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Heo MQ, English MCW, Maybery MT, Visser TAW. Visuospatial cueing differences as a function of autistic traits. Atten Percept Psychophys 2024; 86:1342-1359. [PMID: 38561567 PMCID: PMC11093807 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-024-02871-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Atypical orienting of visuospatial attention in autistic individuals or individuals with a high level of autistic-like traits (ALTs) has been well documented and viewed as a core feature underlying the development of autism. However, there has been limited testing of three alternative theoretical positions advanced to explain atypical orienting - difficulty in disengagement, cue indifference, and delay in orienting. Moreover, research commonly has not separated facilitation (reaction time difference between neutral and valid cues) and cost effects (reaction time difference between invalid and neutral cues) in orienting tasks. We addressed these limitations in two experiments that compared groups selected for Low- and High-ALT levels on exogenous and endogenous versions of the Posner cueing paradigm. Experiment 1 showed that High-ALT participants exhibited a significantly reduced cost effect compared to Low-ALT participants in the endogenous cueing task, although the overall orienting effect remained small. In Experiment 2, we increased task difficulty of the endogenous task to augment cueing effects. Results were comparable to Experiment 1 regarding the finding of a reduced cost effect for High-ALT participants on the endogenous cueing task and additionally demonstrated a reduced facilitation effect in High-ALT participants on the same task. No ALT group differences were observed on an exogenous cueing task included in Experiment 2. These findings suggest atypical orienting in High-ALT individuals may be attributable to general cue indifference, which implicates differences in top-down attentional processes between Low- and High-ALT individuals. We discuss how indifference to endogenous cues may contribute to social cognitive differences in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Quan Heo
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.
| | - Michael C W English
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Murray T Maybery
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Troy A W Visser
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
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2
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Li S, Machida K, Burrows EL, Johnson KA. Quicker Exogenous Orienting and Slower Endogenous Orienting in Autistic People. J Autism Dev Disord 2024:10.1007/s10803-024-06311-8. [PMID: 38446266 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-024-06311-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/24/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
Research is equivocal on whether attention orienting is atypical in autism. This study investigated two types of attention orienting in autistic people and accounted for the potential confounders of alerting level, co-occurring symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety, age, and sex. Twenty-seven autistic participants (14 males; 9-43 years) and 22 age- and sex-matched non-autistic participants (13 males; 9-42 years) completed the exogenous and endogenous Posner tasks. Response time and pupillometric data were recorded. Autistic participants were faster at orienting attention to valid cues in the exogenous task and slower at disengaging from invalid cues in the endogenous task compared to non-autistic participants. With increasing age, autistic participants showed faster exogenous and endogenous orienting, whereas non-autistic participants showed faster exogenous orienting but stable speed of endogenous orienting. Higher ADHD symptoms were associated with slower exogenous orienting in both groups, whereas higher anxiety symptoms were associated with faster exogenous orienting only in autistic participants. No group differences were noted for alerting levels, sex, or pupillary responses. This study provides new evidence of superior exogenous orienting and inefficient endogenous orienting in autistic people and suggests that age and co-occurring symptoms are important to consider when assessing attention orienting in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuting Li
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia.
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia.
| | - Keitaro Machida
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Emma L Burrows
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
| | - Katherine A Johnson
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
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3
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Pride NA, Haebich KM, Walsh KS, Lami F, Rouel M, Maier A, Chisholm AK, Lorenzo J, Hearps SJC, North KN, Payne JM. Sensory Processing in Children and Adolescents with Neurofibromatosis Type 1. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:3612. [PMID: 37509275 PMCID: PMC10377664 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15143612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the evidence of elevated autistic behaviors and co-occurring neurodevelopmental difficulties in many children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), we have a limited understanding of the sensory processing challenges that may occur with the condition. This study examined the sensory profile of children and adolescents with NF1 and investigated the relationships between the sensory profiles and patient characteristics and neuropsychological functioning. The parent/caregivers of 152 children with NF1 and 96 typically developing children completed the Sensory Profile 2 (SP2), along with standardized questionnaires assessing autistic behaviors, ADHD symptoms, internalizing symptoms, adaptive functioning, and social skills. Intellectual functioning was also assessed. The SP2 data indicated elevated sensory processing problems in children with NF1 compared to typically developing children. Over 40% of children with NF1 displayed differences in sensory registration (missing sensory input) and were unusually sensitive to and unusually avoidant of sensory stimuli. Sixty percent of children with NF1 displayed difficulties in one or more sensory modalities. Elevated autistic behaviors and ADHD symptoms were associated with more severe sensory processing difficulties. This first detailed assessment of sensory processing, alongside other clinical features, in a relatively large cohort of children and adolescents with NF1 demonstrates the relationships between sensory processing differences and adaptive skills and behavior, as well as psychological well-being. Our characterization of the sensory profile within a genetic syndrome may help facilitate more targeted interventions to support overall functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie A Pride
- Kids Neuroscience Centre, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia
| | - Kristina M Haebich
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Karin S Walsh
- Center for Neuroscience and Behavioral Medicine, Children's National Hospital, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Francesca Lami
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Melissa Rouel
- Kids Neuroscience Centre, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia
| | - Alice Maier
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Anita K Chisholm
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
- Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Jennifer Lorenzo
- Kids Neuroscience Centre, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia
| | | | - Kathryn N North
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Jonathan M Payne
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
- Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
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4
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Viglione A, Mazziotti R, Pizzorusso T. From pupil to the brain: New insights for studying cortical plasticity through pupillometry. Front Neural Circuits 2023; 17:1151847. [PMID: 37063384 PMCID: PMC10102476 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2023.1151847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Pupil size variations have been associated with changes in brain activity patterns related with specific cognitive factors, such as arousal, attention, and mental effort. The locus coeruleus (LC), a key hub in the noradrenergic system of the brain, is considered to be a key regulator of cognitive control on pupil size, with changes in pupil diameter corresponding to the release of norepinephrine (NE). Advances in eye-tracking technology and open-source software have facilitated accurate pupil size measurement in various experimental settings, leading to increased interest in using pupillometry to track the nervous system activation state and as a potential biomarker for brain disorders. This review explores pupillometry as a non-invasive and fully translational tool for studying cortical plasticity starting from recent literature suggesting that pupillometry could be a promising technique for estimating the degree of residual plasticity in human subjects. Given that NE is known to be a critical mediator of cortical plasticity and arousal, the review includes data revealing the importance of the LC-NE system in modulating brain plasticity and pupil size. Finally, we will review data suggesting that pupillometry could provide a quantitative and complementary measure of cortical plasticity also in pre-clinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurelia Viglione
- BIO@SNS Lab, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy
- *Correspondence: Aurelia Viglione,
| | | | - Tommaso Pizzorusso
- BIO@SNS Lab, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council, Pisa, Italy
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5
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Viglione A, Sagona G, Carrara F, Amato G, Totaro V, Lupori L, Putignano E, Pizzorusso T, Mazziotti R. Behavioral impulsivity is associated with pupillary alterations and hyperactivity in CDKL5 mutant mice. Hum Mol Genet 2022; 31:4107-4120. [PMID: 35861639 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddac164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2022] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (Cdkl5) deficiency disorder (CDD) is a severe neurodevelopmental condition caused by mutations in the X-linked Cdkl5 gene. CDD is characterized by early-onset seizures in the first month of life, intellectual disability, motor and social impairment. No effective treatment is currently available and medical management is only symptomatic and supportive. Recently, mouse models of Cdkl5 disorder have demonstrated that mice lacking Cdkl5 exhibit autism-like phenotypes, hyperactivity and dysregulations of the arousal system, suggesting the possibility to use these features as translational biomarkers. In this study, we tested Cdkl5 male and female mutant mice in an appetitive operant conditioning chamber to assess cognitive and motor abilities, and performed pupillometry to assess the integrity of the arousal system. Then, we evaluated the performance of artificial intelligence models to classify the genotype of the animals from the behavioral and physiological phenotype. The behavioral results show that CDD mice display impulsivity, together with low levels of cognitive flexibility and perseverative behaviors. We assessed arousal levels by simultaneously recording pupil size and locomotor activity. Pupillometry reveals in CDD mice a smaller pupil size and an impaired response to unexpected stimuli associated with hyperlocomotion, demonstrating a global defect in arousal modulation. Finally, machine learning reveals that both behavioral and pupillometry parameters can be considered good predictors of CDD. Since early diagnosis is essential to evaluate treatment outcomes and pupillary measures can be performed easily, we proposed the monitoring of pupil size as a promising biomarker for CDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurelia Viglione
- BIO@SNS Lab, Scuola Normale Superiore, via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Giulia Sagona
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, viale del Tirreno 331, 56128 Pisa, Italy
| | - Fabio Carrara
- ISTI-Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologia dell'Informazione, National Research Council, via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Amato
- ISTI-Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologia dell'Informazione, National Research Council, via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Valentino Totaro
- BIO@SNS Lab, Scuola Normale Superiore, via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Leonardo Lupori
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, viale del Tirreno 331, 56128 Pisa, Italy
| | - Elena Putignano
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council, via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Tommaso Pizzorusso
- BIO@SNS Lab, Scuola Normale Superiore, via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy.,Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council, via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Raffaele Mazziotti
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, viale del Tirreno 331, 56128 Pisa, Italy
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Hours C, Recasens C, Baleyte JM. ASD and ADHD Comorbidity: What Are We Talking About? Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:837424. [PMID: 35295773 PMCID: PMC8918663 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.837424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
According to the scientific literature, 50 to 70% of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) also present with comorbid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). From a clinical perspective, this high rate of comorbidity is intriguing. What is the real significance of this dual diagnosis? Is ADHD in fact always present in such cases? Might the attentional impairment reported among our ASD patients actually be a distinct trait of their ASD-namely, impaired joint attention-rather than an ADHD attention deficit? Could their agitation be the consequence of this joint attention impairment or related to a physical restlessness etiologically very different from the agitation typical of ADHD? The neurobiological reality of ASD-ADHD comorbidity is a subject of debate, and amphetamine-based treatment can have paradoxical or undesirable effects in the ASD population. Consequently, does a dual diagnosis, notwithstanding its currency in the literature, prevent us from shedding sufficient light on major physiopathologic questions raised by the clinical picture of ASD?
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Hours
- Service universitaire de Psychiatrie de l'Enfant et de l'Adolescent, Centre hospitalier Intercomunal de Créteil, Créteil, France
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7
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Baizer JS. Functional and Neuropathological Evidence for a Role of the Brainstem in Autism. Front Integr Neurosci 2021; 15:748977. [PMID: 34744648 PMCID: PMC8565487 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2021.748977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The brainstem includes many nuclei and fiber tracts that mediate a wide range of functions. Data from two parallel approaches to the study of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) implicate many brainstem structures. The first approach is to identify the functions affected in ASD and then trace the neural systems mediating those functions. While not included as core symptoms, three areas of function are frequently impaired in ASD: (1) Motor control both of the limbs and body and the control of eye movements; (2) Sensory information processing in vestibular and auditory systems; (3) Control of affect. There are critical brainstem nuclei mediating each of those functions. There are many nuclei critical for eye movement control including the superior colliculus. Vestibular information is first processed in the four nuclei of the vestibular nuclear complex. Auditory information is relayed to the dorsal and ventral cochlear nuclei and subsequently processed in multiple other brainstem nuclei. Critical structures in affect regulation are the brainstem sources of serotonin and norepinephrine, the raphe nuclei and the locus ceruleus. The second approach is the analysis of abnormalities from direct study of ASD brains. The structure most commonly identified as abnormal in neuropathological studies is the cerebellum. It is classically a major component of the motor system, critical for coordination. It has also been implicated in cognitive and language functions, among the core symptoms of ASD. This structure works very closely with the cerebral cortex; the cortex and the cerebellum show parallel enlargement over evolution. The cerebellum receives input from cortex via relays in the pontine nuclei. In addition, climbing fiber input to cerebellum comes from the inferior olive of the medulla. Mossy fiber input comes from the arcuate nucleus of the medulla as well as the pontine nuclei. The cerebellum projects to several brainstem nuclei including the vestibular nuclear complex and the red nucleus. There are thus multiple brainstem nuclei distributed at all levels of the brainstem, medulla, pons, and midbrain, that participate in functions affected in ASD. There is direct evidence that the cerebellum may be abnormal in ASD. The evidence strongly indicates that analysis of these structures could add to our understanding of the neural basis of ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan S. Baizer
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
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8
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Canu D, Van der Paelt S, Canal-Bedia R, Posada M, Vanvuchelen M, Roeyers H. Early non-social behavioural indicators of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in siblings at elevated likelihood for ASD: a systematic review. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2021; 30:497-538. [PMID: 32088859 PMCID: PMC8041710 DOI: 10.1007/s00787-020-01487-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2019] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
We aimed at identifying early non-social behavioural indicators that predict later ASD. Likewise, we were interested in the moment in which non-social signs discriminate between children at elevated likelihood for ASD with a later diagnosis of ASD, and children at elevated likelihood for ASD with a typical developmental outcome. In addition, we intended to explore the developmental evolution of children's symptomatology over time. A systematic literature search was conducted for longitudinal studies on early non-social behavioural indicators among siblings at elevated likelihood for ASD. The following databases were searched: PUBMED, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CINAHL and EMBASE. The study identification process was conducted by two reviewers independently. Compared to siblings at elevated likelihood for ASD with a typical developmental outcome, siblings at elevated likelihood for ASD with later ASD show impairments in attention disengagement, in gross and fine motor development and characteristic restricted and repetitive interests and behaviours, starting at 12 months of age. Moreover, early attention disengagement exerts a predictive role towards a later ASD diagnosis, given that from 12 months siblings at elevated likelihood for ASD who will receive an independent ASD diagnosis towards 24-36 months present marked difficulties in disengaging in comparison with siblings at elevated likelihood for ASD that will not satisfy the criteria for an ASD diagnosis. The findings call for a more comprehensive vision on early indicators of ASD. Further research is needed to extend results to other behavioural domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Canu
- Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Rehabilitation Research Center (REVAL), Hasselt Unversity, Agoralaan, Building A, 3590 Diepenbeek, Hasselt, Belgium.
- Research in Developmental Disorders Lab, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
- Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Sara Van der Paelt
- Research in Developmental Disorders Lab, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Ricardo Canal-Bedia
- Instituto Universitario de Integración en la Comunidad (INICO), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Manuel Posada
- Institute of Rare Diseases Research & CIBERER, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Marleen Vanvuchelen
- Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Rehabilitation Research Center (REVAL), Hasselt Unversity, Agoralaan, Building A, 3590 Diepenbeek, Hasselt, Belgium
| | - Herbert Roeyers
- Research in Developmental Disorders Lab, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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9
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Lin G, Cui Y, Zeng J, Huang L. The Effect of Autistic Traits on Social Orienting in Typically Developing Individuals. Front Psychol 2020; 11:794. [PMID: 32425859 PMCID: PMC7212386 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 03/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by wide ranging and heterogeneous changes in social and cognitive abilities, including deficits in orienting attention during early processing of stimuli. Investigators have found that there is a continuum of autism-like traits in the general population, suggesting that these autistic traits may be examined in the absence of clinically diagnosed autism. To provide evidence for the continuum of autistic traits in terms of social attention and to provide insights into social attention deficits in people with autism, the current study was conducted to examine the effect of autistic traits of typically developing individuals on social orienting using a spatial cueing paradigm. The typically developing individuals who participated in this study were divided into high autistic traits (HA) and low autistic traits groups using the Autism Quotient scale. All participants completed a spatial cueing task in which social cues (gaze) and non-social cues (arrow) were presented under different cue predictability conditions (predictive vs. non-predictive) with different SOAs (100 ms vs. 400 ms). The results showed that compared to low autistic individuals, high autistic individuals had less benefit from non-predictive social cues but greater benefit from non-social ones, providing evidence that such spatial attention impairment in high autistic individuals is specific to the social domain. Interestingly, the smaller benefit from non-predictive social cues in high autistic individuals was shown only in the 400 ms condition, not in the 100 ms condition, suggesting that their difficulties in orienting to non-predictive social cues may be caused by a deficiency in spontaneously effortful control processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guoyao Lin
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Applied Cognition and Personality, School of Educational Science, Minnan Normal University, Zhangzhou, China
| | - Yanling Cui
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiajing Zeng
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Liang Huang
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Applied Cognition and Personality, School of Educational Science, Minnan Normal University, Zhangzhou, China
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Campbell K, Carpenter KLH, Hashemi J, Espinosa S, Marsan S, Borg JS, Chang Z, Qiu Q, Vermeer S, Adler E, Tepper M, Egger HL, Baker JP, Sapiro G, Dawson G. Computer vision analysis captures atypical attention in toddlers with autism. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2019; 23:619-628. [PMID: 29595333 PMCID: PMC6119515 DOI: 10.1177/1362361318766247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
To demonstrate the capability of computer vision analysis to detect atypical orienting and attention behaviors in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder. One hundered and four toddlers of 16-31 months old (mean = 22) participated in this study. Twenty-two of the toddlers had autism spectrum disorder and 82 had typical development or developmental delay. Toddlers watched video stimuli on a tablet while the built-in camera recorded their head movement. Computer vision analysis measured participants' attention and orienting in response to name calls. Reliability of the computer vision analysis algorithm was tested against a human rater. Differences in behavior were analyzed between the autism spectrum disorder group and the comparison group. Reliability between computer vision analysis and human coding for orienting to name was excellent (intra-class coefficient 0.84, 95% confidence interval 0.67-0.91). Only 8% of toddlers with autism spectrum disorder oriented to name calling on >1 trial, compared to 63% of toddlers in the comparison group (p = 0.002). Mean latency to orient was significantly longer for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (2.02 vs 1.06 s, p = 0.04). Sensitivity for autism spectrum disorder of atypical orienting was 96% and specificity was 38%. Older toddlers with autism spectrum disorder showed less attention to the videos overall (p = 0.03). Automated coding offers a reliable, quantitative method for detecting atypical social orienting and reduced sustained attention in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen Campbell
- Duke University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
| | - Kimberly LH Carpenter
- Duke University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
| | - Jordan Hashemi
- Duke University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
| | - Steven Espinosa
- Duke University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
| | - Samuel Marsan
- Duke University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
| | | | - Zhuoqing Chang
- Duke University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
| | - Qiang Qiu
- Duke University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
| | - Saritha Vermeer
- Duke University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
| | | | - Mariano Tepper
- Duke University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
| | - Helen L Egger
- Duke University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
| | | | - Guillermo Sapiro
- Duke University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Duke University, Department of Computer Science, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Mathematics
| | - Geraldine Dawson
- Duke University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
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11
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Distractor Inhibition in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence of a Selective Impairment for Individuals with Co-occurring Motor Difficulties. J Autism Dev Disord 2018; 49:669-682. [DOI: 10.1007/s10803-018-3744-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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12
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Bast N, Poustka L, Freitag CM. The locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system as pacemaker of attention - a developmental mechanism of derailed attentional function in autism spectrum disorder. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 47:115-125. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2016] [Revised: 12/04/2017] [Accepted: 12/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nico Bast
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy; University Hospital; Goethe University Frankfurt am Main; Deutschordenstraße 50 60528 Frankfurt am Main Germany
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy; Medical Faculty Mannheim; Central Institute of Mental Health; Heidelberg University; Heidelberg Germany
| | - Luise Poustka
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy; Medical Faculty Mannheim; Central Institute of Mental Health; Heidelberg University; Heidelberg Germany
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy; University Medical Center Göttingen; Medical University of Göttingen; Göttingen Germany
| | - Christine M. Freitag
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy; University Hospital; Goethe University Frankfurt am Main; Deutschordenstraße 50 60528 Frankfurt am Main Germany
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Nicolini C, Fahnestock M. The valproic acid-induced rodent model of autism. Exp Neurol 2018; 299:217-227. [DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2017.04.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 235] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2016] [Revised: 04/26/2017] [Accepted: 04/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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Marinho V, Oliveira T, Rocha K, Ribeiro J, Magalhães F, Bento T, Pinto GR, Velasques B, Ribeiro P, Di Giorgio L, Orsini M, Gupta DS, Bittencourt J, Bastos VH, Teixeira S. The dopaminergic system dynamic in the time perception: a review of the evidence. Int J Neurosci 2017; 128:262-282. [PMID: 28950734 DOI: 10.1080/00207454.2017.1385614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Dopaminergic system plays a key role in perception, which is an important executive function of the brain. Modulation in dopaminergic system forms an important biochemical underpinning of neural mechanisms of time perception in a very wide range, from milliseconds to seconds to longer daily rhythms. Distinct types of temporal experience are poorly understood, and the relationship between processing of different intervals by the brain has received little attention. A comprehensive understanding of interval timing functions should be sought within a wider context of temporal processing, involving genetic aspects, pharmacological models, cognitive aspects, motor control and the neurological diseases with impaired dopaminergic system. Particularly, an unexplored question is whether the role of dopamine in interval timing can be integrated with the role of dopamine in non-interval timing temporal components. In this review, we explore a wider perspective of dopaminergic system, involving genetic polymorphisms, pharmacological models, executive functions and neurological diseases on the time perception. We conclude that the dopaminergic system has great participation in impact on time perception and neurobiological basis of the executive functions and neurological diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Marinho
- a Brain Mapping and Plasticity Laboratory, Federal University of Piauí (UFPI) , Parnaíba , Brazil.,b Genetics and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Federal University of Piauí , Parnaíba , Brazil
| | - Thomaz Oliveira
- a Brain Mapping and Plasticity Laboratory, Federal University of Piauí (UFPI) , Parnaíba , Brazil.,b Genetics and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Federal University of Piauí , Parnaíba , Brazil
| | - Kaline Rocha
- a Brain Mapping and Plasticity Laboratory, Federal University of Piauí (UFPI) , Parnaíba , Brazil
| | - Jéssica Ribeiro
- a Brain Mapping and Plasticity Laboratory, Federal University of Piauí (UFPI) , Parnaíba , Brazil
| | - Francisco Magalhães
- a Brain Mapping and Plasticity Laboratory, Federal University of Piauí (UFPI) , Parnaíba , Brazil
| | - Thalys Bento
- a Brain Mapping and Plasticity Laboratory, Federal University of Piauí (UFPI) , Parnaíba , Brazil
| | - Giovanny R Pinto
- b Genetics and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Federal University of Piauí , Parnaíba , Brazil
| | - Bruna Velasques
- c Brain Mapping and Sensory Motor Integration Laboratory, Institute of Psychiatry of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IPUB/UFRJ) , Rio de Janeiro , Brazil
| | - Pedro Ribeiro
- c Brain Mapping and Sensory Motor Integration Laboratory, Institute of Psychiatry of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IPUB/UFRJ) , Rio de Janeiro , Brazil
| | - Luiza Di Giorgio
- c Brain Mapping and Sensory Motor Integration Laboratory, Institute of Psychiatry of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IPUB/UFRJ) , Rio de Janeiro , Brazil
| | - Marco Orsini
- c Brain Mapping and Sensory Motor Integration Laboratory, Institute of Psychiatry of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IPUB/UFRJ) , Rio de Janeiro , Brazil.,d Rehabilitation Science Program, Analysis of Human Movement Laboratory, Augusto Motta University Center (UNISUAM) , Rio de Janeiro , Brazil
| | - Daya S Gupta
- e Department of Biology , Camden County College , Blackwood , NJ , USA
| | - Juliana Bittencourt
- f Biomedical Engineering Program (COPPE), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) , Rio de Janeiro , Brazil
| | - Victor Hugo Bastos
- g Brain Mapping and Functionality Laboratory, Federal University of Piauí (UFPI) , Parnaíba , Brazil
| | - Silmar Teixeira
- a Brain Mapping and Plasticity Laboratory, Federal University of Piauí (UFPI) , Parnaíba , Brazil
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15
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Rosenberg MD, Finn ES, Scheinost D, Constable RT, Chun MM. Characterizing Attention with Predictive Network Models. Trends Cogn Sci 2017; 21:290-302. [PMID: 28238605 PMCID: PMC5366090 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2017.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2016] [Revised: 01/16/2017] [Accepted: 01/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Recent work shows that models based on functional connectivity in large-scale brain networks can predict individuals' attentional abilities. While being some of the first generalizable neuromarkers of cognitive function, these models also inform our basic understanding of attention, providing empirical evidence that: (i) attention is a network property of brain computation; (ii) the functional architecture that underlies attention can be measured while people are not engaged in any explicit task; and (iii) this architecture supports a general attentional ability that is common to several laboratory-based tasks and is impaired in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Looking ahead, connectivity-based predictive models of attention and other cognitive abilities and behaviors may potentially improve the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of clinical dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- M D Rosenberg
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - E S Finn
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - D Scheinost
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - R T Constable
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - M M Chun
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA; Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
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16
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Johnson BP, Lum JAG, Rinehart NJ, Fielding J. Ocular motor disturbances in autism spectrum disorders: Systematic review and comprehensive meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 69:260-79. [PMID: 27527824 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2016] [Revised: 07/25/2016] [Accepted: 08/05/2016] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
There has been considerable focus placed on how individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) visually perceive and attend to social information, such as facial expressions or social gaze. The role of eye movements is inextricable from visual perception, however this aspect is often overlooked. We performed a series of meta-analyses based on data from 28 studies of eye movements in ASD to determine whether there is evidence for ocular motor dysfunction in ASD. Tasks assessed included visually-guided saccade tasks, gap/overlap, anti-saccade, pursuit tasks and ocular fixation. These analyses revealed evidence for ocular motor dysfunction in ASD, specifically relating to saccade dysmetria, difficulty inhibiting saccades and impaired tracking of moving targets. However there was no evidence for deficits relating to initiating eye movements, or engaging and disengaging from simple visual targets. Characterizing ocular motor abnormalities in ASD may provide insight into the functional integrity of brain networks in ASD across development, and assist our understanding of visual and social attention in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beth P Johnson
- Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Psychological Sciences, 18 Innovation Walk, Monash University, VIC 3800, Australia.
| | - Jarrad A G Lum
- Deakin Child Study Centre, School of Psychology, Deakin Unviersity, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Nicole J Rinehart
- Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Psychological Sciences, 18 Innovation Walk, Monash University, VIC 3800, Australia; Deakin Child Study Centre, School of Psychology, Deakin Unviersity, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Joanne Fielding
- Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Psychological Sciences, 18 Innovation Walk, Monash University, VIC 3800, Australia
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Hadad BS, Ziv Y. Strong Bias Towards Analytic Perception in ASD Does not Necessarily Come at the Price of Impaired Integration Skills. J Autism Dev Disord 2015; 45:1499-512. [PMID: 25518823 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-014-2293-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We first demonstrated analytic processing in ASD under conditions in which integral processing seems mandatory in TD observers, a pattern that is often taken to indicate a local default processing in ASD. However, this processing bias does not inevitably come at the price of impaired integration skills. Indeed, examining the same group of individuals with ASD on a task with explicit demands for integrated representations, Experiment 2 showed that the same observers with ASD demonstrated intact spatial integration. The results further showed that performance was not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively comparable to that of TD observers, demonstrating the sensitivity of integration in ASD to the same interactive effects of Gestalt cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bat-Sheva Hadad
- Department of Special Education, Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 31905, Haifa, Israel,
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18
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Tracking the sensory environment: an ERP study of probability and context updating in ASD. J Autism Dev Disord 2015; 45:600-11. [PMID: 24488156 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-014-2045-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
We recorded visual event-related brain potentials from 32 adult male participants (16 high-functioning participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 16 control participants, ranging in age from 18 to 53 years) during a three-stimulus oddball paradigm. Target and non-target stimulus probability was varied across three probability conditions, whereas the probability of a third non-target stimulus was held constant in all conditions. P3 amplitude to target stimuli was more sensitive to probability in ASD than in typically developing participants, whereas P3 amplitude to non-target stimuli was less responsive to probability in ASD participants. This suggests that neural responses to changes in event probability are attention-dependant in high-functioning ASD. The implications of these findings for higher-level behaviors such as prediction and planning are discussed.
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19
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Sacrey LAR, Armstrong VL, Bryson SE, Zwaigenbaum L. Impairments to visual disengagement in autism spectrum disorder: a review of experimental studies from infancy to adulthood. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2015; 47:559-77. [PMID: 25454358 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2014] [Revised: 09/29/2014] [Accepted: 10/14/2014] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Impairments in visual disengagement are a current focus of research in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and may play a key role in the early expression of social-emotional deficits associated with the disorder. This review summarizes current knowledge of visual disengagement and orienting in ASD. Convergent reports from infancy to adulthood indicate that (1) impairments to visual disengagement are apparent on Gap-Overlap tasks, spatial orienting tasks, and tasks involving social stimuli; and (2) these impairments emerge in the first year of life and continue into adulthood. The relationships between visual disengagement, orienting, joint attention, emotional regulation, and IQ are discussed in relation to ASD.
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20
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Modeling possible effects of atypical cerebellar processing on eyeblink conditioning in autism. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2015; 14:1142-64. [PMID: 24590391 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-014-0263-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Autism is unique among other disorders in that acquisition of conditioned eyeblink responses is enhanced in children, occurring in a fraction of the trials required for control participants. The timing of learned responses is, however, atypical. Two animal models of autism display a similar phenotype. Researchers have hypothesized that these differences in conditioning reflect cerebellar abnormalities. The present study used computer simulations of the cerebellar cortex, including inhibition by the molecular layer interneurons, to more closely examine whether atypical cerebellar processing can account for faster conditioning in individuals with autism. In particular, the effects of inhibitory levels on delay eyeblink conditioning were simulated, as were the effects of learning-related synaptic changes at either parallel fibers or ascending branch synapses from granule cells to Purkinje cells. Results from these simulations predict that whether molecular layer inhibition results in an enhancement or an impairment of acquisition, or changes in timing, may depend on (1) the sources of inhibition, (2) the levels of inhibition, and (3) the locations of learning-related changes (parallel vs. ascending branch synapses). Overall, the simulations predict that a disruption in the balance or an overall increase of inhibition within the cerebellar cortex may contribute to atypical eyeblink conditioning in children with autism and in animal models of autism.
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21
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Accelerated time course of saccadic inhibition of return in individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Exp Brain Res 2014; 233:767-75. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-014-4152-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2014] [Accepted: 11/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Fitzgerald J, Johnson K, Kehoe E, Bokde ALW, Garavan H, Gallagher L, McGrath J. Disrupted functional connectivity in dorsal and ventral attention networks during attention orienting in autism spectrum disorders. Autism Res 2014; 8:136-52. [PMID: 25428212 DOI: 10.1002/aur.1430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2013] [Accepted: 09/29/2014] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Attention orienting is a cognitive process that facilitates the movement of attention focus from one location to another: this may be impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Dorsal and ventral attention networks (DAN and VAN) sub-serve the process of attention orienting. This study investigated the functional connectivity of attention orienting in these networks in ASD using the Posner Cueing Task. METHOD Twenty-one adolescents with ASD and 21 age and IQ matched controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging. A psychophysical interaction (PPI) analysis was implemented to investigate task-dependent functional connectivity, measuring synchronicity of brain regions during the task. Regions of interest (ROI) were selected to explore functional connectivity in the DAN during cue-only conditions and in the VAN during invalid and valid trials. RESULTS Behaviourally, the ASD and control groups performed the task in a similar manner. Functional MRI results indicated that the ASD and control groups activated similar brain regions. During invalid trials (VAN), the ASD group showed significant positive functional connectivity to multiple brain regions, whilst the control group demonstrated negative connectivity. During valid trials (VAN), the two groups also showed contrasting patterns of connectivity. In the cue-only conditions (DAN), the ASD group showed weaker functional connectivity. CONCLUSION The DAN analysis suggests that the ASD group has weaker coherence between brain areas involved in goal-driven, endogenous attention control. The strong positive functional connectivity exhibited by the ASD group in the VAN during the invalid trials suggests that individuals with ASD may generate compensatory mechanisms to achieve neurotypical behaviour. These results support the theory of abnormal cortical connectivity in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline Fitzgerald
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Institute of Neuroscience, The Lloyd Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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23
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Wegiel J, Flory M, Kuchna I, Nowicki K, Ma SY, Imaki H, Wegiel J, Cohen IL, London E, Wisniewski T, Brown WT. Stereological study of the neuronal number and volume of 38 brain subdivisions of subjects diagnosed with autism reveals significant alterations restricted to the striatum, amygdala and cerebellum. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2014; 2:141. [PMID: 25231243 PMCID: PMC4177256 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-014-0141-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2014] [Accepted: 09/09/2014] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction A total of 38 brain cytoarchitectonic subdivisions, representing subcortical and cortical structures, cerebellum, and brainstem, were examined in 4- to 60-year-old subjects diagnosed with autism and control subjects (a) to detect a global pattern of developmental abnormalities and (b) to establish whether the function of developmentally modified structures matches the behavioral alterations that are diagnostic for autism. The volume of cytoarchitectonic subdivisions, neuronal numerical density, and total number of neurons per region of interest were determined in 14 subjects with autism and 14 age-matched controls by using unbiased stereological methods. Results The study revealed that significant differences between the group of subjects with autism and control groups are limited to a few brain regions, including the cerebellum and some striatum and amygdala subdivisions. In the group of individuals with autism, the total number and numerical density of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum were reduced by 25% and 24%, respectively. In the amygdala, significant reduction of neuronal density was limited to the lateral nucleus (by 12%). Another sign of the topographic selectivity of developmental alterations in the brain of individuals with autism was an increase in the volumes of the caudate nucleus and nucleus accumbens by 22% and 34%, respectively, and the reduced numerical density of neurons in the nucleus accumbens and putamen by 15% and 13%, respectively. Conclusions The observed pattern of developmental alterations in the cerebellum, amygdala and striatum is consistent with the results of magnetic resonance imaging studies and their clinical correlations, and of some morphometric studies that indicate that detected abnormalities may contribute to the social and communication deficits, and repetitive and stereotypical behaviors observed in individuals with autism.
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24
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Restricted and repetitive behaviors in autism spectrum disorders: the relationship of attention and motor deficits. Dev Psychopathol 2014; 25:773-84. [PMID: 23880391 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579413000163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) are hallmark symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs); however, it has proven difficult to understand the mechanisms underlying these behaviors. One hypothesis suggests that RRBs are the result of a core deficit in attention. Alternatively, abnormalities of the motor system may constitute the central mechanism underlying RRBs, given motor deficits observed in ASDs. In this experiment, we investigated the etiology of RRBs and the relationship between attention and motor deficits. Movement impairments (a) may be indirectly related to attention deficits, (b) may result from a shared compromised process, or (c) may be independent. Twenty-two adolescents with ASD and 20 typically developing participants performed a spatial attention task. Movement impairments were assessed with a rhythmic tapping task. Attentional orienting and motor control were found to be related and supported the hypothesis that these impairments in ASD arise from a shared process. In contrast, measures of attention switching and motor control were found to be independent. Stereotyped behaviors, as assessed by parental ratings, were related more to the degree of motor impairment than to deficits of attention. These results suggest that both attentional orienting deficits and stereotyped RRBs are related to a compromised motor system.
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25
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Orekhova EV, Stroganova TA. Arousal and attention re-orienting in autism spectrum disorders: evidence from auditory event-related potentials. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:34. [PMID: 24567709 PMCID: PMC3915101 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2013] [Accepted: 01/17/2014] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The extended phenotype of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) includes a combination of arousal regulation problems, sensory modulation difficulties, and attention re-orienting deficit. A slow and inefficient re-orienting to stimuli that appear outside of the attended sensory stream is thought to be especially detrimental for social functioning. Event-related potentials (ERPs) and magnetic fields (ERFs) may help to reveal which processing stages underlying brain response to unattended but salient sensory event are affected in individuals with ASD. Previous research focusing on two sequential stages of the brain response-automatic detection of physical changes in auditory stream, indexed by mismatch negativity (MMN), and evaluation of stimulus novelty, indexed by P3a component,-found in individuals with ASD either increased, decreased, or normal processing of deviance and novelty. The review examines these apparently conflicting results, notes gaps in previous findings, and suggests a potentially unifying hypothesis relating the dampened responses to unattended sensory events to the deficit in rapid arousal process. Specifically, "sensory gating" studies focused on pre-attentive arousal consistently demonstrated that brain response to unattended and temporally novel sound in ASD is already affected at around 100 ms after stimulus onset. We hypothesize that abnormalities in nicotinic cholinergic arousal pathways, previously reported in individuals with ASD, may contribute to these ERP/ERF aberrations and result in attention re-orienting deficit. Such cholinergic dysfunction may be present in individuals with ASD early in life and can influence both sensory processing and attention re-orienting behavior. Identification of early neurophysiological biomarkers for cholinergic deficit would help to detect infants "at risk" who can potentially benefit from particular types of therapies or interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena V Orekhova
- MEG Centre, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education Moscow, Russia ; MedTech West, Sahlgrenska Academy Gothenburg, Sweden
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26
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Landry O, Parker A. A meta-analysis of visual orienting in autism. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:833. [PMID: 24367314 PMCID: PMC3856368 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2013] [Accepted: 11/18/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Visual orienting is inconsistently reported to be impaired in autism. METHODS We conducted a meta-analysis on visual orienting in autism. We focused on studies that used a Posner-type task. A total of 18 research papers published between 1993 and 2011 were included in our meta-analysis. We examined the effects of differences in experimental design as well as differences in participant samples. We examined both orienting reaction times of participants with autism, and the effect size relative to comparison group in each experiment. RESULTS We found that participants with autism oriented across conditions (mean orienting effect = 40.73 ms), which was of an overall smaller magnitude than that of comparison groups (Cohen's d = 0.44). Participants with autism were most impaired on arrow cue tasks, and least impaired on eye-gaze cue tasks, more impaired with rapid trials, and the impairment increased with age. CONCLUSIONS Variations in experimental design and participant age group contribute to whether participants with autism appear impaired at visual orienting. Critical gaps exist in the literature; developmental studies are needed across and comparing broader age ranges, and more attention should be focused on basic endogenous orienting processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oriane Landry
- Psychology Department, Dalhousie University Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Ashton Parker
- Psychology Department, Dalhousie University Halifax, NS, Canada
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27
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de Boer-Schellekens L, Keetels M, Eussen M, Vroomen J. No evidence for impaired multisensory integration of low-level audiovisual stimuli in adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders. Neuropsychologia 2013; 51:3004-13. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2013] [Revised: 10/03/2013] [Accepted: 10/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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28
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Abnormal pre-attentive arousal in young children with autism spectrum disorder contributes to their atypical auditory behavior: an ERP study. PLoS One 2013; 8:e69100. [PMID: 23935931 PMCID: PMC3723785 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0069100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2013] [Accepted: 06/05/2013] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Auditory sensory modulation difficulties and problems with automatic re-orienting to sound are well documented in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Abnormal preattentive arousal processes may contribute to these deficits. In this study, we investigated components of the cortical auditory evoked potential (CAEP) reflecting preattentive arousal in children with ASD and typically developing (TD) children aged 3-8 years. Pairs of clicks (‘S1’ and ‘S2’) separated by a 1 sec S1-S2 interstimulus interval (ISI) and much longer (8-10 sec) S1-S1 ISIs were presented monaurally to either the left or right ear. In TD children, the P50, P100 and N1c CAEP components were strongly influenced by temporal novelty of clicks and were much greater in response to the S1 than the S2 click. Irrespective of the stimulation side, the ‘tangential’ P100 component was rightward lateralized in TD children, whereas the ‘radial’ N1c component had higher amplitude contralaterally to the stimulated ear. Compared to the TD children, children with ASD demonstrated 1) reduced amplitude of the P100 component under the condition of temporal novelty (S1) and 2) an attenuated P100 repetition suppression effect. The abnormalities were lateralized and depended on the presentation side. They were evident in the case of the left but not the right ear stimulation. The P100 abnormalities in ASD correlated with the degree of developmental delay and with the severity of auditory sensory modulation difficulties observed in early life. The results suggest that some rightward-lateralized brain networks that are crucially important for arousal and attention re-orienting are compromised in children with ASD and that this deficit contributes to sensory modulation difficulties and possibly even other behavioral deficits in ASD.
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Baranek GT, Watson LR, Boyd BA, Poe MD, David FJ, McGuire L. Hyporesponsiveness to social and nonsocial sensory stimuli in children with autism, children with developmental delays, and typically developing children. Dev Psychopathol 2013; 25:307-20. [PMID: 23627946 PMCID: PMC3641693 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579412001071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 157] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
This cross-sectional study seeks to (a) describe developmental correlates of sensory hyporesponsiveness to social and nonsocial stimuli, (b) determine whether hyporesponsiveness is generalized across contexts in children with autism relative to controls, and (c) test the associations between hyporesponsiveness and social communication outcomes. Three groups of children ages 11-105 months (N = 178; autism = 63, developmental delay = 47, typical development = 68) are given developmental and sensory measures including a behavioral orienting task (the Sensory Processing Assessment). Lab measures are significantly correlated with parental reports of sensory hyporesponsiveness. Censored regression models show that hyporesponsiveness decreased across groups with increasing mental age (MA). Group differences are significant but depend upon two-way interactions with MA and context (social and nonsocial). At a very young MA (e.g., 6 months), the autism group demonstrates more hyporesponsiveness to social and nonsocial stimuli (with larger effects for social) than developmental delay and typically developing groups, but at an older MA (e.g., 60 months) there are no significant differences. Hyporesponsiveness to social and nonsocial stimuli predicts lower levels of joint attention and language in children with autism. Generalized processes in attention disengagement and behavioral orienting may have relevance for identifying early risk factors of autism and for facilitating learning across contexts to support the development of joint attention and language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace T Baranek
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27599-7122, USA.
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30
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Grubb MA, Behrmann M, Egan R, Minshew NJ, Carrasco M, Heeger DJ. Endogenous spatial attention: evidence for intact functioning in adults with autism. Autism Res 2013; 6:108-18. [PMID: 23427075 DOI: 10.1002/aur.1269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2012] [Accepted: 12/05/2012] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Rapid manipulation of the attention field (i.e. the location and spread of visual spatial attention) is a critical aspect of human cognition, and previous research on spatial attention in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has produced inconsistent results. In a series of three psychophysical experiments, we evaluated claims in the literature that individuals with ASD exhibit a deficit in voluntarily controlling the deployment and size of the spatial attention field. We measured the spatial distribution of performance accuracies and reaction times to quantify the sizes and locations of the attention field, with and without spatial uncertainty (i.e. the lack of predictability concerning the spatial position of the upcoming stimulus). We found that high-functioning adults with autism exhibited slower reaction times overall with spatial uncertainty, but the effects of attention on performance accuracies and reaction times were indistinguishable between individuals with autism and typically developing individuals in all three experiments. These results provide evidence of intact endogenous spatial attention function in high-functioning adults with ASD, suggesting that atypical endogenous attention cannot be a latent characteristic of autism in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Grubb
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
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Keehn B, Müller RA, Townsend J. Atypical attentional networks and the emergence of autism. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2013; 37:164-83. [PMID: 23206665 PMCID: PMC3563720 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 229] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2012] [Revised: 10/22/2012] [Accepted: 11/23/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The sociocommunicative impairments that define autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not present at birth but emerge gradually over the first two years of life. In typical development, basic attentional processes may provide a critical foundation for sociocommunicative abilities. Therefore early attentional dysfunction in ASD may result in atypical development of social communication. Prior research has demonstrated that persons with ASD exhibit early and lifelong impairments in attention. The primary aim of this paper is to provide a review of the extant research on attention in ASD using a framework of functionally independent attentional networks as conceptualized by Posner and colleagues: the alerting, orienting and executive control networks (Posner and Petersen, 1990; Petersen and Posner, 2012). The neural substrates and typical development of each attentional network are briefly discussed, a review of the ASD attention literature is presented, and a hypothesis is proposed that links aberrant attentional mechanisms, specifically impaired disengagement of attention, with the emergence of core ASD symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon Keehn
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
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Fan J, Bernardi S, Van Dam NT, Anagnostou E, Gu X, Martin L, Park Y, Liu X, Kolevzon A, Soorya L, Grodberg D, Hollander E, Hof PR. Functional deficits of the attentional networks in autism. Brain Behav 2012; 2:647-60. [PMID: 23139910 PMCID: PMC3489817 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.90] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2012] [Revised: 07/20/2012] [Accepted: 07/30/2012] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Attentional dysfunction is among the most consistent observations of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the neural nature of this deficit in ASD is still unclear. In this study, we aimed to identify the neurobehavioral correlates of attentional dysfunction in ASD. We used the Attention Network Test-Revised and functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine alerting, orienting, and executive control functions, as well as the neural substrates underlying these attentional functions in unmedicated, high-functioning adults with ASD (n = 12) and matched healthy controls (HC, n = 12). Compared with HC, individuals with ASD showed increased error rates in alerting and executive control, accompanied by lower activity in the mid-frontal gyrus and the caudate nucleus for alerting, and by the absence of significant functional activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) for executive control. In addition, greater behavioral deficiency in executive control in ASD was correlated with less functional activation of the ACC. These findings of behavioral and neural abnormalities in alerting and executive control of attention in ASD may suggest core attentional deficits, which require further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Fan
- Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York New York ; Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine New York ; Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine New York ; Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Mount Sinai School of Medicine New York
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Yang Z, Yeo RA, Pena A, Ling JM, Klimaj S, Campbell R, Doezema D, Mayer AR. An FMRI study of auditory orienting and inhibition of return in pediatric mild traumatic brain injury. J Neurotrauma 2012; 29:2124-36. [PMID: 22533632 PMCID: PMC3419846 DOI: 10.1089/neu.2012.2395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies in adult mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) have shown that two key measures of attention, spatial reorienting and inhibition of return (IOR), are impaired during the first few weeks of injury. However, it is currently unknown whether similar deficits exist following pediatric mTBI. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the effects of semi-acute mTBI (<3 weeks post-injury) on auditory orienting in 14 pediatric mTBI patients (age 13.50±1.83 years; education: 6.86±1.88 years), and 14 healthy controls (age 13.29±2.09 years; education: 7.21±2.08 years), matched for age and years of education. The results indicated that patients with mTBI showed subtle (i.e., moderate effect sizes) but non-significant deficits on formal neuropsychological testing and during IOR. In contrast, functional imaging results indicated that patients with mTBI demonstrated significantly decreased activation within the bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus, thalamus, basal ganglia, midbrain nuclei, and cerebellum. The spatial topography of hypoactivation was very similar to our previous study in adults, suggesting that subcortical structures may be particularly affected by the initial biomechanical forces in mTBI. Current results also suggest that fMRI may be a more sensitive tool for identifying semi-acute effects of mTBI than the procedures currently used in clinical practice, such as neuropsychological testing and structural scans. fMRI findings could potentially serve as a biomarker for measuring the subtle injury caused by mTBI, and documenting the course of recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Yang
- The Mind Research Network/Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Ronald A. Yeo
- The Mind Research Network/Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Amanda Pena
- The Mind Research Network/Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Josef M. Ling
- The Mind Research Network/Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Stefan Klimaj
- The Mind Research Network/Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Richard Campbell
- Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - David Doezema
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Andrew R. Mayer
- The Mind Research Network/Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Neurology Department, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Eye-Hand Coordination in Children with High Functioning Autism and Asperger’s Disorder Using a Gap-Overlap Paradigm. J Autism Dev Disord 2012; 43:841-50. [DOI: 10.1007/s10803-012-1623-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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35
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Altered white matter fractional anisotropy and social impairment in children with autism spectrum disorder. Brain Res 2010; 1362:141-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2010.09.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2010] [Revised: 09/14/2010] [Accepted: 09/14/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Wegiel J, Kuchna I, Nowicki K, Imaki H, Wegiel J, Marchi E, Ma SY, Chauhan A, Chauhan V, Bobrowicz TW, de Leon M, Louis LAS, Cohen IL, London E, Brown WT, Wisniewski T. The neuropathology of autism: defects of neurogenesis and neuronal migration, and dysplastic changes. Acta Neuropathol 2010; 119:755-70. [PMID: 20198484 PMCID: PMC2869041 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-010-0655-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 414] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2009] [Revised: 02/05/2010] [Accepted: 02/09/2010] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Autism is characterized by a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations including qualitative impairments in social interactions and communication, and repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior. Abnormal acceleration of brain growth in early childhood, signs of slower growth of neurons, and minicolumn developmental abnormalities suggest multiregional alterations. The aim of this study was to detect the patterns of focal qualitative developmental defects and to identify brain regions that are prone to developmental alterations in autism. Formalin-fixed brain hemispheres of 13 autistic (4–60 years of age) and 14 age-matched control subjects were embedded in celloidin and cut into 200-μm-thick coronal sections, which were stained with cresyl violet and used for neuropathological evaluation. Thickening of the subependymal cell layer in two brains and subependymal nodular dysplasia in one brain is indicative of active neurogenesis in two autistic children. Subcortical, periventricular, hippocampal and cerebellar heterotopias detected in the brains of four autistic subjects (31%) reflect abnormal neuronal migration. Multifocal cerebral dysplasia resulted in local distortion of the cytoarchitecture of the neocortex in four brains (31%), of the entorhinal cortex in two brains (15%), of the cornu Ammonis in four brains and of the dentate gyrus in two brains. Cerebellar flocculonodular dysplasia detected in six subjects (46%), focal dysplasia in the vermis in one case, and hypoplasia in one subject indicate local failure of cerebellar development in 62% of autistic subjects. Detection of flocculonodular dysplasia in only one control subject and of a broad spectrum of focal qualitative neuropathological developmental changes in 12 of 13 examined brains of autistic subjects (92%) reflects multiregional dysregulation of neurogenesis, neuronal migration and maturation in autism, which may contribute to the heterogeneity of the clinical phenotype.
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Mayer AR, Mannell MV, Ling J, Elgie R, Gasparovic C, Phillips JP, Doezema D, Yeo RA. Auditory orienting and inhibition of return in mild traumatic brain injury: a FMRI study. Hum Brain Mapp 2010; 30:4152-66. [PMID: 19554558 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.20836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The semiacute phase of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is associated with deficits in the cognitive domains of attention, memory, and executive function, which previous work suggests may be related to a specific deficit in disengaging attentional focus. However, to date, there have only been a few studies that have employed dynamic imaging techniques to investigate the potential neurological basis of these cognitive deficits during the semiacute stage of injury. Therefore, event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to investigate the neurological correlates of attentional dysfunction in a clinically homogeneous sample of 16 patients with mTBI during the semiacute phase of injury (<3 weeks). Behaviorally, patients with mTBI exhibited deficits in disengaging and reorienting auditory attention following invalid cues as well as a failure to inhibit attentional allocation to a cued spatial location compared to a group of matched controls. Accordingly, patients with mTBI also exhibited hypoactivation within thalamus, striatum, midbrain nuclei, and cerebellum across all trials as well as hypoactivation in the right posterior parietal cortex, presupplementary motor area, bilateral frontal eye fields, and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex during attentional disengagement. Finally, the hemodynamic response within several regions of the attentional network predicted response times better for controls than for patients with mTBI. These objective neurological findings represent a potential biomarker for the behavioral deficits in spatial attention that characterize the initial recovery phase of mTBI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew R Mayer
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106, USA.
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Sotillo M, López-Frutos JM, Tripicchio P. Mecanismos atencionales en autismo de alto nivel de funcionamiento cognitivo: una revisión del estado de la cuestión. STUDIES IN PSYCHOLOGY 2010. [DOI: 10.1174/021093910804952269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
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Vision in autism spectrum disorders. Vision Res 2009; 49:2705-39. [PMID: 19682485 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2009.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 505] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2009] [Revised: 08/04/2009] [Accepted: 08/04/2009] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are developmental disorders which are thought primarily to affect social functioning. However, there is now a growing body of evidence that unusual sensory processing is at least a concomitant and possibly the cause of many of the behavioural signs and symptoms of ASD. A comprehensive and critical review of the phenomenological, empirical, neuroscientific and theoretical literature pertaining to visual processing in ASD is presented, along with a brief justification of a new theory which may help to explain some of the data, and link it with other current hypotheses about the genetic and neural aetiologies of this enigmatic condition.
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Congiu S, Schlottmann A, Ray E. Unimpaired perception of social and physical causality, but impaired perception of animacy in high functioning children with autism. J Autism Dev Disord 2009; 40:39-53. [PMID: 19636691 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-009-0824-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2008] [Accepted: 07/09/2009] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
We investigated perception of social and physical causality and animacy in simple motion events, for high-functioning children with autism (CA = 13, VMA = 9.6). Children matched 14 different animations to pictures showing physical, social or non-causality. In contrast to previous work, children with autism performed at a high level similar to VMA-matched controls, recognizing physical causality in launch and social causality in reaction events. The launch deficit previously found in younger children with autism, possibly related to attentional/verbal difficulties, is apparently overcome with age. Some events involved squares moving non-rigidly, like animals. Children with autism had difficulties recognizing this, extending the biological motion literature. However, animacy prompts amplified their attributions of social causality. Thus children with autism may overcome their animacy perception deficit strategically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Congiu
- Dipartimento di Filosofia e Scienze Sociali, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
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41
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Alteration of Attentional Blink in High Functioning Autism: A Pilot Study. J Autism Dev Disord 2009; 39:1522-8. [DOI: 10.1007/s10803-009-0821-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2008] [Accepted: 05/20/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Landry O, Mitchell PL, Burack JA. Orienting of visual attention among persons with autism spectrum disorders: reading versus responding to symbolic cues. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2009; 50:862-70. [PMID: 19527316 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.02049.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Are persons with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) slower than typically developing individuals to read the meaning of a symbolic cue in a visual orienting paradigm? METHODS Participants with ASD (n = 18) and performance mental age (PMA) matched typically developing children (n = 16) completed two endogenous orienting conditions in which the cue exposure time and response preparation time were manipulated within a consistent series of cue-target stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs). RESULTS Participants with ASD displayed facilitation effects at all SOAs, whereas typically developing children displayed facilitation effects only at shorter SOAs. The magnitude of the facilitation effect was greater for the group with ASD at 400ms SOA. Both groups showed similar effects of condition, with similar patterns of facilitation in both conditions. CONCLUSION Persons with ASD were not slower to read the symbolic cue, as the effect was elicited by brief cues within longer SOAs before target onset. The participants with ASD were also less efficient in using the predictability of the cues to guide responding. The difficulties of participants with ASD on endogenous orienting occur at the response selection level, not the perceptual level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oriane Landry
- sychology Department, Room 7418, Social Sciences Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5C2, Canada.
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Naoi N, Tsuchiya R, Yamamoto JI, Nakamura K. Functional training for initiating joint attention in children with autism. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2008; 29:595-609. [PMID: 18065199 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2007.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2007] [Accepted: 10/23/2007] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The present study aimed to examine the controlling variables for initiating joint attention (IJA) in three children with autism. During the baseline, target objects were presented in a location where the child could see them, but the adult could not, and the emergence of IJA was assessed. Children with autism showed some IJA skills during the baseline, but none initiated pointing. In training, the motivating operation for IJA was manipulated by using each child's preferred materials as targets of joint attention. It was found that more frequent and functional joint attention behaviors were emitted following training. The present study suggests that difficulties in IJA in children with autism could be partly explained by restricted interests in children with autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nozomi Naoi
- Department of Psychology, Keio University, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8345, Japan.
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Neuronal fiber pathway abnormalities in autism: an initial MRI diffusion tensor tracking study of hippocampo-fusiform and amygdalo-fusiform pathways. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2008; 14:933-46. [PMID: 18954474 PMCID: PMC3298449 DOI: 10.1017/s1355617708081381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
MRI diffusion-tensor tracking (DTT) was performed in 17 high-functioning adolescents/adults with autism and 17 pairwise-matched controls. White matter pathways involved in face processing were examined due to the relevance of face perception to the social symptoms of autism, and due to known behavioral and functional imaging findings in autism. The hippocampo-fusiform (HF) and amygdalo-fusiform (AF) pathways had normal size and shape but abnormal microstructure in the autism group. The right HF had reduced across-fiber diffusivity (D-min) compared with controls, opposite to the whole-brain effect of increased D-min. In contrast, left HF, right AF, and left AF had increased D-min and increased along-fiber diffusivity (D-max), more consistent with the whole-brain effect. There was a general loss of lateralization compared with controls. The right HF D-min was markedly low in the autism subgroup with lower Benton face recognition scores, compared with the lower-Benton control subgroup, and compared with the higher-Benton autism subgroup. Similar behavioral relationships were found for performance IQ. Such results suggest an early functionally-significant pathological process in right HF consistent with small-diameter axons (with correspondingly slower neural transmission) and/or higher packing density. In left AF and HF, changes were interpreted as secondary, possibly reflecting axonal loss and/or decreased myelination.
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Ibanez LV, Messinger DS, Newell L, Lambert B, Sheskin M. Visual disengagement in the infant siblings of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2008; 12:473-85. [PMID: 18805943 PMCID: PMC2860749 DOI: 10.1177/1362361308094504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are impaired in visually disengaging attention in both social and non-social contexts. These impairments may, in subtler form, also affect the infant siblings of children with ASD (ASD-sibs). We investigated patterns of visual attention (gazing) in 6-month-old ASD-sibs (n=17) and the siblings of typically developing children (COMP-sibs: n=17) during the Face-to-Face/Still-Face Protocol (FFSF), in which parents are sequentially responsive, non-responsive, and responsive to their infants. Throughout the protocol, ASD-sibs shifted their gaze to and from their parents' faces less frequently than did COMP-sibs. The mean durations of ASD-sibs' gazes away from their parents' faces were longer than those of COMP-sibs. ASD-sibs and COMP-sibs did not differ in the mean durations of gazes at their parents' faces. In sum, ASD-sibs showed no deficits in visual interest to their parents' faces, but greater interest than COMP-sibs in non-face stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Lisa Newell
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
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46
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Mapping autism and schizophrenia onto the ontogenesis of social behaviour: A hierarchical-developmental rather than diametrical perspective. Behav Brain Sci 2008. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x08004238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
AbstractCo-morbidity of schizophrenia and autism is low because interpersonal concerns of schizophrenic patients presuppose developmental achievements that are absent in autism. Autism may arise if primary anxiety is not overcome at a key developmental stage by affective synchronisation between infant and caregiver. Schizophrenic patients will have learned to regulate primitive anxiety by affectively attuning to narrow social networks but remain highly vulnerable to exclusion from larger groups.
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Catani M, Jones DK, Daly E, Embiricos N, Deeley Q, Pugliese L, Curran S, Robertson D, Murphy DGM. Altered cerebellar feedback projections in Asperger syndrome. Neuroimage 2008; 41:1184-91. [PMID: 18495494 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.03.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 194] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2007] [Revised: 03/17/2008] [Accepted: 03/19/2008] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been proposed that the biological basis of autism spectrum disorder includes cerebellar 'disconnection'. However, direct in vivo evidence in support of this is lacking. Here, the microstructural integrity of cerebellar white matter in adults with Asperger syndrome was studied using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance tractography. Fifteen adults with Asperger syndrome and 16 age-IQ-gender-matched healthy controls underwent diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging. For each subject, tract-specific measurements of mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy were made within the inferior, middle, superior cerebellar peduncles and short intracerebellar fibres. No group differences were observed in mean diffusivity. However, people with Asperger syndrome had significantly lower fractional anisotropy in the short intracerebellar fibres (p<0.001) and right superior cerebellar (output) peduncle (p<0.001) compared to controls; but no difference in the input tracts. Severity of social impairment, as measured by the Autistic Diagnostic Interview, was negatively correlated with diffusion anisotropy in the fibres of the left superior cerebellar peduncle. These findings suggest a vulnerability of specific cerebellar neural pathways in people with Asperger syndrome. The localised abnormalities in the main cerebellar outflow pathway may prevent the cerebral cortex from receiving those cerebellar feedback inputs necessary for a successful adaptive social behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Catani
- Section of Brain Maturation, Department of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, SE58AF, UK.
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DeLorey TM, Sahbaie P, Hashemi E, Homanics GE, Clark JD. Gabrb3 gene deficient mice exhibit impaired social and exploratory behaviors, deficits in non-selective attention and hypoplasia of cerebellar vermal lobules: a potential model of autism spectrum disorder. Behav Brain Res 2008; 187:207-20. [PMID: 17983671 PMCID: PMC2684890 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2007.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 162] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2007] [Revised: 09/04/2007] [Accepted: 09/09/2007] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE GABA(A) receptors play an important regulatory role in the developmental events leading to the formation of complex neuronal networks and to the behaviors they govern. The primary aim of this study was to assess whether gabrb3 gene deficient (gabrb3(-/-)) mice exhibit abnormal social behavior, a core deficit associated with autism spectrum disorder. METHODS Social and exploratory behaviors along with non-selective attention were assessed in gabrb3(-/-), littermates (gabrb3(+/+)) and progenitor strains, C57BL/6J and 129/SvJ. In addition, semi-quantitative assessments of the size of cerebellar vermal lobules were performed on gabrb3(+/+) and gabrb3(-/-) mice. RESULTS Relative to controls, gabrb3(-/-) mice exhibited significant deficits in activities related to social behavior including sociability, social novelty and nesting. In addition, gabrb3(-/-) mice also exhibited differences in exploratory behavior compared to controls, as well as reductions in the frequency and duration of rearing episodes, suggested as being an index of non-selective attention. Gabrb3(-/-) mice also displayed significant hypoplasia of the cerebellar vermis compared to gabrb3(+/+) mice. CONCLUSIONS The observed behavioral deficits, especially regarding social behaviors, strengthens the face validity of the gabrb3 gene deficient mouse as being a model of autism spectrum disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy M DeLorey
- Molecular Research Institute, 1000 Elwell Court, Suite 105, Palo Alto, CA 94303, USA.
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Sinzig J, Morsch D, Lehmkuhl G. Do hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention have an impact on the ability of facial affect recognition in children with autism and ADHD? Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2008; 17:63-72. [PMID: 17896119 DOI: 10.1007/s00787-007-0637-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/29/2007] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Psychopathological, genetic and neuropsychological findings indicate an association between autism and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The goal of this study was to assess possible differences in facial affect recognition in children with autism (with and without comorbid ADHD), with ADHD and healthy controls. Children aged 6-18 years old with DSM-IV-diagnosis ADHD (n=30) or autism (n=40) were included consecutively in the study. Facial affect recognition was assessed with a computer-based program used for teaching emotion processing called the Frankfurt Test and Training of Social Affect (FEFA) using faces and eye-pairs as target material. Additionally three attention-tasks (Sustained attention, Inhibition, Set-Shifting) were administered. Approximately 52% of the autistic children met the criteria for the comorbid diagnosis of ADHD. A MANOVA with post-hoc Scheffé tests revealed a significant difference in the recognition of faces and eye pairs between the group ADHD and controls (P=0.009). Children with autism and ADHD also differed significantly from healthy participants in the recognition of eye-pairs (P=0.009). Neither correlations with PDD nor with ADHD symptom scores were able to explain these results. Sustained attention and inhibition deficits had a significant influence on emotion recognition in children with ADHD. Our findings imply that the ability of facial affect recognition is reduced in children suffering from ADHD symptoms, both in autistic and pure ADHD children. ADHD symptoms need to be taken into account in future studies assessing emotion recognition in autistic children and adolescents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Sinzig
- Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Cologne, Robert-Koch-Str. 10, 50 931 Köln, Germany.
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50
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Picard H, Amado I, Mouchet-Mages S, Olié JP, Krebs MO. The role of the cerebellum in schizophrenia: an update of clinical, cognitive, and functional evidences. Schizophr Bull 2008; 34:155-72. [PMID: 17562694 PMCID: PMC2632376 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbm049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 202] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The role of the cerebellum in schizophrenia has been highlighted by Andreasen's hypothesis of "cognitive dysmetria," which suggests a general dyscoordination of sensorimotor and mental processes. Studies in schizophrenic patients have brought observations supporting a cerebellar impairment: high prevalence of neurological soft signs, dyscoordination, abnormal posture and propioception, impaired eyeblink conditioning, impaired adaptation of the vestibular-ocular reflex or procedural learning tests, and lastly functional neuroimaging studies correlating poor cognitive performances with abnormal cerebellar activations. Despite those compelling evidences, there has been, to our knowledge, no recent review on the clinical, cognitive, and functional literature supporting the role of the cerebellum in schizophrenia. We conducted a Medline research focusing on cerebellar dysfunctions in schizophrenia. Emphasis was given to recent literature (after 1998). The picture arising from this review is heterogeneous. While in some domains, the role of the cerebellum seems clearly defined (ie, neurological soft signs, posture, or equilibrium), in other domains, the cerebellar contribution to schizophrenia seems limited or indirect (ie, cognition) if present at all (ie, affectivity). Functional models of the cerebellum are proposed as a background for interpreting these results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hernàn Picard
- INSERM U796, Pathophysiology of psychiatric diseases, University Paris Descartes, Sainte-Anne Hospital, Paris, France.
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