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Raz S. Event-related potentials and behavioral correlates of emotional recognition memory in late pregnancy. Arch Womens Ment Health 2024:10.1007/s00737-024-01503-8. [PMID: 39168912 DOI: 10.1007/s00737-024-01503-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Research on cognitive and emotional functions during pregnancy challenges the prevalent perception of cognitive decline in pregnant women. This study investigates the behavioral and neural dynamics of cognitive-affective processing in third-trimester pregnant women, comparing them with non-pregnant controls. METHODS Using a 64-channel EEG-ERP system, we recorded brain activity as participants engaged in an emotional word recognition task. This task involved initially viewing a sequence of emotional and neutral words, followed by a recognition test where participants identified each word as 'new' or 'previously seen'. RESULTS Contrary to widespread beliefs about diminished recognition ability during late pregnancy, our results revealed no significant differences in error rates between groups. However, pregnant participants demonstrated slower reaction times. In terms of neural responses, pregnant women exhibited increased amplitudes in the N1, P2, and N400 ERP components, suggesting that they may require additional brain resources compared with non-pregnant individuals to process perceptual information. A significant interaction was observed between pregnancy status and the emotional valence of stimuli. Pregnant women showed heightened N1 and N400 responses to negative words, indicating increased sensitivity to stimuli potentially representing threat. This enhanced response was not observed for positive or neutral words. Furthermore, there was an amplified N1 response to 'new' words, but not to 'old' words. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that late pregnancy is characterized by heightened responsiveness to new and particularly negative stimuli, potentially leading to a more cautious behavioral approach. Heightened vigilance and sensitivity could offer evolutionary advantages, optimizing fetal development and enhancing maternal well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sivan Raz
- Department of Psychology, The Per Sternberg EEG-ERP Laboratory for the Study of Brain and Behavior, Tel Hai College, Upper Galilee, Israel.
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, The Center for Psychobiological Research, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, 19300, Emek Yezreel, Israel.
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Key AP, Roth S, Jones D, Hunt-Hawkins H. Typical and atypical neural mechanisms support spoken word processing in Angelman syndrome. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2023; 236:105215. [PMID: 36502770 PMCID: PMC9839587 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2022.105215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Angelman syndrome (AS) is known to affect expressive and receptive communication abilities. This study examined individual differences in neural mechanisms underlying speech processing in children with AS (n = 24, M age = 10.01 years) and typical development (n = 30, M age = 10.82 years) using auditory event-related potentials during passive listening to common English words and novel pseudowords. A group of adults with AS (n = 7, M = 31.78 years) provided data about the upper developmental range. The typically developing group demonstrated the expected more negative amplitudes in response to words than pseudowords within 250-500 ms after stimulus onset at the left temporal scalp region. Children and adults with AS exhibited a similar left-lateralized pattern of word-pseudoword differentiation at temporal and parietal regions, but not the midline parietal memory response for known words observed in the typically developing group, suggesting typical-like word-pseudoword differentiation along with possible alterations in the automatic recall of word meaning. These results have important implications for understanding receptive and expressive communication processes in AS and support the use of auditory neural responses for characterizing individual differences in neurodevelopmental disorders with limited speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra P Key
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Nashville, TN 37203, USA; Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
| | - Sydney Roth
- Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Dorita Jones
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Nashville, TN 37203, USA; Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
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Key AP, Roth S, Venker C. Spoken language comprehension in children and adults with Angelman Syndrome. JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 2022; 100:106272. [PMID: 36244082 PMCID: PMC9994640 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2022.106272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Revised: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Objective evaluation of receptive communication abilities in nonspeaking individuals using standardized behavioral measures can be complicated by co-occurring intellectual disabilities and motor difficulties. Eye tracking during listening may offer an informative complementary approach to directly evaluate receptive language skills. METHOD This study examined feasibility of eye gaze measures as an index of spoken language comprehension in nonspeaking children and adults with Angelman syndrome (AS; n = 23) using a looking-while-listening procedure. Typically developing children (n = 34) provided a reference data set. Primary caregivers of participants with AS completed standardized informant reports (MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory: Words and Gestures; Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-3; Aberrant Behavior Checklist-2) to characterize communicative skills and general adaptive functioning. RESULTS Gaze data in participants with AS, particularly in the individuals reported by caregivers to have larger receptive vocabularies and stronger adaptive communicative functioning, demonstrated the expected pattern of comprehension reflected by the increased probability of looks to the target images after vs. before they were named in a spoken sentence. However, processing speed (gaze reaction time) was significantly slower in participants with AS than in the typically developing group. CONCLUSIONS Gaze-based paradigms could be an informative measure of receptive communication processes in participants who are unable to complete traditional standardized behavioral assessments.
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Neklyudova A, Smirnov K, Rebreikina A, Martynova O, Sysoeva O. Electrophysiological and Behavioral Evidence for Hyper- and Hyposensitivity in Rare Genetic Syndromes Associated with Autism. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:671. [PMID: 35456477 PMCID: PMC9027402 DOI: 10.3390/genes13040671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Our study reviewed abnormalities in spontaneous, as well as event-related, brain activity in syndromes with a known genetic underpinning that are associated with autistic symptomatology. Based on behavioral and neurophysiological evidence, we tentatively subdivided the syndromes on primarily hyper-sensitive (Fragile X, Angelman) and hypo-sensitive (Phelan-McDermid, Rett, Tuberous Sclerosis, Neurofibromatosis 1), pointing to the way of segregation of heterogeneous idiopathic ASD, that includes both hyper-sensitive and hypo-sensitive individuals. This segmentation links abnormalities in different genes, such as FMR1, UBE3A, GABRB3, GABRA5, GABRG3, SHANK3, MECP2, TSC1, TSC2, and NF1, that are causative to the above-mentioned syndromes and associated with synaptic transmission and cell growth, as well as with translational and transcriptional regulation and with sensory sensitivity. Excitation/inhibition imbalance related to GABAergic signaling, and the interplay of tonic and phasic inhibition in different brain regions might underlie this relationship. However, more research is needed. As most genetic syndromes are very rare, future investigations in this field will benefit from multi-site collaboration with a common protocol for electrophysiological and event-related potential (EEG/ERP) research that should include an investigation into all modalities and stages of sensory processing, as well as potential biomarkers of GABAergic signaling (such as 40-Hz ASSR).
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasia Neklyudova
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Science, 117485 Moscow, Russia; (A.N.); (K.S.); (A.R.); (O.M.)
| | - Kirill Smirnov
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Science, 117485 Moscow, Russia; (A.N.); (K.S.); (A.R.); (O.M.)
| | - Anna Rebreikina
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Science, 117485 Moscow, Russia; (A.N.); (K.S.); (A.R.); (O.M.)
- Sirius Center for Cognitive Research, Sirius University of Science and Technology, 354340 Sochi, Russia
| | - Olga Martynova
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Science, 117485 Moscow, Russia; (A.N.); (K.S.); (A.R.); (O.M.)
| | - Olga Sysoeva
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Science, 117485 Moscow, Russia; (A.N.); (K.S.); (A.R.); (O.M.)
- Sirius Center for Cognitive Research, Sirius University of Science and Technology, 354340 Sochi, Russia
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Key AP. Searching for a "Brain Signature" of Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Event-Related Potentials and the Quest for Biomarkers of Cognition. J Clin Neurophysiol 2022; 39:113-120. [PMID: 34366396 DOI: 10.1097/wnp.0000000000000727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
SUMMARY This review summarizes main applications of event-related potentials (ERPs) to the study of cognitive processes in persons with neurodevelopmental disorders, for whom traditional behavioral assessments may not be suitable. A brief introduction to the ERPs is followed by a review of empirical studies using passive ERP paradigms to address three main questions: characterizing individual differences, predicting risk for poor developmental outcomes, and documenting treatment effects in persons with neurodevelopmental disorders. Evidence across studies reveals feasibility of ERP methodology in a wide range of clinical populations and notes consistently stronger brain-behavior associations involving ERP measures of higher-order cognition compared with sensory-perceptual processes. The final section describes the current limitations of ERP methodology that need to be addressed before it could be used as a clinical tool and highlights the needed steps toward translating ERPs from group-level research applications to individually interpretable clinical use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra P Key
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A
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Carson RP, Herber DL, Pan Z, Phibbs F, Key AP, Gouelle A, Ergish P, Armour EA, Patel S, Duis J. Nutritional Formulation for Patients with Angelman Syndrome: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Exogenous Ketones. J Nutr 2021; 151:3628-3636. [PMID: 34510212 PMCID: PMC10103907 DOI: 10.1093/jn/nxab284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Revised: 05/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Angelman syndrome (AS) patients often respond to low glycemic index therapy to manage refractory seizures. These diets significantly affect quality of life and are challenging to implement. These formulations may have benefits in AS even in the absence of biomarkers suggesting ketosis. OBJECTIVES We aimed to compare an exogenous medical food ketone formulation (KF) with placebo for the dietary management of AS. METHODS This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover clinical trial was conducted in an academic center from 15 November, 2018 to 6 January, 2020. Thirteen participants with molecularly confirmed AS aged 4-11 y met the criteria and completed the 16-wk study. The study consisted of four 4-wk phases: a baseline phase, a blinded KF or placebo phase, a washout phase, and the crossover phase with alternate blinded KF or placebo. Primary outcomes were safety and tolerability rated by retention in the study and adherence to the formulation. Additional secondary outcomes of safety in this nonverbal population included blood chemistry, gastrointestinal health, seizure burden, cortical irritability, cognition, mobility, sleep, and developmental staging. RESULTS Data were compared between the baseline, KF, and placebo epochs. One participant exited the trial owing to difficulty consuming the formulation. Adverse events included an increase in cholesterol in 1 subject when consuming KF and a decrease in albumin in 1 subject when consuming placebo. Stool consistency improved with KF consumption, from 6.04 ± 1.61 at baseline and 6.35 ± 1.55 during placebo to 4.54 ± 1.19 during KF (P = 0.0027). Electroencephalograph trends showed a decrease in Δ frequency power during the KF arm and event-related potentials suggested a change in the frontal memory response. Vineland-3 showed improved fine motor skills in the KF arm. CONCLUSIONS The exogenous KF appears safe. More data are needed to determine the utility of exogenous ketones as a nutritional approach in children with AS.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03644693.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert P Carson
- Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | - Zhaoxing Pan
- Biostatistics Core, Children's Hospital Colorado Research Institute, University of Colorado School of Medicine Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Fenna Phibbs
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Alexandra P Key
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Arnaud Gouelle
- Gait and Balance Academy, ProtoKinetics, Havertown, PA, USA.,Laboratory Performance, Health, Metrology, Society (PSMS), Reims, France
| | - Patience Ergish
- Clinical Nutrition, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Eric A Armour
- Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Shital Patel
- Department of Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jessica Duis
- Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
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Key AP, Venker CE, Sandbank MP. Psychophysiological and Eye-Tracking Markers of Speech and Language Processing in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: New Options for Difficult-to-Test Populations. AMERICAN JOURNAL ON INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2020; 125:465-474. [PMID: 33211813 PMCID: PMC8011582 DOI: 10.1352/1944-7558-125.6.465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
It can be challenging to accurately assess speech and language processing in preverbal or minimally verbal individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) using standardized behavioral tools. Event-related potential and eye tracking methods offer novel means to objectively document receptive language processing without requiring purposeful behavioral responses. Working around many of the cognitive, motor, or social difficulties in NDDs, these tools allow for minimally invasive, passive assessment of language processing and generate continuous scores that may have utility as biomarkers of individual differences and indicators of treatment effectiveness. Researchers should consider including physiological measures in assessment batteries to allow for more precise capture of language processing in individuals for whom it may not behaviorally apparent.
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