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Kochhar P, Arora I, Bellato A, Ropar D, Hollis C, Groom M(MJ. A comparison of visual attention to pictures in the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule in children and adolescents with ADHD and/or autism. Front Psychiatry 2024; 15:1378593. [PMID: 38742132 PMCID: PMC11089217 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1378593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are neurodevelopmental conditions which frequently co-occur. The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) is commonly used to aid with diagnostic assessment of ASD but was not originally designed for use in those with comorbid ADHD. Visual attention to social stimuli has been often studied in ASD using eye-tracking, to obtain quantitative indices of how attention is deployed to different parts of a social image/scene. As the ADOS includes tasks that rely on attending to and processing images of social scenes, these measures of visual attention could provide useful additional objective measurement alongside ADOS scores to enhance the characterisation of autistic symptoms in those with ADHD. Methods Children with ASD, comorbid ASD and ADHD, ADHD and Neurotypical (NT) controls were recruited (n=84). Visual attention was measured using eye-tracking during free viewing of social scenes selected from the ADOS. The full ADOS was then administered. Stimulant medication was temporarily withdrawn during this assessment. Research diagnoses were based on the Development and Wellbeing Assessment (DAWBA), ADOS, Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ, a measure of ASD severity) and Conners' Rating Scales (CRS-3, a measure of ADHD severity) following clinical consensus. Results Using factorial ANOVAs to model ADHD, Autism and their interaction, we found that fixation duration to faces was reduced in those with ASD (ASD and ASD+ADHD) compared to those without ASD (ADHD and NT). Reduced visual attention to faces in the whole sample was associated with Autism symptom severity (SCQ subscale scores) but not ADHD symptom severity (CRS-3 scores). Discussion Our findings provide preliminary evidence in support of implementing visual attention measurement during assessment of ASD in the context of comorbidity with ADHD. For example, if a child with ADHD was found to reduce attention to faces in ADOS pictures this may suggest additive difficulties on the autism spectrum. Replication across a larger sample would be informative. This work has future potential in the clinic to help with complex cases, including those with co-occurring ADHD and ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Puja Kochhar
- Neurodevelopmental Specialist Service, Nottinghamshire Healthcare National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Iti Arora
- Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alessio Bellato
- Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Danielle Ropar
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Chris Hollis
- Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) MindTech Medtech Co-operative, Institute of Mental Health, UK NIHR, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Institute of Mental Health, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Madeleine (Maddie) J. Groom
- Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) MindTech Medtech Co-operative, Institute of Mental Health, UK NIHR, Nottingham, United Kingdom
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Schulz SE, Luszawski M, Hannah KE, Stevenson RA. Sensory Gating in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Scoping Review. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2023; 51:1005-1019. [PMID: 37014483 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-023-01058-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023]
Abstract
This review aimed to explore the current understanding of sensory gating in neurodevelopmental disorders as a possible transdiagnostic mechanism. We applied methods according to the Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis, following the population, concept, and context scoping review eligibility criteria. Using a comprehensive search strategy in five relevant research databases (Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsychInfo, and Scopus), we searched for relevant peer-reviewed, primary research articles and unpublished data. Two independent reviewers screened the titles and abstracts, full-texts, and completed data extraction. We identified a total of 81 relevant articles and used descriptive analyses to summarize the characteristics and outcomes of all identified studies. Literature regarding sensory gating was most common in autistic populations with relatively fewer studies examining attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, tic disorders, and childhood-onset fluency disorder (COFD). The methods to assess sensory gating varied widely both within and between groups and included measures such as habituation, prepulse inhibition, affect-modulated inhibition, medication and other intervention trials. Most consistently, when participants complete questionnaires about their sensory experiences, those who have neurodevelopmental disorders report differences in their sensory gating. Affect-modulated inhibition appears to be discrepant between samples with and without neurodevelopmental disorder diagnoses. Habituation was the most commonly reported phenomenon and many differences in habituation have been found in autistic individuals and individuals with tic disorders whereas concerns with inhibition seemed more common in COFD. Overall, the evidence is inconsistent within and between disorders suggesting there is still much to learn about sensory gating in neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha E Schulz
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
- Western Institute for Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Michelle Luszawski
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
- Western Institute for Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Kara E Hannah
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
- Western Institute for Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Ryan A Stevenson
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
- Western Institute for Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
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Morè L, Lauterborn JC, Papaleo F, Brambilla R. Enhancing cognition through pharmacological and environmental interventions: Examples from preclinical models of neurodevelopmental disorders. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 110:28-45. [PMID: 30981451 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2018] [Revised: 02/04/2019] [Accepted: 02/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
In this review we discuss the role of environmental and pharmacological treatments to enhance cognition with special regards to neurodevelopmental related disorders and aging. How the environment influences brain structure and function, and the interactions between rearing conditions and gene expression, are fundamental questions that are still poorly understood. We propose a model that can explain some of the discrepancies in findings for effects of environmental enrichment on outcome measures. Evidence of a direct causal correlation of nootropics and treatments that enhanced cognition also will be presented, and possible molecular mechanisms that include neurotrophin signaling and downstream pathways underlying these processes are discussed. Finally we review recent findings achieved with a wide set of behavioral and cognitive tasks that have translational validity to humans, and should be useful for future work on devising appropriate therapies. As will be discussed, the collective findings suggest that a combinational therapeutic approach of environmental enrichment and nootropics could be particularly successful for improving learning and memory in both developmental disorders and normal aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Morè
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Lancashire, PR1 2XT, Preston, UK.
| | - Julie C Lauterborn
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92617, USA.
| | - Francesco Papaleo
- Genetics of Cognition Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego, 30, 16163, Genova, Italy.
| | - Riccardo Brambilla
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHRI), Division of Neuroscience, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, UK.
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da Costa RQM, Furukawa E, Hoefle S, Moll J, Tripp G, Mattos P. An Adaptation of Pavlovian-to-Instrumental Transfer (PIT) Methodology to Examine the Energizing Effects of Reward-Predicting Cues on Behavior in Young Adults. Front Psychol 2020; 11:195. [PMID: 32116971 PMCID: PMC7034436 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
There is growing recognition that much of human behavior is governed by the presence of classically conditioned cues. The Pavlovian-to-Instrumental Transfer (PIT) paradigm offers a way to measure the effects of classically conditioned stimuli on behavior. In the current study, a novel behavioral task, an adaptation of the PIT framework, was developed for use in conjunction with an fMRI classical conditioning task. Twenty-four healthy young adults completed (1) instrumental training, (2) Pavlovian conditioning, and (3) a Transfer test. During instrumental training, participants learned to apply force to a handgrip to win money from slot machines pictured on a computer screen. During Pavlovian conditioning, slot machines appeared with one of two abstract symbols (cues), one symbol was predictive of monetary reward. During the Transfer test, participants again applied force to a handgrip to win money. This time, the slot machines were presented with the Pavlovian cues, but with the outcomes hidden. The results indicated increased effort on the instrumental task, i.e. higher response frequency and greater force, in the presence of the reward-predicting cue. Our findings add to the growing number of studies demonstrating PIT effects in humans. This new paradigm is effective in measuring the effects of a conditioned stimulus on behavioral activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel Quimas Molina da Costa
- D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Neurology Department, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Emi Furukawa
- Human Developmental Neurobiology Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Sebastian Hoefle
- D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jorge Moll
- D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Gail Tripp
- Human Developmental Neurobiology Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Paulo Mattos
- D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Zubedat S, Havkin E, Maoz I, Aga-Mizrachi S, Avital A. A probabilistic model of startle response reveals opposite effects of acute versus chronic Methylphenidate treatment. J Neurosci Methods 2019; 327:108389. [PMID: 31415846 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2019.108389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2019] [Revised: 05/30/2019] [Accepted: 08/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The startle response is considered as the major physio-behavioral indication of anxiety in health and disease conditions. However, due to different protocols of stimulation and measurement, the magnitude as well as the appearance of the startle response is inconsistent. NEW METHOD We postulate that the startle probability and not merely the amplitude may bare information that will form a consistent physiological measure of anxiety. RESULTS To examine the proof-of-concept of our suggested probability model, we evaluated the effects of acute (single) versus chronic (14 days) MPH administration on both startle amplitude and probability. We found that both acute and chronic MPH administration has yielded similar effects on startle amplitude. However, acute MPH increased the startle's probability while chronic MPH decreased it. Next, we evaluated the effects of acute versus chronic stress on the startle's parameters and found a complementary effect. Explicitly, acute stress increased the startle's probability while chronic stress increased the startle amplitude. In contrast, enriched environment had no significant effects. Finally, to further validate the probability measure, we show that Midazolam had significant anxiolytic effects. In the second part, we investigated the acoustic startle response parameters (e.g. background noise and pulse duration), to better understand the interplay between these parameters and the startle amplitude versus probability. CONCLUSIONS We show that the probabilistic element of the startle response does not only point to deeper physiologic relationships but may also serve as "hidden variables" congruent but not entirely identical to the commonly researched amplitude of the startle response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salman Zubedat
- Behavioral Neuroscience Lab, The Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Evgeny Havkin
- Behavioral Neuroscience Lab, The Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Inon Maoz
- Behavioral Neuroscience Lab, The Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Shlomit Aga-Mizrachi
- Behavioral Neuroscience Lab, The Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Avi Avital
- Behavioral Neuroscience Lab, The Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
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Pagerols M, Richarte V, Sánchez-Mora C, Rovira P, Soler Artigas M, Garcia-Martínez I, Calvo-Sánchez E, Corrales M, da Silva BS, Mota NR, Victor MM, Rohde LA, Grevet EH, Bau CHD, Cormand B, Casas M, Ramos-Quiroga JA, Ribasés M. Integrative genomic analysis of methylphenidate response in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Sci Rep 2018; 8:1881. [PMID: 29382897 PMCID: PMC5789875 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-20194-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Accepted: 01/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Methylphenidate (MPH) is the most frequently used pharmacological treatment in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, a considerable interindividual variability exists in clinical outcome. Thus, we performed a genome-wide association study of MPH efficacy in 173 ADHD paediatric patients. Although no variant reached genome-wide significance, the set of genes containing single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) nominally associated with MPH response (P < 0.05) was significantly enriched for candidates previously studied in ADHD or treatment outcome. We prioritised the nominally significant SNPs by functional annotation and expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis in human brain, and we identified 33 SNPs tagging cis-eQTL in 32 different loci (referred to as eSNPs and eGenes, respectively). Pathway enrichment analyses revealed an over-representation of genes involved in nervous system development and function among the eGenes. Categories related to neurological diseases, psychological disorders and behaviour were also significantly enriched. We subsequently meta-analysed the association with clinical outcome for the 33 eSNPs across the discovery sample and an independent cohort of 189 ADHD adult patients (target sample) and we detected 15 suggestive signals. Following this comprehensive strategy, our results provide a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms implicated in MPH treatment effects and suggest promising candidates that may encourage future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mireia Pagerols
- Psychiatric Genetics Unit, Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Vanesa Richarte
- Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.,Biomedical Network Research Centre on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cristina Sánchez-Mora
- Psychiatric Genetics Unit, Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.,Biomedical Network Research Centre on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Paula Rovira
- Psychiatric Genetics Unit, Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain
| | - María Soler Artigas
- Psychiatric Genetics Unit, Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Biomedical Network Research Centre on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Iris Garcia-Martínez
- Psychiatric Genetics Unit, Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Eva Calvo-Sánchez
- Psychiatric Genetics Unit, Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Montse Corrales
- Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Bruna Santos da Silva
- Department of Genetics, Institute of Biosciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Nina Roth Mota
- Department of Human Genetics and Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,ADHD Outpatient Program, Adult Division, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Marcelo Moraes Victor
- ADHD Outpatient Program, Adult Division, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Luis Augusto Rohde
- ADHD Outpatient Program, Adult Division, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Eugenio Horacio Grevet
- ADHD Outpatient Program, Adult Division, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Claiton Henrique Dotto Bau
- Department of Genetics, Institute of Biosciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.,ADHD Outpatient Program, Adult Division, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Bru Cormand
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona (IBUB), Barcelona, Spain.,Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu (IR-SJD), Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Miguel Casas
- Psychiatric Genetics Unit, Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.,Biomedical Network Research Centre on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Josep Antoni Ramos-Quiroga
- Psychiatric Genetics Unit, Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.,Biomedical Network Research Centre on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marta Ribasés
- Psychiatric Genetics Unit, Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. .,Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain. .,Biomedical Network Research Centre on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain.
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