transitions between brain states, as well as hypervariability of functional connections in adolescents with ASD. Future directions for the field include addressing issues related to measurement of cognitive flexibility using a combination of metrics with ecological and construct validity. Heterogeneity of executive function ability in ASD must also be parsed to determine which individuals will benefit most from targeted training to improve flexibility. The influence of pubertal hormones on brain network development and cognitive maturation in adolescents with ASD is another area requiring further exploration. Finally, the intriguing possibility that bilingualism might be associated with preserved cognitive flexibility in ASD should be further examined. Addressing these open questions will be critical for future translational neuroscience investigations of cognitive and behavioral flexibility in adolescents with ASD.

Evoked and intrinsic brain network dynamics in children with autism spectrum disorder

OBJECTIVE

Brain dynamics underlie flexible cognition and behavior, yet little is known regarding this relationship in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We examined time-varying changes in functional co-activation patterns (CAPs) across rest and task-evoked brain states to characterize differences between children with ASD and typically developing (TD) children and identify relationships with severity of social behaviors and restricted and repetitive behaviors.

METHOD

17 children with ASD and 27 TD children ages 7-12 completed a resting-state fMRI scan and four runs of a non-cued attention switching task. Metrics indexing brain dynamics were generated from dynamic CAPs computed across three major large-scale brain networks: midcingulo-insular (M-CIN), medial frontoparietal (M-FPN), and lateral frontoparietal (L-FPN).

RESULTS

Five time-varying CAPs representing dynamic co-activations among network nodes were identified across rest and task fMRI datasets. Significant Diagnosis × Condition interactions were observed for the dwell time of CAP 3, representing co-activation between nodes of the M-CIN and L-FPN, and the frequency of CAP 1, representing co-activation between nodes of the L-FPN. A significant brain-behavior association between dwell time of CAP 5, representing co-activation between nodes of the M-FPN, and social abilities was also observed across both groups of children.

CONCLUSION

Analysis of brain co-activation patterns reveals altered dynamics among three core networks in children with ASD, particularly evident during later stages of an attention task. Dimensional analyses demonstrating relationships between M-FPN dwell time and social abilities suggest that metrics of brain dynamics may index individual differences in social cognition and behavior.