Beyond the Core-Deficit Hypothesis in Developmental Disorders

A transdiagnostic examination of cognitive heterogeneity in children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders

Children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders demonstrate extensive cognitive heterogeneity that is not adequately captured by traditional diagnostic systems, emphasizing the need for alternative assessment and classification techniques. Using a transdiagnostic approach, a retrospective cohort study of cognitive functioning was conducted using a large heterogenous sample (n = 1529) of children and adolescents 7 to 18 years of age with neurodevelopmental disorders. Measures of short-term memory, verbal ability, and reasoning were administered to participants with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), comorbid ADHD/ASD, and participants without neurodevelopmental disorders (non-NDD) using a 12-task, web-based neurocognitive testing battery. Unsupervised machine learning techniques were used to create a self-organizing map, an artificial neural network, in conjunction with k-means clustering to identify data-driven subgroups. The study aims were to: 1) identify cognitive profiles in the sample using a data-driven approach, and 2) determine their correspondence with traditional diagnostic statuses. Six clusters representing different cognitive profiles were identified, including participants with varying forms of cognitive impairment. Diagnostic status did not correspond with cluster-membership, providing evidence for the application of transdiagnostic approaches to understanding cognitive heterogeneity in children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders. Additionally, the findings suggest that many typically developing participants may have undiagnosed learning difficulties, emphasizing the need for accessible cognitive assessment tools in school-based settings.

What is developmental about developmental prosopagnosia?

Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is characterised by difficulties recognising face identities and is associated with diverse co-occurring object recognition difficulties. The high co-occurrence rate and heterogeneity of associated difficulties in DP is an intrinsic feature of developmental conditions, where co-occurrence of difficulties is the rule, rather than the exception. However, despite its name, cognitive and neural theories of DP rarely consider the developmental context in which these difficulties occur. This leaves a large gap in our understanding of how DP emerges in light of the developmental trajectory of face recognition. Here, we argue that progress in the field requires re-considering the developmental origins of differences in face recognition abilities, rather than studying the end-state alone. In practice, considering development in DP necessitates a re-evaluation of current approaches in recruitment, design, and analyses.

The High Rates of Comorbidity among Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Reconsidering the Clinical Utility of Distinct Diagnostic Categories

The boundaries between neurodevelopmental disorders are often indistinct, even among specialists. But do these boundaries exist, or do experts struggle to distinguish and categorize symptoms in order to arrive at a dominant diagnosis while comorbidity continually leaves questions about where each disorder ends and begins? What should be reconsidered? The introduction of the term 'spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders' could pave the way for a re-appraisal of the clinical continuum of neurodevelopmental disorders. This study aims to highlight the problems that emerge in the field of the differential diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders and propose a renegotiation of the distinctiveness criteria.

Understanding divergence: Placing developmental neuroscience in its dynamic context

Neurodevelopment is not merely a process of brain maturation, but an adaptation to constraints unique to each individual and to the environments we co-create. However, our theoretical and methodological toolkits often ignore this reality. There is growing awareness that a shift is needed that allows us to study divergence of brain and behaviour across conventional categorical boundaries. However, we argue that in future our study of divergence must also incorporate the developmental dynamics that capture the emergence of those neurodevelopmental differences. This crucial step will require adjustments in study design and methodology. If our ultimate aim is to incorporate the developmental dynamics that capture how, and ultimately when, divergence takes place then we will need an analytic toolkit equal to these ambitions. We argue that the over reliance on group averages has been a conceptual dead-end with regard to the neurodevelopmental differences. This is in part because any individual differences and developmental dynamics are inevitably lost within the group average. Instead, analytic approaches which are themselves new, or simply newly applied within this context, may allow us to shift our theoretical and methodological frameworks from groups to individuals. Likewise, methods capable of modelling complex dynamic systems may allow us to understand the emergent dynamics only possible at the level of an interacting neural system.

Early developmental profiles of sensory features and links to school-age adaptive and maladaptive outcomes: A birth cohort investigation

Sensory-based subtypes among autistic children have been well documented, but little is known about longitudinal sensory subtypes beyond autistic populations. This prospective study aimed to identify subtypes based on trajectories of parent-reported sensory features measured at 6-19 months, 3-4, and 6-7 years of age among a community-based birth cohort (N = 1,517), and to examine their associations with school-age clinical and adaptive/maladaptive outcomes on a subset sample (N = 389). Latent class growth analysis revealed five trajectory subtypes varying in intensity and change rates across three sensory domains. In contrast to an Adaptive-All Improving subtype (35%) with very low sensory features and overall better school-age outcomes, an Elevated-All Worsening subtype (3%), comprised of more boys and children of parents with less education, was associated with most elevated autistic traits and poorest adaptive/maladaptive outcomes. Three other subtypes (62% in total) were generally characterized by stable or improving patterns of sensory features at mild to moderate levels, and challenges in certain outcome domains. Our findings indicate that characterizing children based on early sensory trajectories may contribute to earlier detection of subgroups of children with sensory challenges who are more likely to experience developmental challenges by school age, followed by early targeted interventions for improved long-term outcomes.

Revisiting the definition of dyslexia

The International Dyslexia Association definition of dyslexia was updated 20 years ago and has been referenced frequently in research and practice. In this paper, researchers from the Florida Center for Reading Research consider the components of the definition and make recommendations for revisions. These include recognizing the persistence of word-reading, decoding, and spelling difficulties, acknowledging the multifactorial causal basis of dyslexia, clarifying exclusionary factors, and denoting comorbidity with other developmental disorders. It is also suggested that the academic and psychosocial consequences of dyslexia be highlighted to reinforce a preventive service delivery model. Lastly, the inclusion of dyslexia within a specific learning disability category is supported.

Cool and hot executive function problems in young children: linking self-regulation processes to emerging clinical symptoms

Self-regulation (SR) difficulties are implicated in a wide range of disorders which develop in childhood, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiance disorder (ODD), anxiety and depression. However, the integration of the existing research evidence is challenging because of varying terminology and the wide range of tasks used, as well as the heterogeneity and comorbidity within and across diagnostic categories. The current study used the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework to guide the examination of different SR processes in young children showing a wide range of symptomatology. Children (aged 4-8) referred by teachers for moderate-to-high conduct, hyperactivity and/or emotional problems at school (assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) subscales; n = 212), and children in SDQ typical ranges (n = 30) completed computerised cognitive control and decision-making tasks. Parents completed questionnaires to assess ADHD, ODD, anxiety and depression symptoms (n = 191). Compared to children with no teacher-reported difficulties, those with moderate-to-high problems showed poorer visuomotor control and decision-making. A factor analysis revealed that task variables adhered to RDoC dimensions and predicted variance in specific disorders: difficulties in cognitive control predicted ADHD symptoms, low reward-seeking was associated with depression and high reward-seeking was associated with ODD. This study highlights how the assessment of cognitive processes positioned within the RDoC framework can inform our understanding of disorder-specific and transdiagnostic difficulties in SR which are associated with diverse clinical symptoms in children.

Attentional modulation of neural sound tracking in children with and without dyslexia

Auditory selective attention forms an important foundation of children's learning by enabling the prioritisation and encoding of relevant stimuli. It may also influence reading development, which relies on metalinguistic skills including the awareness of the sound structure of spoken language. Reports of attentional impairments and speech perception difficulties in noisy environments in dyslexic readers are also suggestive of the putative contribution of auditory attention to reading development. To date, it is unclear whether non-speech selective attention and its underlying neural mechanisms are impaired in children with dyslexia and to which extent these deficits relate to individual reading and speech perception abilities in suboptimal listening conditions. In this EEG study, we assessed non-speech sustained auditory selective attention in 106 7-to-12-year-old children with and without dyslexia. Children attended to one of two tone streams, detecting occasional sequence repeats in the attended stream, and performed a speech-in-speech perception task. Results show that when children directed their attention to one stream, inter-trial-phase-coherence at the attended rate increased in fronto-central sites; this, in turn, was associated with better target detection. Behavioural and neural indices of attention did not systematically differ as a function of dyslexia diagnosis. However, behavioural indices of attention did explain individual differences in reading fluency and speech-in-speech perception abilities: both these skills were impaired in dyslexic readers. Taken together, our results show that children with dyslexia do not show group-level auditory attention deficits but these deficits may represent a risk for developing reading impairments and problems with speech perception in complex acoustic environments. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Non-speech sustained auditory selective attention modulates EEG phase coherence in children with/without dyslexia Children with dyslexia show difficulties in speech-in-speech perception Attention relates to dyslexic readers' speech-in-speech perception and reading skills Dyslexia diagnosis is not linked to behavioural/EEG indices of auditory attention.

Auditory attention influences trajectories of symbol-speech sound learning in children with and without dyslexia

The acquisition of letter-speech sound correspondences is a fundamental process underlying reading development, one that could be influenced by several linguistic and domain-general cognitive factors. In the current study, we mimicked the first steps of this process by examining behavioral trajectories of audiovisual associative learning in 110 7- to 12-year-old children with and without dyslexia. Children were asked to learn the associations between eight novel symbols and native speech sounds in a brief training and subsequently read words and pseudowords written in the artificial orthography. We then investigated the influence of auditory attention as one of the putative domain-general factors influencing associative learning. To this aim, we assessed children with experimental measures of auditory sustained selective attention and interference control. Our results showed shallower learning trajectories in children with dyslexia, especially during the later phases of the training blocks. Despite this, children with dyslexia performed similarly to typical readers on the post-training reading tests using the artificial orthography. Better auditory sustained selective attention and interference control skills predicted greater response accuracy during training. Sustained selective attention was also associated with the ability to apply these novel correspondences in the reading tests. Although this result has the limitations of a correlational design, it denotes that poor attentional skills may constitute a risk during the early stages of reading acquisition, when children start to learn letter-speech sound associations. Importantly, our findings underscore the importance of examining dynamics of learning in reading acquisition as well as individual differences in more domain-general attentional factors.

Developmental dyscalculia is not associated with atypical brain activation: A univariate fMRI study of arithmetic, magnitude processing, and visuospatial working memory

Functional neuroimaging serves as a tool to better understand the cerebral correlates of atypical behaviors, such as learning difficulties. While significant advances have been made in characterizing the neural correlates of reading difficulties (developmental dyslexia), comparatively little is known about the neurobiological correlates of mathematical learning difficulties, such as developmental dyscalculia (DD). Furthermore, the available neuroimaging studies of DD are characterized by small sample sizes and variable inclusion criteria, which make it problematic to compare across studies. In addition, studies to date have focused on identifying single deficits in neuronal processing among children with DD (e.g., mental arithmetic), rather than probing differences in brain function across different processing domains that are known to be affected in children with DD. Here, we seek to address the limitations of prior investigations. Specifically, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to probe brain differences between children with and without persistent DD; 68 children (8-10 years old, 30 with DD) participated in an fMRI study designed to investigate group differences in the functional neuroanatomy associated with commonly reported behavioral deficits in children with DD: basic number processing, mental arithmetic and visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM). Behavioral data revealed that children with DD were less accurate than their typically achieving (TA) peers for the basic number processing and arithmetic tasks. No behavioral differences were found for the tasks measuring VSWM. A pre-registered, whole-brain, voxelwise univariate analysis of the fMRI data from the entire sample of children (DD and TA) revealed areas commonly associated with the three tasks (basic number processing, mental arithmetic, and VSWM). However, the examination of differences in brain activation between children with and without DD revealed no consistent group differences in brain activation. In view of these null results, we ran exploratory, Bayesian analyses on the data to quantify the amount of evidence for no group differences. This analysis provides supporting evidence for no group differences across all three tasks. We present the largest fMRI study comparing children with and without persistent DD to date. We found no group differences in brain activation using univariate, frequentist analyses. Moreover, Bayesian analyses revealed evidence for the null hypothesis of no group differences. These findings contradict previous literature and reveal the need to investigate the neural basis of DD using multivariate and network-based approaches to brain imaging.

Heterogeneity in children's reading comprehension difficulties: A latent class approach

Background

Poor comprehenders are traditionally identified as having below-average reading comprehension, average-range word reading, and a discrepancy between the two. While oral language tends to be low in poor comprehenders, reading is a complex trait and heterogeneity may go undetected by group-level comparisons.

Methods

We took a preregistered data-driven approach to identify poor comprehenders and examine whether multiple distinct cognitive profiles underlie their difficulties. Latent mixture modelling identified reading profiles in 6846 children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, based on reading and listening comprehension assessments at 8-9 years. A second mixture model examined variation in the cognitive profiles of weak comprehenders, using measures of reading, language, working memory, nonverbal ability, and inattention.

Results

A poor comprehender profile was not identified by the preregistered model. However, by additionally controlling for overall ability, a 6-class model emerged that incorporated a profile with relatively weak comprehension (N = 947, 13.83%). Most of these children had weak reading comprehension in the context of good passage reading, accompanied by weaknesses in vocabulary and nonverbal ability. A small subgroup showed more severe comprehension difficulties in the context of additional cognitive impairments.

Conclusions

Isolated impairments in specific components of reading are rare, yet a data-driven approach can be used to identify children with relatively weak comprehension. Vocabulary and nonverbal ability were most consistently weak within this group, with broader cognitive difficulties also apparent for a subset of children. These findings suggest that poor comprehension is best characterised along a continuum, and considered in light of multiple risks that influence severity.

Testing the triple network model of psychopathology in a transdiagnostic neurodevelopmental cohort

AIM

The triple network model of psychopathology posits that altered connectivity between the Salience (SN), Central Executive (CEN), and Default Mode Networks (DMN) may underlie neurodevelopmental conditions. However, this has yet to be tested in a transdiagnostic sample of young people.

METHOD

We investigated this in 175 children (60 girls) that represent a heterogeneous population who are experiencing neurodevelopmental difficulties in cognition and behavior, and 60 comparison children (33 girls). Hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention were assessed by parent-report. Resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging data were acquired and functional connectivity was calculated between independent network components and regions of interest. We then examined whether connectivity between the SN, CEN and DMN was dimensionally related to hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention, whilst controlling for age, gender, and motion.

RESULTS

Hyperactivity/impulsivity was associated with increased functional connectivity between the SN, CEN, and DMN in at-risk children, whereas it was associated with decreased functional connectivity between the CEN and DMN in comparison children. These effects replicated in an adult parcellation of brain function and when using increasingly stringent exclusion criteria for in-scanner motion.

CONCLUSION

Triple network connectivity characterizes transdiagnostic neurodevelopmental difficulties with hyperactivity/impulsivity. We suggest that this may arise from delayed network segregation, difficulties sustaining CEN activity to regulate behavior, and/or a heightened developmental mismatch between neural systems implicated in cognitive control relative to those implicated in reward/affect processing.

[Formula: see text] Domain-general and domain-specific cognitive correlates of developmental dyscalculia: a systematic review of the last two decades' literature

Developmental dyscalculia is a neurodevelopmental disorder, influencing the learning of mathematics in developing children. In the last two decades, continuous growth of research has helped in the advancement of the state of knowledge of dyscalculia. This upsurge in the number of studies makes it relevant to conduct a systematic review, covering all the empirical evidence, but there is a dearth of review studies synthesizing findings of the studies in the recent past. Therefore, the current study aims to systematically review studies investigating the underlying cognitive causal factors associated with developmental dyscalculia in the last two decades. To investigate the underlying cognitive factors associated with dyscalculia, two prominent approaches have been used: domain-general and domain-specific. While the domain-general approach argues for the deficit in general cognitive abilities, the domain-specific approach argues for the deficit in core numerical abilities. In the present review, the PRISMA method is followed. Articles were searched using two methods: firstly, through database sources of Google Scholar, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect, 1738 abstracts were screened, of which 46 articles met the specific inclusion criteria; and secondly, through recently published systematic reviews and meta-analyses, 29 studies were included. A total of 75 studies, 48 studies from domain-general and 27 studies from domain-specific approaches, have been selected. This review discusses domain-general and domain-specific approaches of developmental dyscalculia, along with specific theories associated with both approaches. Based on the discussed findings, visuospatial working memory and symbolic number processing abilities emerged as the best predictor of math ability in children with dyscalculia.

Do developmental dyslexia and congenital amusia share underlying impairments?

Developmental dyslexia and congenital amusia have common characteristics. Yet, their possible association in some individuals has been addressed only scarcely. Recently, two converging studies reported a sizable comorbidity rate between these two neurodevelopmental disorders (Couvignou et al., Cognitive Neuropsychology 2019; Couvignou & Kolinsky, Neuropsychologia 2021). However, the reason for their association remains unclear. Here, we investigate the hypothesis of shared underlying impairments between dyslexia and amusia. Fifteen dyslexic children with amusia (DYS+A), 15 dyslexic children without amusia (DYS-A), and two groups of 25 typically developing children matched on either chronological age (CA) or reading level (RL) were assessed with a behavioral battery aiming to investigate phonological and pitch processing capacities at auditory memory, perceptual awareness, and attentional levels. Overall, our results suggest that poor auditory serial-order memory increases susceptibility to comorbidity between dyslexia and amusia and may play a role in the development of the comorbid phenotype. In contrast, the impairments observed in the DYS+A children for auditory item memory, perceptual awareness, and attention might be a consequence of their reduced reading experience combined with weaker musical skills. Comparing DYS+A and DYS-A children suggests that the latter are more resourceful and/or have more effective compensatory strategies, or that their phenotype results from a different developmental trajectory. We will discuss the relevance of these findings for delving into the etiology of these two developmental disorders and address their implications for future research and practice.

Longitudinal Predictors of Word Reading for Children with Williams Syndrome

We examined the cognitive, language, and instructional predictors of early word-reading ability in a sample of children with Williams syndrome longitudinally. At Time 1, sixty-nine 6-7-year-olds (mean age = 6.53 years) completed standardized measures of phonological awareness, visual-spatial perception, vocabulary, and overall intellectual ability. Word-reading instruction type was classified as (systematic) Phonics (n = 35) or Other (n = 34). At Time 2, approximately three years later (mean age = 9.47 years), children completed a standardized assessment of single-word reading ability. Reading ability at Time 2 varied considerably, from inability to read any words to word-reading ability slightly above the level expected for age. The results of a multiple regression indicated that Time 1 word-reading instruction type, phonological awareness, and visual-spatial perception (as assessed by a matching letter-like forms measure) each explained significant unique variance in word reading at Time 2. A systematic phonics approach was associated with significantly better performance than other reading-instruction approaches. Exploratory analyses suggested that the relations between these factors were complex. Considered together, these findings strongly suggest that, in line with the Cumulative Risk and Resilience Model of reading disability, word-reading (dis)ability in Williams syndrome is probabilistic in nature, resulting from the interaction of multiple individual and environmental risk and protective factors. The results also have educational implications: Early word-reading instruction for children with Williams syndrome should combine systematic phonics and phonological awareness training while also incorporating letter discrimination instruction highlighting the visual-spatial differences between similar-appearing letters.

Dimensional associations between executive function processes and symptoms of ADHD, ASD, oppositional defiance and anxiety in young school-referred children

Executive function (EF) difficulties are implicated in Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDDs), such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Because NDDs are highly comorbid and frequently co-occur with additional clinical problems, it is unclear how specific EF problems are associated with symptoms of ASD and ADHD, whilst accounting for co-occurring anxiety or oppositional defiance disorder (ODD) symptoms. The current study utilised a large sample of young children (n = 438, aged 4-8) referred to Cardiff University's Neurodevelopment Assessment Unit (NDAU) by teachers for cognitive and/or socio-emotional problems. As part of the referral process, the teachers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), which revealed that most children displayed moderate to high hyperactivity (86%) and prosocial (73%) problems, as well as high levels of symptoms in other clinical domains (41% emotional, 61% conduct and 68% peer problems). Children completed tasks to assess episodic memory, cognitive inhibition, cognitive flexibility and visuomotor control, whilst parents completed questionnaires to measure symptoms of ASD, ADHD, anxiety and ODD. Dimensional analyses showed that poorer cognitive inhibition and visuospatial episodic memory were significantly associated with ADHD symptoms, whereas cognitive flexibility was negatively associated with ODD symptoms. Having more ASD symptoms was associated with fewer cognitive inhibition problems, whereas anxiety was associated with better cognitive flexibility. Our approach to assessment and analysis shows that specific cognitive processes are associated with distinct neurodevelopmental and clinical symptoms, which is ultimately relevant to early identification of and intervention for young children at risk of cognitive and/or socio-emotional problems.

Construction of Meta-Thinking Educational Program Based on Mental-Brain Simulation (MTMBS) and Evaluating its Effectiveness on Executive Functions, Emotion Regulation, and Impulsivity in Children With ADHD: A Resting-State Functional MRI Study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of present research was to make a Meta-Thinking educational program based on mental-brain simulation and to evaluate its effectiveness on executive functions, emotion regulation and impulsivity in children with ADHD.

METHODS

The research method was Embedded Design: Embedded Experimental Model. The research sample included 32 children with ADHD who were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The intervention was implemented for eight sessions of 1.5 hr for the experimental group, and fMRI images were taken from them, while the control group didn't receive any treatment. Finally, using semi-structured interviews, coherent information was collected from the parents of the experimental group about the changes made. Data were analyzed with SPSS-24, MAXQDA, fMRIprep, and FSL software.

RESULTS

The Meta-Thinking Educational Program had effect on performance of ADHD children and suppressed brain regions related to DMN.

CONCLUSION

The Implementation of this educational program plays a vital role in improving psychological problems of children with ADHD.

Reading and Math Achievement in Children With Dyslexia, Developmental Language Disorder, or Typical Development: Achievement Gaps Persist From Second Through Fourth Grades

We examined how children (N = 448) with separate or co-occurring developmental language disorder (DLD) and dyslexia performed on school-based measures of academic functioning between second and fourth grades. Children were recruited from 1 school district in the U.S. state of South Carolina via classroom screenings and met common research criteria for DLD and dyslexia. Growth curve models were used to examine the overall form of growth and differences between groups. Children with DLD and/or dyslexia in second grade showed early and persistent deficits on school-administered measures of reading and math. In second grade, children with typical development (TD) scored significantly higher than children with dyslexia-only and DLD-only, who did not differ from each other. Children with DLD+dyslexia scored significantly lower than all other groups. Only small differences in growth rates were observed, and gaps in second grade did not close. Despite lower academic performance, few children (20%-27%) with dyslexia and/or DLD had received specialized support services. Children with DLD-only received services at less than half the rate of dyslexia-only or DLD+dyslexia despite similar impacts on academic performance. Evidence of significant and persistent functional impacts in the context of low rates of support services in these children-especially those with DLD-only-highlights the need to raise awareness of these disorders.

A network approach to dyslexia: Mapping the reading network

Research on the etiology of dyslexia typically uses an approach based on a single core deficit, failing to understand how variations in combinations of factors contribute to reading development and how this combination relates to intervention outcome. To fill this gap, this study explored links between 28 cognitive, environmental, and demographic variables related to dyslexia by employing a network analysis using a large clinical database of 1,257 elementary school children. We found two highly connected subparts in the network: one comprising reading fluency and accuracy measures, and one comprising intelligence-related measures. Interestingly, phoneme awareness was functionally related to the controlled and accurate processing of letter-speech sound mappings, whereas rapid automatized naming was more functionally related to the automated convergence of visual and speech information. We found evidence for the contribution of a variety of factors to (a)typical reading development, though associated with different aspects of the reading process. As such, our results contradict prevailing claims that dyslexia is caused by a single core deficit. This study shows how the network approach to psychopathology can be used to study complex interactions within the reading network and discusses future directions for more personalized interventions.

Toward computational neuroconstructivism: a framework for developmental systems neuroscience

Brain development is underpinned by complex interactions between neural assemblies, driving structural and functional change. This neuroconstructivism (the notion that neural functions are shaped by these interactions) is core to some developmental theories. However, due to their complexity, understanding underlying developmental mechanisms is challenging. Elsewhere in neurobiology, a computational revolution has shown that mathematical models of hidden biological mechanisms can bridge observations with theory building. Can we build a similar computational framework yielding mechanistic insights for brain development? Here, we outline the conceptual and technical challenges of addressing this theory gap, and demonstrate that there is great potential in specifying brain development as mathematically defined processes operating within physical constraints. We provide examples, alongside broader ingredients needed, as the field explores computational explanations of system-wide development.

Exploring neural heterogeneity in inattention and hyperactivity

Inattention and hyperactivity are cardinal symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). These characteristics have also been observed across a range of other neurodevelopmental conditions, such as autism and dyspraxia, suggesting that they might best be studied across diagnostic categories. Here, we evaluated the associations between inattention and hyperactivity behaviours and features of the structural brain network (connectome) in a large transdiagnostic sample of children (Centre for Attention, Learning, and Memory; n = 383). In our sample, we found that a single latent factor explains 77.6% of variance in scores across multiple questionnaires measuring inattention and hyperactivity. Partial Least-Squares (PLS) regression revealed that variability in this latent factor could not be explained by a linear component representing nodewise properties of connectomes. We then investigated the type and extent of neural heterogeneity in a subset of our sample with clinically-elevated levels of inattention and hyperactivity. Multidimensional scaling combined with k-means clustering revealed two neural subtypes in children with elevated levels of inattention and hyperactivity (n = 232), differentiated primarily by nodal communicability-a measure which demarcates the extent to which neural signals propagate through specific brain regions. These different clusters had similar behavioural profiles, which included high levels of inattention and hyperactivity. However, one of the clusters scored higher on multiple cognitive assessment measures of executive function. We conclude that inattention and hyperactivity are so common in children with neurodevelopmental difficulties because they emerge through multiple different trajectories of brain development. In our own data, we can identify two of these possible trajectories, which are reflected by measures of structural brain network topology and cognition.

The Role of Visual Factors in Dyslexia

What are the causes of dyslexia? Decades of research reflect a determined search for a single cause where a common assumption is that dyslexia is a consequence of problems with converting phonological information into lexical codes. But reading is a highly complex activity requiring many well-functioning mechanisms, and several different visual problems have been documented in dyslexic readers. We critically review evidence from various sources for the role of visual factors in dyslexia, from magnocellular dysfunction through accounts based on abnormal eye movements and attentional processing, to recent proposals that problems with high-level vision contribute to dyslexia. We believe that the role of visual problems in dyslexia has been underestimated in the literature, to the detriment of the understanding and treatment of the disorder. We propose that rather than focusing on a single core cause, the role of visual factors in dyslexia fits well with risk and resilience models that assume that several variables interact throughout prenatal and postnatal development to either promote or hinder efficient reading.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms and Multi-level Family Factors in Chinese Migrant Children: A Network Perspective

Based on the network theory of mental disorders, this study used network analysis to examine the network of ODD symptoms and multilevel family factors and identify the most crucial family factors influencing ODD symptoms in children. A total of 718 Chinese migrant children aged 7-14 years participated in this study. This study measured ODD symptoms, family system-level variables (3 factors), family dyadic-level variables (6 factors), and family individual-level variables (6 factors) with factors selected based on the multilevel family factors theory of ODD symptoms. The results indicated that (1) "annoy" was the center symptom of ODD, (2) "annoy" and "vindictive" was the main bridge connecting the multilevel family factors, and (3) family cohesion at the family system level, parent-child conflict at the family dyadic level, and parental depression at the family individual level were critical central and bridging influencing factors. The findings of this study highlight the critical role of "annoy" and "vindictive" symptoms in the activation of ODD symptom networks in children and provide a basis for future improvements in diagnostic criteria. These potential core and bridge factors might become key intervention targets for childhood ODD.

Should We Continue to Tell Autistic People that Their Brains are Different?

Autism is often considered to reflect categorically 'different brains'. Neuropsychological research on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) however, has struggled to define this difference, or derive clear-cut boundaries between autism and non-autism. Consequently, restructuring or disbanding the ASD diagnosis is becoming increasingly advocated within research. Nonetheless, autism now exists as a salient social construction, of which 'difference' is a key facet. Clinical and educational professionals must influence this cautiously, as changes to autism's social construction may counterproductively affect the quality of life of autistic people. This paper therefore reviews ASD's value as both neuropsychological and social constructs. Although lacking neuropsychological validity, the autism label may be beneficial for autistic self-identity, reduction of stigma, and administering support. Whilst a shift away from case-control ASD research is warranted, lay notions of 'different brains' may be preserved.

Maladaptive explore/exploit trade-offs in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a complex disorder that remains poorly understood, particularly at the systems level. In this opinion article we argue that the explore/exploit trade-off concept provides a holistic and ecologically valid framework to resolve some of the apparent paradoxes that have emerged within schizophrenia research. We review recent evidence suggesting that fundamental explore/exploit behaviors may be maladaptive in schizophrenia during physical, visual, and cognitive foraging. We also describe how theories from the broader optimal foraging literature, such as the marginal value theorem (MVT), could provide valuable insight into how aberrant processing of reward, context, and cost/effort evaluations interact to produce maladaptive responses.

Transdiagnostic profiles of behaviour and communication relate to academic and socioemotional functioning and neural white matter organisation

BACKGROUND

Behavioural and language difficulties co-occur in multiple neurodevelopmental conditions. Our understanding of these problems has arguably been slowed by an overreliance on study designs that compare diagnostic groups and fail to capture the overlap across different neurodevelopmental disorders and the heterogeneity within them.

METHODS

We recruited a large transdiagnostic cohort of children with complex needs (N = 805) to identify distinct subgroups of children with common profiles of behavioural and language strengths and difficulties. We then investigated whether and how these data-driven groupings could be distinguished from a comparison sample (N = 158) on measures of academic and socioemotional functioning and patterns of global and local white matter connectome organisation. Academic skills were assessed via standardised measures of reading and maths. Socioemotional functioning was captured by the parent-rated version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.

RESULTS

We identified three distinct subgroups of children, each with different levels of difficulties in structural language, pragmatic communication, and hot and cool executive functions. All three subgroups struggled with academic and socioemotional skills relative to the comparison sample, potentially representing three alternative but related developmental pathways to difficulties in these areas. The children with the weakest language skills had the most widespread difficulties with learning, whereas those with more pronounced difficulties with hot executive skills experienced the most severe difficulties in the socioemotional domain. Each data-driven subgroup could be distinguished from the comparison sample based on both shared and subgroup-unique patterns of neural white matter organisation. Children with the most pronounced deficits in language, cool executive, or hot executive function were differentiated from the comparison sample by altered connectivity in predominantly thalamocortical, temporal-parietal-occipital, and frontostriatal circuits, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings advance our understanding of commonly co-morbid behavioural and language problems and their relationship to behavioural outcomes and neurobiological substrates.

From Puzzle to Progress: How Engaging With Neurodiversity Can Improve Cognitive Science

In cognitive science, there is a tacit norm that phenomena such as cultural variation or synaesthesia are worthy examples of cognitive diversity that contribute to a better understanding of cognition, but that other forms of cognitive diversity (e.g., autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder/ADHD, and dyslexia) are primarily interesting only as examples of deficit, dysfunction, or impairment. This status quo is dehumanizing and holds back much-needed research. In contrast, the neurodiversity paradigm argues that such experiences are not necessarily deficits but rather are natural reflections of biodiversity. Here, we propose that neurodiversity is an important topic for future research in cognitive science. We discuss why cognitive science has thus far failed to engage with neurodiversity, why this gap presents both ethical and scientific challenges for the field, and, crucially, why cognitive science will produce better theories of human cognition if the field engages with neurodiversity in the same way that it values other forms of cognitive diversity. Doing so will not only empower marginalized researchers but will also present an opportunity for cognitive science to benefit from the unique contributions of neurodivergent researchers and communities.

Severe Developmental Dyscalculia Is Characterized by Core Deficits in Both Symbolic and Nonsymbolic Number Sense

A long-standing debate concerns whether developmental dyscalculia is characterized by core deficits in processing nonsymbolic or symbolic numerical information as well as the role of domain-general difficulties. Heterogeneity in recruitment and diagnostic criteria make it difficult to disentangle this issue. Here, we selected children (n = 58) with severely compromised mathematical skills (2 SD below average) but average domain-general skills from a large sample referred for clinical assessment of learning disabilities. From the same sample, we selected a control group of children (n = 42) matched for IQ, age, and visuospatial memory but with average mathematical skills. Children with dyscalculia showed deficits in both symbolic and nonsymbolic number sense assessed with simple computerized tasks. Performance in the digit-comparison task and the numerosity match-to-sample task reliably separated children with developmental dyscalculia from controls in cross-validated logistic regression (area under the curve = .84). These results support a number-sense-deficit theory and highlight basic numerical abilities that could be targeted for early identification of at-risk children as well as for intervention.

The effect of anxiety on working memory and language abilities in elementary schoolchildren with and without Additional Health and Developmental Needs

Although excessive childhood anxiety is recognised as a significant public health, education and socioeconomic concern, the specific effects of such anxiety on language development and working memory, particularly visual working memory, are relatively unknown. Thus, this study aimed to examine parent-reported trait anxiety, parent-reported functional language (daily communication skills) and clinical measures of non-verbal intelligence, receptive and expressive vocabulary, phonological awareness, and visual and auditory-verbal short-term and working memory in elementary schoolchildren. The final sample included 41 children categorised as Additional Health and Developmental Needs (AHDN) due to medical, neurodevelopmental or educational concerns and 41 age- and IQ-matched neurotypical (NT) children, aged 5- to 9-years. Results showed that 26% of all children in our entire sample (AHDN and NT) experienced moderate, sub-clinical anxiety (as reported by parents), and that AHDN children were 10.5 times more likely to experience high anxiety than the NT group (odds ratio). Parents of AHDN children reported lower functional language in their children than parents of NT children. Cognitive testing indicated that the AHDN group also had poorer visual and auditory-verbal working memory than the NT group. Further, High Anxiety children (drawn from both AHDN and NT groups) showed poorer parent-reported functional language skills, and lower visual and auditory-verbal working memory capacities. Our findings are amongst the first to confirm that the presence of high parent-rated trait anxiety is associated with reduced visual working memory in children, which is consistent with biological and theoretical expectations of the impact of anxiety on visually driven, goal-directed attention and working memory. Our results regarding the high prevalence of sub-clinical anxiety in both ADHD and neurotypical children highlight the need for early assessment of anxiety in all schoolchildren, especially those classified as AHDN.

Infant excitation/inhibition balance interacts with executive attention to predict autistic traits in childhood

BACKGROUND

Autism is proposed to be characterised by an atypical balance of cortical excitation and inhibition (E/I). However, most studies have examined E/I alterations in older autistic individuals, meaning that findings could in part reflect homeostatic compensation. To assess the directionality of effects, it is necessary to examine alterations in E/I balance early in the lifespan before symptom emergence. Recent explanatory frameworks have argued that it is also necessary to consider how early risk features interact with later developing modifier factors to predict autism outcomes.

METHOD

We indexed E/I balance in early infancy by extracting the aperiodic exponent of the slope of the electroencephalogram (EEG) power spectrum ('1/f'). To validate our index of E/I balance, we tested for differences in the aperiodic exponent in 10-month-old infants with (n = 22) and without (n = 27) neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a condition thought to be characterised by alterations to cortical inhibition. We then tested for E/I alterations in a larger heterogeneous longitudinal cohort of infants with and without a family history of neurodevelopmental conditions (n = 150) who had been followed to early childhood. We tested the relevance of alterations in E/I balance and our proposed modifier, executive attention, by assessing whether associations between 10-month aperiodic slope and 36-month neurodevelopmental traits were moderated by 24-month executive attention. Analyses adjusted for age at EEG assessment, sex and number of EEG trials.

RESULTS

Infants with NF1 were characterised by a higher aperiodic exponent, indicative of greater inhibition, supporting our infant measure of E/I. Longitudinal analyses showed a significant interaction between aperiodic slope and executive attention, such that higher aperiodic exponents predicted greater autistic traits in childhood, but only in infants who also had weaker executive functioning abilities.

LIMITATIONS

The current study relied on parent report of infant executive functioning-type abilities; future work is required to replicate effects with objective measures of cognition.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest alterations in E/I balance are on the developmental pathway to autism outcomes, and that higher executive functioning abilities may buffer the impact of early cortical atypicalities, consistent with proposals that stronger executive functioning abilities may modify the impact of a wide range of risk factors.

Common neural substrates of diverse neurodevelopmental disorders

Neurodevelopmental disorders are categorized and studied according to their manifestations as distinct syndromes. For instance, congenital prosopagnosia and dyslexia have largely non-overlapping research literatures and clinical pathways for diagnosis and intervention. On the other hand, the high incidence of neurodevelopmental comorbidities or co-existing extreme strengths and weaknesses suggest that transdiagnostic commonalities may be greater than currently appreciated. The core-periphery model holds that brain regions within the stable core perceptual and motor regions are more densely connected to one another compared to regions in the flexible periphery comprising multimodal association regions. This model provides a framework for the interpretation of neural data in normal development and clinical disorders. Considering network-level commonalities reported in studies of neurodevelopmental disorders, variability in multimodal association cortex connectivity may reflect a shared origin of seemingly distinct neurodevelopmental disorders. This framework helps to explain both comorbidities in neurodevelopmental disorders and profiles of strengths and weaknesses attributable to competitive processing between cognitive systems within an individual.

Qualitative differences in the spatiotemporal brain states supporting configural face processing emerge in adolescence in autism

BACKGROUND

Studying the neural processing of faces can illuminate the mechanisms of compromised social expertise in autism. To resolve a longstanding debate, we examined whether differences in configural face processing in autism are underpinned by quantitative differences in the activation of typical face processing pathways, or the recruitment of non-typical neural systems.

METHODS

We investigated spatial and temporal characteristics of event-related EEG responses to upright and inverted faces in a large sample of children, adolescents, and adults with and without autism. We examined topographic analyses of variance and global field power to identify group differences in the spatial and temporal response to face inversion. We then examined how quasi-stable spatiotemporal profiles - microstates - are modulated by face orientation and diagnostic group.

RESULTS

Upright and inverted faces produced distinct profiles of topography and strength in the topographical analyses. These topographical profiles differed between diagnostic groups in adolescents, but not in children or adults. In the microstate analysis, the autistic group showed differences in the activation strength of normative microstates during early-stage processing at all ages, suggesting consistent quantitative differences in the operation of typical processing pathways; qualitative differences in microstate topographies during late-stage processing became prominent in adults, suggesting the increasing involvement of non-typical neural systems with processing time and over development.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that early difficulties with configural face processing may trigger later compensatory processes in autism that emerge in later development.

Entia Non Sunt Multiplicanda … Shall I look for clusters in my cognitive data?

Unsupervised clustering methods are increasingly being applied in psychology. Researchers may use such methods on multivariate data to reveal previously undetected sub-populations of individuals within a larger population. Realistic research scenarios in the cognitive science may not be ideally suited for a successful use of these methods, however, as they are characterized by modest effect sizes, limited sample sizes, and non-orthogonal indicators. This combination of characteristics even presents a high risk of detecting non-existing clusters. A systematic review showed that, among 191 studies published in 2016–2020 that used different clustering methods to classify human participants, the median sample size was only 322, and a median of 3 latent classes/clusters were detected. None of them concluded in favor of a one-cluster solution, potentially giving rise to an extreme publication bias. Dimensionality reduction techniques are almost never used before clustering. In a subsequent simulation study, we examined the performance of popular clustering techniques, including Gaussian mixture model, a partitioning, and a hierarchical agglomerative algorithm. We focused on their ability to detect the correct number of clusters, and on their classification accuracy. Under a reasoned set of scenarios that we considered plausible for the cognitive research, none of the methods adequately discriminates between one vs two true clusters. In addition, non-orthogonal indicators lead to a high risk of incorrectly detecting multiple clusters where none existed, even in the presence of only modest correlation (a frequent case in psychology). In conclusion, it is hard for researchers to be in a condition to achieve a valid unsupervised clustering for inferential purposes with a view to classifying individuals.

A Cumulative Risk and Resilience Model of Dyslexia

Considerable attention and legislation are currently focused on developmental dyslexia. A major challenge to these efforts is how to define and operationalize dyslexia. In this article, we argue that rather than defining dyslexia on the basis of an underlying condition, dyslexia is best viewed as a label for an unexpected reading disability. This view fits well with a preventive approach in which risk for reading disability is identified and addressed prior to children experiencing reading failure. A risk-resilience model is introduced that proposes that dyslexia is due to the cumulative effects of risk and resilience factors. Evidence for the multifactorial causal basis of dyslexia is reviewed and potential factors that may offset this risk are considered. The implications of a cumulative risk and resilience model for early identification and intervention is discussed.

Behavioural and neural indices of perceptual decision-making in autistic children during visual motion tasks

Many studies report atypical responses to sensory information in autistic individuals, yet it is not clear which stages of processing are affected, with little consideration given to decision-making processes. We combined diffusion modelling with high-density EEG to identify which processing stages differ between 50 autistic and 50 typically developing children aged 6-14 years during two visual motion tasks. Our pre-registered hypotheses were that autistic children would show task-dependent differences in sensory evidence accumulation, alongside a more cautious decision-making style and longer non-decision time across tasks. We tested these hypotheses using hierarchical Bayesian diffusion models with a rigorous blind modelling approach, finding no conclusive evidence for our hypotheses. Using a data-driven method, we identified a response-locked centro-parietal component previously linked to the decision-making process. The build-up in this component did not consistently relate to evidence accumulation in autistic children. This suggests that the relationship between the EEG measure and diffusion-modelling is not straightforward in autistic children. Compared to a related study of children with dyslexia, motion processing differences appear less pronounced in autistic children. Exploratory analyses also suggest weak evidence that ADHD symptoms moderate perceptual decision-making in autistic children.

Shallow or deep? The impact of orthographic depth on visual processing impairments in developmental dyslexia

The extent to which impaired visual and phonological mechanisms may contribute to the manifestation of developmental dyslexia across orthographies of varying depth has yet to be fully established. By adopting a cross-linguistic approach, the current study aimed to explore the nature of visual and phonological processing in developmental dyslexic readers of shallow (Italian) and deep (English) orthographies, and specifically the characterisation of visual processing deficits in relation to orthographic depth. To achieve this aim, we administered a battery of non-reading visual and phonological tasks. Developmental dyslexics performed worse than typically developing readers on all visual and phonological tasks. Critically, readers of the shallow orthography were disproportionately impaired on visual processing tasks. Our results suggest that the impaired reading and associated deficits observed in developmental dyslexia are anchored by dual impairments to visual and phonological mechanisms that underpin reading, with the magnitude of the visual deficit varying according to orthographic depth.

Research Domain Criteria (RDoC): Progress and Potential

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) addressed in its 2008 Strategic Plan an emerging concern that the current diagnostic system was hampering translational research, as accumulating data suggested that disorder categories constituted heterogeneous syndromes rather than specific diseases. However, established practices in peer review placed high priority on extant disorders in evaluating grant applications for mental illness. To provide guidelines for alternative study designs, NIMH included a goal to develop new ways of studying psychopathology based on dimensions of measurable behavior and related neurobiological measures. The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) project is the result, intended to build a literature that informs new conceptions of mental illness and future revisions to diagnostic manuals. The framework calls for the study of empirically-derived fundamental dimensions as characterized by related behavioral/psychological and neurobiological data (e.g., reward valuation, working memory). RDoC also emphasizes full-range dimensional approaches (from typical to increasingly abnormal), neurodevelopment and environmental effects, and research designs that integrate data across behavioral, biological, and self-report measures. This commentary provides an overview of the project's first decade and its potential future directions. RDoC remains grounded in experimental psychopathology perspectives, and its progress is strongly linked to psychological measurement and integrative approaches to brain-behavior relationships.

Shared and Distinct Patterns of Functional Connectivity to Emotional Faces in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Children

Impairments in emotional face processing are demonstrated by individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is associated with altered emotion processing networks. Despite accumulating evidence of high rates of diagnostic overlap and shared symptoms between ASD and ADHD, functional connectivity underpinning emotion processing across these two neurodevelopmental disorders, compared to typical developing peers, has rarely been examined. The current study used magnetoencephalography to investigate whole-brain functional connectivity during the presentation of happy and angry faces in 258 children (5–19 years), including ASD, ADHD and typically developing (TD) groups to determine possible differences in emotion processing. Data-driven clustering was also applied to determine whether the patterns of connectivity differed among diagnostic groups. We found reduced functional connectivity in the beta band in ASD compared to TD, and a further reduction in the ADHD group compared to the ASD and the TD groups, across emotions. A group-by-emotion interaction in the gamma frequency band was also observed. Greater connectivity to happy compared to angry faces was found in the ADHD and TD groups, while the opposite pattern was seen in ASD. Data-driven subgrouping identified two distinct subgroups: NDD-dominant and TD-dominant; these subgroups demonstrated emotion- and frequency-specific differences in connectivity. Atypicalities in specific brain networks were strongly correlated with the severity of diagnosis-specific symptoms. Functional connectivity strength in the beta network was negatively correlated with difficulties in attention; in the gamma network, functional connectivity strength to happy faces was positively correlated with adaptive behavioural functioning, but in contrast, negatively correlated to angry faces. Our findings establish atypical frequency- and emotion-specific patterns of functional connectivity between NDD and TD children. Data-driven clustering further highlights a high degree of comorbidity and symptom overlap between the ASD and ADHD children.

Annual Research Review: The transdiagnostic revolution in neurodevelopmental disorders

Practitioners frequently use diagnostic criteria to identify children with neurodevelopmental disorders and to guide intervention decisions. These criteria also provide the organising framework for much of the research focussing on these disorders. Study design, recruitment, analysis and theory are largely built on the assumption that diagnostic criteria reflect an underlying reality. However, there is growing concern that this assumption may not be a valid and that an alternative transdiagnostic approach may better serve our understanding of this large heterogeneous population of young people. This review draws on important developments over the past decade that have set the stage for much-needed breakthroughs in understanding neurodevelopmental disorders. We evaluate contemporary approaches to study design and recruitment, review the use of data-driven methods to characterise cognition, behaviour and neurobiology, and consider what alternative transdiagnostic models could mean for children and families. This review concludes that an overreliance on ill-fitting diagnostic criteria is impeding progress towards identifying the barriers that children encounter, understanding underpinning mechanisms and finding the best route to supporting them.

Transdiagnostic research and the neurodiversity paradigm: commentary on the transdiagnostic revolution in neurodevelopmental disorders by Astle et al

In their comprehensive and articulate paper on the Transdiagnostic Revolution in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Astle, Holmes, Kievit and Gathercole (2021) 'consider how well current classifications of neurodevelopmental disorders serve our understanding'. They examine the lack of mapping between clinical diagnoses such as ADHD or autism and research data at other levels of explanation, including genetics, neural structure and function, and cognition. The authors come to the conclusion that, if our goal is to explain variability and complexity, understand mechanisms and guide support decisions, 'diagnostic taxonomies that classify individuals in terms of discrete categories are ill-suited'. In this commentary, I explore alignment between their account of the transdiagnostic revolution and the neurodiversity paradigm and identify how transdiagnostic methods may promote neurodiversity-affirmative research and practice.

Focusing on cognitive potential as the bright side of mental atypicality

Standard accounts of mental health are based on a "deficit view" solely focusing on cognitive impairments associated with psychiatric conditions. Based on the principle of neural competition, we suggest an alternative. Rather than focusing on deficits, we should focus on the cognitive potential that selective dysfunctions might bring with them. Our approach is based on two steps: the identification of the potential (i.e., of neural systems that might have benefited from reduced competition) and the development of corresponding training methods, using the testing-the-limits approach. Counterintuitively, we suggest to train not only the impaired function but on the function that might have benefitted or that may benefit from the lesser neural competition of the dysfunctional system.

Is It Just Face Blindness? Exploring Developmental Comorbidity in Individuals with Self-Reported Developmental Prosopagnosia

Developmental prosopagnosia (DP)—or ‘face blindness’—refers to life-long problems with facial recognition in the absence of brain injury. We know that neurodevelopmental disorders tend to co-occur, and this study aims to explore if individuals with self-reported DP also report indications of other neurodevelopmental disorders, deficits, or conditions (developmental comorbidity). In total, 115 individuals with self-reported DP participated in this online cross-sectional survey. Face recognition impairment was measured with a validated self-report instrument. Indications of difficulties with navigation, math, reading, or spelling were measured with a tailored questionnaire using items from published sources. Additional diagnoses were measured with direct questions. We also included open-ended questions about cognitive strengths and difficulties. Results: Overall, 57% reported at minimum one developmental comorbidity of interest, with most reflecting specific cognitive impairment (e.g., in memory or object recognition) rather than diagnostic categories (e.g., ADHD, dyslexia). Interestingly, many participants reported cognitive skills or strengths within the same domains that others reported impairment, indicating a diverse pattern of cognitive strengths and difficulties in this sample. The frequency and diversity of self-reported developmental comorbidity suggests that face recognition could be important to consider in future investigations of neurodevelopmental comorbidity patterns.

A Metacontrol Perspective on Neurocognitive Atypicality: From Unipolar to Bipolar Accounts

Standard clinical and psychiatric thinking follows a unipolar logic that is centered at "normal" conditions characterized by optimal performance in everyday life, with more atypical conditions being defined by the (degree of) absence of "normality." A similar logic has been used to describe cognitive control, assuming that optimal control abilities are characterized by a strong focus on the current goal and ignorance of goal-irrelevant information (the concept of willpower), while difficulties in focusing and ignoring are considered indications of the absence of control abilities. However, there is increasing evidence that willpower represents only one side of the control coin. While a strong focus on the current goal can be beneficial under some conditions, other conditions would benefit from a more open mind, from flexibility to consider alternative goals and information related to them. According to the metacontrol model, people can vary in their cognitive processing style, on a dimension with the extreme poles of "persistence" on the one hand and "flexibility" on the other. Whereas a high degree of persistence corresponds to the original idea of cognitive control as willpower, with a strong focus on one goal and the information related to it, a high degree of flexibility is characterized by a more integrative, less selective and exclusive processing style, which facilitates switching between tasks, ideas, and actions, and taking into consideration a broader range of possibilities. We argue that this approach calls for a more bipolar account in the clinical sciences as well. Rather than considering individuals as typical or atypical, it would theoretically and practically make more sense to characterize their cognitive abilities in terms of underlying dimensions, such as the persistence/flexibility dimension. This would reveal that possible weaknesses with respect to one pole, such as persistence, and tasks relying thereupon, may come with corresponding strengths with respect to the other pole, such as flexibility, and respective tasks. We bolster our claim by discussing available evidence suggesting that neurodevelopmental atypicality often comes with weaknesses in tasks related to one pole but strengths in tasks related to the other.

Ethical dimensions of translational developmental neuroscience research in autism

BACKGROUND

Since the 1990s, increasing research has been devoted to the identification of biomarkers for autism to help attain more objective diagnosis; enable early prediction of prognosis; and guide individualized intervention options. Early studies focused on the identification of genetic variants associated with autism, but more recently, research has expanded to investigate neurodevelopmental markers. While ethicists have extensively discussed issues around advances in autism genomics, much less ethical scrutiny has focused on research on early neurodevelopment and on the interventions being developed as a result.

OBJECTIVES

We summarize the current state of the science on the identification of early markers for autism and its potential clinical applications, before providing an overview of the ethical issues arising from increasing understanding of children's neurodevelopment in very early life.

RESULTS

Advances in the understanding of brain and behavioral trajectories preceding later autism diagnosis raise ethical concerns around three themes: (a) New models for understanding autism; (b) Risks and benefits of early identification and intervention; and (c) Communication of early concerns to families. These ethical issues should be further investigated in research conducted in partnership with autistic people and their families.

CONCLUSIONS

This paper highlights the need for ethical scrutiny of early neurodevelopmental research in autism. Scrutiny requires expertise and methods from the basic sciences and bioethics, as well as constructive collaborations among autistic people, their parents, and autism researchers to anticipate early interventions that serve the community's interests and accommodate the varied experiences and preferences of people on the spectrum and their families.

Rhythm and timing as vulnerabilities in neurodevelopmental disorders

Millions of children are impacted by neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), which unfold early in life, have varying genetic etiologies and can involve a variety of specific or generalized impairments in social, cognitive and motor functioning requiring potentially lifelong specialized supports. While specific disorders vary in their domain of primary deficit (e.g. autism spectrum disorder (social), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (attention), developmental coordination disorder (motor) and developmental language disorder (language)), comorbidities between NDDs are common. Intriguingly, many NDDs are associated with difficulties in skills related to rhythm, timing and synchrony though specific profiles of rhythm/timing impairments vary across disorders. Impairments in rhythm/timing may instantiate vulnerabilities for a variety of NDDs and may contribute to both the primary symptoms of each disorder as well as the high levels of comorbidities across disorders. Drawing upon genetic, neural, behavioural and interpersonal constructs across disorders, we consider how disrupted rhythm and timing skills early in life may contribute to atypical developmental cascades that involve overlapping symptoms within the context of a disorder's primary deficits. Consideration of the developmental context, as well as common and unique aspects of the phenotypes of different NDDs, will inform experimental designs to test this hypothesis including via potential mechanistic intervention approaches. This article is part of the theme issue 'Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology'.

Multifaceted empathy differences in children and adults with autism

Although empathy impairments have been reported in autistic individuals, there is no clear consensus on how emotional valence influences this multidimensional process. In this study, we use the Multifaceted Empathy Test for juveniles (MET-J) to interrogate emotional and cognitive empathy in 184 participants (ages 8-59 years, 83 autistic) under the robust Bayesian inference framework. Group comparisons demonstrate previously unreported interaction effects between: (1) valence and autism diagnosis in predictions of emotional resonance, and (2) valence and age group in predictions of arousal to images portraying positive and negative facial expressions. These results extend previous studies using the MET by examining differential effects of emotional valence in a large sample of autistic children and adults with average or above-average intelligence. We report impaired cognitive empathy in autism, and subtle differences in emotional empathy characterized by less distinction between emotional resonance to positive vs. negative facial expressions in autism compared to neurotypicals. Reduced emotional differentiation between positive and negative affect in others could be a mechanism for diminished social reciprocity that poses a universal challenge for people with autism. These component- and valence- specific findings are of clinical relevance for the development and implementation of target-specific social interventions in autism.

Illusory Essences: A Bias Holding Back Theorizing in Psychological Science

The reliance in psychology on verbal definitions means that psychological research is unusually moored to how humans think and communicate about categories. Psychological concepts (e.g., intelligence, attention) are easily assumed to represent objective, definable categories with an underlying essence. Like the “vital forces” previously thought to animate life, these assumed essences can create an illusion of understanding. By synthesizing a wide range of research lines from cognitive, clinical, and biological psychology and neuroscience, we describe a pervasive tendency across psychological science to assume that essences explain phenomena. Labeling a complex phenomenon can appear as theoretical progress before there is sufficient evidence that the described category has a definable essence or known boundary conditions. Category labels can further undermine progress by masking contingent and contextual relationships and obscuring the need to specify mechanisms. Finally, we highlight examples of promising methods that circumvent the lure of essences and suggest four concrete strategies for identifying and avoiding essentialist intuitions in theory development.

A generative network model of neurodevelopmental diversity in structural brain organization

The formation of large-scale brain networks, and their continual refinement, represent crucial developmental processes that can drive individual differences in cognition and which are associated with multiple neurodevelopmental conditions. But how does this organization arise, and what mechanisms drive diversity in organization? We use generative network modeling to provide a computational framework for understanding neurodevelopmental diversity. Within this framework macroscopic brain organization, complete with spatial embedding of its organization, is an emergent property of a generative wiring equation that optimizes its connectivity by renegotiating its biological costs and topological values continuously over time. The rules that govern these iterative wiring properties are controlled by a set of tightly framed parameters, with subtle differences in these parameters steering network growth towards different neurodiverse outcomes. Regional expression of genes associated with the simulations converge on biological processes and cellular components predominantly involved in synaptic signaling, neuronal projection, catabolic intracellular processes and protein transport. Together, this provides a unifying computational framework for conceptualizing the mechanisms and diversity in neurodevelopment, capable of integrating different levels of analysis-from genes to cognition.