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Tahmazian I, Watts A, Chen O, Ferrara HJ, McCrimmon A, Hu B, Chomiak T. A wearable device-enabled therapeutic approach to improve joint attention in autism spectrum disorder: a prospective pilot study. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2023; 130:1601-1607. [PMID: 37648903 DOI: 10.1007/s00702-023-02683-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
It has been previously proposed that interventions aimed at integrating and co-activating music processing and motor control systems could have therapeutic potential for priming social skill development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this study, we assessed this hypothesis through a wearable sensor platform called Ambulosono ("Ambulo"-walk; "sono"-sound) in which pleasurable children's musical stimuli are contingently linked to effortful motor action (locomotor step size), thus creating a motivational state proposed to be conducive to joint attention (JA) operation. Five participants were recruited from a community-based partner and were assessed by scoring responses following therapist-directed bids for JA. Multiple assessment sessions through a repeated time-series design were conducted to determine baseline and post-intervention scores. The intervention session consisted of approximately 15 min of Ambulosono exposure. Baseline and post-intervention data were aggregated and analyzed using a linear mixed-effect model. The wearable sensor and wireless headphones of the Ambulosono system were tolerated by the participants, and there were no adverse effects associated with the use of the device. We found an increase in the average responses to bids for JA during the Ambulosono intervention phase compared to baseline across participants. This increase did not appear to result from enhanced general arousal. Our pilot data support feasibility and further testing of Ambulosono as a therapeutic aid for integration into community-based ASD programs to augment shared child-therapist social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Tahmazian
- Division of Translational Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Alexander Watts
- Division of Translational Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Oswald Chen
- Division of Translational Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Hannah J Ferrara
- Division of Translational Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Adam McCrimmon
- Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Bin Hu
- Division of Translational Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada.
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
| | - Taylor Chomiak
- Division of Translational Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada.
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
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The early overgrowth theory of autism spectrum disorder: Insight into convergent mechanisms from valproic acid exposure and translational models. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2020. [PMID: 32711813 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2020.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
The development of new approaches for the clinical management of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can only be realized through a better understanding of the neurobiological changes associated with ASD. One strategy for gaining deeper insight into the neurobiological mechanisms associated with ASD is to identify converging pathogenic processes associated with human idiopathic clinicopathology that are conserved in translational models of ASD. In this chapter, we first present the early overgrowth theory of ASD. Second, we introduce valproic acid (VPA), one of the most robust and well-known environmental risk factors associated with ASD, and we summarize the rapidly growing body of animal research literature using VPA as an ASD translational model. Lastly, we will detail the mechanisms of action of VPA and its impact on functional neural systems, as well as discuss future research directions that could have a lasting impact on the field.
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