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Yang D, Svoboda AM, George TG, Mansfield PK, Wheelock MD, Schroeder ML, Rafferty SM, Sherafati A, Tripathy K, Burns-Yocum T, Forsen E, Pruett JR, Marrus NM, Culver JP, Constantino JN, Eggebrecht AT. Mapping neural correlates of biological motion perception in autistic children using high-density diffuse optical tomography. Mol Autism 2024; 15:35. [PMID: 39175054 PMCID: PMC11342641 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-024-00614-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 07/31/2024] [Indexed: 08/24/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by social communication deficits plus repetitive behaviors and restricted interests, currently affects 1/36 children in the general population. Recent advances in functional brain imaging show promise to provide useful biomarkers of ASD diagnostic likelihood, behavioral trait severity, and even response to therapeutic intervention. However, current gold-standard neuroimaging methods (e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI) are limited in naturalistic studies of brain function underlying ASD-associated behaviors due to the constrained imaging environment. Compared to fMRI, high-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT), a non-invasive and minimally constraining optical neuroimaging modality, can overcome these limitations. Herein, we aimed to establish HD-DOT to evaluate brain function in autistic and non-autistic school-age children as they performed a biological motion perception task previously shown to yield results related to both ASD diagnosis and behavioral traits. METHODS We used HD-DOT to image brain function in 46 ASD school-age participants and 49 non-autistic individuals (NAI) as they viewed dynamic point-light displays of coherent biological and scrambled motion. We assessed group-level cortical brain function with statistical parametric mapping. Additionally, we tested for brain-behavior associations with dimensional metrics of autism traits, as measured with the Social Responsiveness Scale-2, with hierarchical regression models. RESULTS We found that NAI participants presented stronger brain activity contrast (coherent > scrambled) than ASD children in cortical regions related to visual, motor, and social processing. Additionally, regression models revealed multiple cortical regions in autistic participants where brain function is significantly associated with dimensional measures of ASD traits. LIMITATIONS Optical imaging methods are limited in depth sensitivity and so cannot measure brain activity within deep subcortical regions. However, the field of view of this HD-DOT system includes multiple brain regions previously implicated in both task-based and task-free studies on autism. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that HD-DOT is sensitive to brain function that both differentiates between NAI and ASD groups and correlates with dimensional measures of ASD traits. These findings establish HD-DOT as an effective tool for investigating brain function in autistic and non-autistic children. Moreover, this study established neural correlates related to biological motion perception and its association with dimensional measures of ASD traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dalin Yang
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Alexandra M Svoboda
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Tessa G George
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Patricia K Mansfield
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Medical Education, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63104, USA
| | - Muriah D Wheelock
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University School of Engineering, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Mariel L Schroeder
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IL, 47907, USA
| | - Sean M Rafferty
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Arefeh Sherafati
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Physics, Washington University School of Arts and Science, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
| | - Kalyan Tripathy
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Western Psychiatric Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Tracy Burns-Yocum
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Evolytics, Parkville, MO, 64152, USA
| | - Elizabeth Forsen
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Doctor of Medicine Program, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - John R Pruett
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Natasha M Marrus
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Joseph P Culver
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University School of Engineering, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Physics, Washington University School of Arts and Science, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
- Department of Electrical and System Engineering, Washington University School of Engineering, St. Louis, MO, 63112, USA
- Department Imaging Sciences Engineering, Washington University School of Engineering, St. Louis, MO, 63112, USA
| | - John N Constantino
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
- Division of Behavioral and Mental Health, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA
| | - Adam T Eggebrecht
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University School of Engineering, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
- Department of Physics, Washington University School of Arts and Science, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
- Department of Electrical and System Engineering, Washington University School of Engineering, St. Louis, MO, 63112, USA.
- Department Imaging Sciences Engineering, Washington University School of Engineering, St. Louis, MO, 63112, USA.
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Zeng G, Leung TS, Maylott SE, Malik A, Adornato AA, Lebowitz M, Messinger DS, Szeto A, Feldman R, Simpson EA. Infants' salivary oxytocin and positive affective reactions to people. Horm Behav 2024; 164:105579. [PMID: 38905820 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024]
Abstract
Oxytocin is a neuropeptide positively associated with prosociality in adults. Here, we studied whether infants' salivary oxytocin can be reliably measured, is developmentally stable, and is linked to social behavior. We longitudinally collected saliva from 62 U.S. infants (44 % female, 56 % Hispanic/Latino, 24 % Black, 18 % non-Hispanic White, 11 % multiracial) at 4, 8, and 14 months of age and offline-video-coded the valence of their facial affect in response to a video of a smiling woman. We also captured infants' affective reactions in terms of excitement/joyfulness during a live, structured interaction with a singing woman in the Early Social Communication Scales at 14 months. We detected stable individual differences in infants' oxytocin levels over time (over minutes and months) and in infants' positive affect over months and across contexts (video-based and in live interactions). We detected no statistically significant changes in oxytocin levels between 4 and 8 months but found an increase from 8 to 14 months. Infants with higher oxytocin levels showed more positive facial affect to a smiling person video at 4 months; however, this association disappeared at 8 months, and reversed at 14 months (i.e., higher oxytocin was associated with less positive facial affect). Infant salivary oxytocin may be a reliable physiological measure of individual differences related to socio-emotional development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangyu Zeng
- School of Humanities and Social Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China; Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA.
| | - Tiffany S Leung
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | | | - Arushi Malik
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Alexis A Adornato
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Mendel Lebowitz
- School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | - Angela Szeto
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel; Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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3
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Mori T, Tsuchiya KJ, Harada T, Nakayasu C, Okumura A, Nishimura T, Katayama T, Endo M. Autism symptoms, functional impairments, and gaze fixation measured using an eye-tracker in 6-year-old children. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1250763. [PMID: 37850106 PMCID: PMC10577268 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1250763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder clinically characterized by abnormalities in eye contact during social exchanges. We aimed to clarify whether the amount of gaze fixation, measured at the age of 6 years using Gazefinder, which is an established eye-tracking device, is associated with ASD symptoms and functioning. Methods The current study included 742 participants from the Hamamatsu Birth Cohort Study. Autistic symptoms were evaluated according to the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2), and the functioning of the participating children in real life was assessed using the Japanese version of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition (VABS-II). The Gazefinder system was used for gaze fixation rates; two areas of interest (eyes and mouth) were defined in a talking movie clip, and eye gaze positions were calculated through corneal reflection techniques. Results The participants had an average age of 6.06 ± 0.14 years (males: 384; 52%). According to ADOS, 617 (83%) children were assessed as having none/mild ASD and 51 (7%) as severe. The average VABS-II scores were approximately 100 (standard deviation = 12). A higher gaze fixation rate on the eyes was associated with a significantly lower likelihood of the child being assigned to the severe ADOS group after controlling for covariates (odds ratio [OR], 0.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.002-0.38). The gaze fixation rate on the mouth was not associated with ASD symptoms. A higher gaze fixation rate on the mouth was associated with a significantly lower likelihood of the child being assigned to the low score group in VABS-II socialization after controlling for covariates (OR, 0.18; 95% CI, 0.04-0.85). The gaze fixation rate on the eyes was not associated with functioning. Conclusion We found that children with low gaze fixation rates on the eyes were likely to have more ASD symptoms, and children with low gaze fixation rates on the mouth were likely to demonstrate poorer functioning in socialization. Hence, preschool children could be independently assessed in the general population for clinically relevant endophenotypes predictive of ASD symptoms and functional impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toko Mori
- Faculty of Nursing, Shijonawate Gakuen University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kenji J. Tsuchiya
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Osaka, Japan
| | - Taeko Harada
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Osaka, Japan
| | - Chikako Nakayasu
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
| | - Akemi Okumura
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Osaka, Japan
| | - Tomoko Nishimura
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Osaka, Japan
| | - Taiichi Katayama
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Osaka, Japan
| | - Masayuki Endo
- Division of Health Sciences, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan
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Evenepoel M, Moerkerke M, Daniels N, Chubar V, Claes S, Turner J, Vanaudenaerde B, Willems L, Verhaeghe J, Prinsen J, Steyaert J, Boets B, Alaerts K. Endogenous oxytocin levels in children with autism: Associations with cortisol levels and oxytocin receptor gene methylation. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:235. [PMID: 37391413 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02524-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Alterations in the brain's oxytocinergic system have been suggested to play an important role in the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but insights from pediatric populations are sparse. Here, salivary oxytocin was examined in the morning (AM) and afternoon (PM) in school-aged children with (n = 80) and without (n = 40) ASD (boys/girls 4/1), and also characterizations of DNA methylation (DNAm) of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) were obtained. Further, cortisol levels were assessed to examine links between the oxytocinergic system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis signaling. Children with ASD displayed altered (diminished) oxytocin levels in the morning, but not in the afternoon, after a mildly stress-inducing social interaction session. Notably, in the control group, higher oxytocin levels at AM were associated with lower stress-induced cortisol at PM, likely reflective of a protective stress-regulatory mechanism for buffering HPA stress activity. In children with ASD, on the other hand, a significant rise in oxytocin levels from the morning to the afternoon was associated with a higher stress-induced cortisol release in the afternoon, likely reflective of a more reactive stress regulatory release of oxytocin for reactively coping with heightened HPA activity. Regarding epigenetic modifications, no overall pattern of OXTR hypo- or hypermethylation was evident in ASD. In control children, a notable association between OXTR methylation and levels of cortisol at PM was evident, likely indicative of a compensatory downregulation of OXTR methylation (higher oxytocin receptor expression) in children with heightened HPA axis activity. Together, these observations bear important insights into altered oxytocinergic signaling in ASD, which may aid in establishing relevant biomarkers for diagnostic and/or treatment evaluation purposes targeting the oxytocinergic system in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaux Evenepoel
- KU Leuven, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Research Group for Neurorehabilitation, Leuven, Belgium
- KU Leuven, Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), Leuven, Belgium
| | - Matthijs Moerkerke
- KU Leuven, Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), Leuven, Belgium
- KU Leuven, Department of Neurosciences, Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Nicky Daniels
- KU Leuven, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Research Group for Neurorehabilitation, Leuven, Belgium
- KU Leuven, Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Stephan Claes
- University Psychiatric Centre, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jonathan Turner
- Luxembourg Institute of Health, Department of Infection and Immunity, Esch sur Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Bart Vanaudenaerde
- KU Leuven, Department of Chronic Illness and Metabolism, Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases and Thoracic Surgery, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Lynn Willems
- KU Leuven, Department of Chronic Illness and Metabolism, Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases and Thoracic Surgery, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Johan Verhaeghe
- KU Leuven, Department of Development and Regeneration, Research Group Woman and Child, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jellina Prinsen
- KU Leuven, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Research Group for Neurorehabilitation, Leuven, Belgium
- KU Leuven, Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jean Steyaert
- KU Leuven, Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), Leuven, Belgium
- KU Leuven, Department of Neurosciences, Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bart Boets
- KU Leuven, Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), Leuven, Belgium
- KU Leuven, Department of Neurosciences, Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Kaat Alaerts
- KU Leuven, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Research Group for Neurorehabilitation, Leuven, Belgium.
- KU Leuven, Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), Leuven, Belgium.
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5
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Chen J, Wei Z, Xu C, Peng Z, Yang J, Wan G, Chen B, Gong J, Zhou K. Social visual preference mediates the effect of cortical thickness on symptom severity in children with autism spectrum disorder. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1132284. [PMID: 37398604 PMCID: PMC10311909 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1132284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Evidence suggests that there is a robust relationship between altered neuroanatomy and autistic symptoms in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Social visual preference, which is regulated by specific brain regions, is also related to symptom severity. However, there were a few studies explored the potential relationships among brain structure, symptom severity, and social visual preference. Methods The current study investigated relationships among brain structure, social visual preference, and symptom severity in 43 children with ASD and 26 typically developing (TD) children (aged 2-6 years). Results Significant differences were found in social visual preference and cortical morphometry between the two groups. Decreased percentage of fixation time in digital social images (%DSI) was negatively related to not only the thickness of the left fusiform gyrus (FG) and right insula, but also the Calibrated Severity Scores for the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Social Affect (ADOS-SA-CSS). Mediation analysis showed that %DSI partially mediated the relationship between neuroanatomical alterations (specifically, thickness of the left FG and right insula) and symptom severity. Conclusion These findings offer initial evidence that atypical neuroanatomical alterations may not only result in direct effects on symptom severity but also lead to indirect effects on symptom severity through social visual preference. This finding enhances our understanding of the multiple neural mechanisms implicated in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jierong Chen
- Department of Child Psychiatry and Rehabilitation, Affliated Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Zhen Wei
- Department of Child Psychiatry and Rehabilitation, Affliated Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, South China Normal University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chuangyong Xu
- Department of Child Psychiatry and Rehabilitation, Affliated Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Ziwen Peng
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Junjie Yang
- Department of Child Health Care, Luohu District Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Guobin Wan
- Department of Child Psychiatry and Rehabilitation, Affliated Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Bin Chen
- Department of Child Psychiatry and Rehabilitation, Affliated Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jianhua Gong
- Department of Child Health Care, Luohu District Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Keying Zhou
- Department of Pediatrics, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The Second Clinical Medical College of Jinan University, First Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
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Brzozowska A, Longo MR, Mareschal D, Wiesemann F, Gliga T. Oxytocin but not naturally occurring variation in caregiver touch associates with infant social orienting. Dev Psychobiol 2022; 64:e22290. [PMID: 35748632 PMCID: PMC9328151 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Caregiver touch is crucial for infants’ healthy development, but its role in shaping infant cognition has been relatively understudied. In particular, despite strong premises to hypothesize its function in directing infant attention to social information, little empirical evidence exists on the topic. In this study, we investigated the associations between naturally occurring variation in caregiver touch and infant social attention in a group of 6‐ to 13‐month‐old infants (n = 71). Additionally, we measured infant salivary oxytocin as a possible mediator of the effects of touch on infant social attention. The hypothesized effects were investigated both short term, with respect to touch observed during parent–infant interactions in the lab, and long term, with respect to parent‐reported patterns of everyday touching behaviors. We did not find evidence that caregiver touch predicts infant social attention or salivary oxytocin levels, short term or long term. However, we found that salivary oxytocin predicted infant preferential attention to faces relative to nonsocial objects, measured in an eye‐tracking task. Our findings confirm the involvement of oxytocin in social orienting in infancy, but raise questions regarding the possible environmental factors influencing the infant oxytocin system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicja Brzozowska
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK.,Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Matthew R Longo
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
| | - Denis Mareschal
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
| | - Frank Wiesemann
- Baby Care, Procter & Gamble Service GmbH, Schwalbach am Taunus, Germany
| | - Teodora Gliga
- Department of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
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Shou Q, Yamada J, Nishina K, Matsunaga M, Matsuda T, Takagishi H. Association between salivary oxytocin levels and the amygdala and hippocampal volumes. Brain Struct Funct 2022; 227:2503-2511. [PMID: 35943580 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02543-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Salivary oxytocin levels have been widely measured and studied in relation to social behavior because of procedural simplicity and noninvasiveness. Although the relationship between oxytocin levels in the blood and the hippocampus and amygdala is now becoming clear with reliable blood oxytocin studies, few studies have examined the relationship between salivary oxytocin and the brain function and structure. This study aimed to investigate whether the salivary oxytocin level is associated with the volume of the amygdala and hippocampus in 178 adults (92 women and 86 men) in their third to seventh decade of life. We performed volumetric analysis of the amygdala and hippocampus using FreeSurfer and measured salivary oxytocin levels using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The results showed contradictory effects of the salivary oxytocin level on the amygdala volume by sex and no significant effect on the hippocampal volume. Specifically, men showed a positive correlation between the salivary oxytocin level and amygdala volume, whereas women showed a negative correlation between the salivary oxytocin level and amygdala volume. The present study's finding of sex differences in the association between salivary oxytocin and brain structure supports previous findings that there are sex differences in the oxytocin system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiulu Shou
- Graduate School of Brain Sciences, Tamagawa University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Junko Yamada
- Brain Science Institute, Tamagawa University, Tokyo, Japan
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Marazziti D, Diep PT, Carter S, Carbone MG. Oxytocin: An Old Hormone, A Novel Psychotropic Drug And Possible Use In Treating Psychiatric Disorders. Curr Med Chem 2022; 29:5615-5687. [PMID: 35894453 DOI: 10.2174/0929867329666220727120646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Revised: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Oxytocin is a nonapeptide synthesized in the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei of the hypothalamus. Historically, this molecule has been involved as a key factor in the formation of infant attachment, maternal behavior and pair bonding and, more generally, in linking social signals with cognition, behaviors and reward. In the last decades, the whole oxytocin system has gained a growing interest as it was proposed to be implicated in etiopathogenesis of several neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. METHODS With the main goal of an in-depth understanding of the oxytocin role in the regulation of different functions and complex behaviors as well as its intriguing implications in different neuropsychiatric disorders, we performed a critical review of the current state of art. We carried out this work through PubMed database up to June 2021 with the search terms: 1) "oxytocin and neuropsychiatric disorders"; 2) "oxytocin and neurodevelopmental disorders"; 3) "oxytocin and anorexia"; 4) "oxytocin and eating disorders"; 5) "oxytocin and obsessive-compulsive disorder"; 6) "oxytocin and schizophrenia"; 7) "oxytocin and depression"; 8) "oxytocin and bipolar disorder"; 9) "oxytocin and psychosis"; 10) "oxytocin and anxiety"; 11) "oxytocin and personality disorder"; 12) "oxytocin and PTSD". RESULTS Biological, genetic, and epigenetic studies highlighted quality and quantity modifications in the expression of oxytocin peptide or in oxytocin receptor isoforms. These alterations would seem to be correlated with a higher risk of presenting several neuropsychiatric disorders belonging to different psychopathological spectra. Collaterally, the exogenous oxytocin administration has shown to ameliorate many neuropsychiatric clinical conditions. CONCLUSION Finally, we briefly analyzed the potential pharmacological use of oxytocin in patient with severe symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection due to its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and immunoregulatory properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donatella Marazziti
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Psychiatry, University of Pisa, Italy.,Saint Camillus International University of Health and Medical Sciences, Rome, Italy
| | - Phuoc-Tan Diep
- Department of Histopathology, Royal Lancaster Infirmary, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, Lancaster, United Kingdom
| | - Sue Carter
- Director Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Manuel G Carbone
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Division of Psychiatry, University of Insubria, 21100 Varese, Italy
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9
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Shou Q, Yamada J, Nishina K, Matsunaga M, Kiyonari T, Takagishi H. Is oxytocin a trust hormone? Salivary oxytocin is associated with caution but not with general trust. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0267988. [PMID: 35522616 PMCID: PMC9075672 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies on the association between trust and oxytocin, a neuropeptide of the central nervous system, have not reached a consensus, thereby challenging the possibility of a direct association between the two. However, previous studies have not examined how oxytocin is correlated with trust, based on its categorization into different factors in the field of social science. For instance, based on Yamagishi’s trust theory, trust can be categorized into two factors: general trust and caution. General trust refers to beliefs about the trustworthiness of others, whereas caution refers to the belief that caution is needed when dealing with high social uncertainty. In this study, to examine the relationship between these two factors and oxytocin, we analyzed data of 197 adults (men = 98, women = 99; mean age = 41.7 years; standard deviation for age = 10.4 years) and examined the relationships between these two factors of trust and endogenous salivary oxytocin levels. We found that oxytocin was positively correlated with caution rather than with general trust thereby suggesting that oxytocin plays a role in regulating caution rather than general trust among the components of trust. The present study demonstrated that salivary oxytocin level can act as a biomarker that partially predicts one’s trust, especially as reflected by caution.
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10
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Cai XE, Le J, Shou XJ, Wu-Yun GW, Wang XX, Han SP, Han JS, Kendrick KM, Zhang R. The salience of competing nonsocial objects reduces gaze toward social stimuli, but not the eyes, more in typically developing than autistic boys. Autism Res 2022; 15:1043-1055. [PMID: 35357777 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Decreased attention to social information is considered an early emerging symptom of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), although the underlying causes remain controversial. Here we explored the impact of nonsocial object salience on reduced attention to social stimuli in male ASD compared with typically developing (TD) children. Correlations with blood concentrations of neuropeptides linked with social cognition were also investigated. Eye-tracking was performed in 102 preschool-aged boys (50 ASD, 52 TD) using a paradigm with social (faces) versus nonsocial (objects) stimuli presented in pairs in two conditions where nonsocial stimulus salience was varied. Basal oxytocin (OXT) and vasopressin concentrations were measured in blood. Compared with TD boys those with ASD viewed social stimuli less only when they were paired with low-salience nonsocial objects. Additionally, boys with ASD spent less time than TD ones viewing facial features, particularly the eyes. In TD boys, OXT concentrations and cognitive development scores were positively associated with time spent viewing the eye region, whereas for boys with ASD associations with time spent viewing faces were negative. Reduced gaze toward social stimuli in ASD relative to TD individuals may therefore be influenced by how salient the paired nonsocial objects are for the latter. On the other hand, reduced interest in the eyes of faces in boys with ASD is not influenced by how salient competing nonsocial stimuli are. Basal OXT concentrations and cognitive development scores are predictive of time spent viewing social stimuli in TD boys (eyes) and those with ASD (faces) but in the opposite direction. LAY SUMMARY: Children with autism exhibit reduced attention to social paired with nonsocial stimuli compared to typically developing children. Using eye-tracking we show this difference is due to typically developing rather than autistic boys being more influenced by how interesting competing nonsocial objects are. On the other hand, reduced time looking at the eyes in autistic relative to typically developing boys is unaffected by nonsocial object salience. Time spent viewing social stimuli is associated with cognitive development and blood levels of oxytocin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-E Cai
- Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Department of Neurobiology, Department of Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Health, Beijing, China.,Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Jiao Le
- Chengdu Women's and Children's Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.,Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiao-Jing Shou
- Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Department of Neurobiology, Department of Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Health, Beijing, China.,State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Gao-Wa Wu-Yun
- Department of Preschool Education, Teachers' College of Beijing Union University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiao-Xi Wang
- Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Department of Neurobiology, Department of Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Health, Beijing, China.,Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Song-Ping Han
- Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Department of Neurobiology, Department of Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Health, Beijing, China
| | - Ji-Sheng Han
- Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Department of Neurobiology, Department of Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Health, Beijing, China
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Rong Zhang
- Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Department of Neurobiology, Department of Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Health, Beijing, China.,Autism Research Center, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.,Department of Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
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11
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Kong XJ, Wei Z, Sun B, Tu Y, Huang Y, Cheng M, Yu S, Wilson G, Park J, Feng Z, Vangel M, Kong J, Wan G. Different Eye Tracking Patterns in Autism Spectrum Disorder in Toddler and Preschool Children. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:899521. [PMID: 35757211 PMCID: PMC9218189 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.899521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been observed to be associated with fixation abnormality as measured eye tracking, but the dynamics behind fixation patterns across age remain unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, we investigated gaze patterns between toddlers and preschoolers with and without ASD while they viewed video clips and still images (i.e., mouth-moving face, biological motion, mouthing face vs. moving object, still face picture vs. objects, and moving toys). RESULTS We found that the fixation time percentage of children with ASD showed significant decrease compared with that of TD children in almost all areas of interest (AOI) except for moving toy (helicopter). We also observed a diagnostic group (ASD vs. TD) and chronological age (Toddlers vs. preschooler) interaction for the eye AOI during the mouth-moving video clip. Support vector machine analysis showed that the classifier could discriminate ASD from TD in toddlers with an accuracy of 80% and could discriminate ASD from TD in preschoolers with an accuracy of 71%. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that toddlers and preschoolers may be associated with both common and distinct fixation patterns. A combination of eye tracking and machine learning methods has the potential to shed light on the development of new early screening/diagnosis methods for ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue-Jun Kong
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Zhen Wei
- Department of Child Psychiatry and Rehabilitation, Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Binbin Sun
- Department of Child Psychiatry and Rehabilitation, Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yiheng Tu
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Yiting Huang
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Ming Cheng
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Siyi Yu
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Georgia Wilson
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Joel Park
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Zhe Feng
- Department of Child Psychiatry and Rehabilitation, Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Mark Vangel
- Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jian Kong
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Guobin Wan
- Department of Child Psychiatry and Rehabilitation, Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China
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12
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Alcañiz M, Chicchi-Giglioli IA, Carrasco-Ribelles LA, Marín-Morales J, Minissi ME, Teruel-García G, Sirera M, Abad L. Eye gaze as a biomarker in the recognition of autism spectrum disorder using virtual reality and machine learning: A proof of concept for diagnosis. Autism Res 2021; 15:131-145. [PMID: 34811930 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) mainly relate to social communication and interactions. ASD assessment involves expert observations in neutral settings, which introduces limitations and biases related to lack of objectivity and does not capture performance in real-world settings. To overcome these limitations, advances in technologies (e.g., virtual reality) and sensors (e.g., eye-tracking tools) have been used to create realistic simulated environments and track eye movements, enriching assessments with more objective data than can be obtained via traditional measures. This study aimed to distinguish between autistic and typically developing children using visual attention behaviors through an eye-tracking paradigm in a virtual environment as a measure of attunement to and extraction of socially relevant information. The 55 children participated. Autistic children presented a higher number of frames, both overall and per scenario, and showed higher visual preferences for adults over children, as well as specific preferences for adults' rather than children's faces on which looked more at bodies. A set of multivariate supervised machine learning models were developed using recursive feature selection to recognize ASD based on extracted eye gaze features. The models achieved up to 86% accuracy (sensitivity = 91%) in recognizing autistic children. Our results should be taken as preliminary due to the relatively small sample size and the lack of an external replication dataset. However, to our knowledge, this constitutes a first proof of concept in the combined use of virtual reality, eye-tracking tools, and machine learning for ASD recognition. LAY SUMMARY: Core symptoms in children with ASD involve social communication and interaction. ASD assessment includes expert observations in neutral settings, which show limitations and biases related to lack of objectivity and do not capture performance in real settings. To overcome these limitations, this work aimed to distinguish between autistic and typically developing children in visual attention behaviors through an eye-tracking paradigm in a virtual environment as a measure of attunement to, and extraction of, socially relevant information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariano Alcañiz
- Instituto de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería (i3B), Universitat Politécnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Irene Alice Chicchi-Giglioli
- Instituto de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería (i3B), Universitat Politécnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Lucía A Carrasco-Ribelles
- Instituto de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería (i3B), Universitat Politécnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain.,Fundació Institut Universitari per a la Recerca a l'Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Javier Marín-Morales
- Instituto de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería (i3B), Universitat Politécnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Maria Eleonora Minissi
- Instituto de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería (i3B), Universitat Politécnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Gonzalo Teruel-García
- Instituto de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería (i3B), Universitat Politécnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Marian Sirera
- Red Cenit, Centros de Desarrollo Cognitivo, Valencia, Spain
| | - Luis Abad
- Red Cenit, Centros de Desarrollo Cognitivo, Valencia, Spain
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13
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Moerkerke M, Peeters M, de Vries L, Daniels N, Steyaert J, Alaerts K, Boets B. Endogenous Oxytocin Levels in Autism-A Meta-Analysis. Brain Sci 2021; 11:1545. [PMID: 34827545 PMCID: PMC8615844 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11111545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Oxytocin (OT) circuitry plays a major role in the mediation of prosocial behavior. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication and have been suggested to display deficiencies in central OT mechanisms. The current preregistered meta-analysis evaluated potential group differences in endogenous OT levels between individuals with ASD and neurotypical (NT) controls. We included 18 studies comprising a total of 1422 participants. We found that endogenous OT levels are lower in children with ASD as compared to NT controls (n = 1123; g = -0.60; p = 0.006), but this effect seems to disappear in adolescent (n = 152; g = -0.20; p = 0.53) and adult populations (n = 147; g = 0.27; p = 0.45). Secondly, while no significant subgroup differences were found in regard to sex, the group difference in OT levels of individuals with versus without ASD seems to be only present in the studies with male participants (n = 814; g = -0.44; p = 0.08) and not female participants (n = 192; g = 0.11; p = 0.47). More research that employs more homogeneous methods is necessary to investigate potential developmental changes in endogenous OT levels, both in typical and atypical development, and to explore the possible use of OT level measurement as a diagnostic marker of ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthijs Moerkerke
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (M.P.); (L.d.V.); (J.S.); (B.B.)
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (N.D.); (K.A.)
| | - Mathieu Peeters
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (M.P.); (L.d.V.); (J.S.); (B.B.)
| | - Lyssa de Vries
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (M.P.); (L.d.V.); (J.S.); (B.B.)
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (N.D.); (K.A.)
| | - Nicky Daniels
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (N.D.); (K.A.)
- Research Group for Neurorehabilitation, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jean Steyaert
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (M.P.); (L.d.V.); (J.S.); (B.B.)
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (N.D.); (K.A.)
| | - Kaat Alaerts
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (N.D.); (K.A.)
- Research Group for Neurorehabilitation, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bart Boets
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (M.P.); (L.d.V.); (J.S.); (B.B.)
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (N.D.); (K.A.)
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14
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Caicedo Mera JC, Cárdenas Molano MA, García López CC, Acevedo Triana C, Martínez Cotrina J. Discussions and perspectives regarding oxytocin as a biomarker in human investigations. Heliyon 2021; 7:e08289. [PMID: 34805562 PMCID: PMC8581272 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Revised: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
This article introduces a review of research that has implemented oxytocin measurements in different fluids such as plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, urine and, mainly, saliva. The main purpose is to evaluate the level of evidence supporting the measurement of this biomarker implicated in a variety of psychological and social processes. First, a review of the technical developments that allowed the characterization, function establishing, and central and peripheral levels of this hormone is proposed. Then, the article approaches the current discussions regarding the level of reliability of the laboratory techniques that enable the measurement of oxytocin, focusing mainly on the determination of its concentration in saliva through Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Finally, research results, which have established the major physiological correlates of this hormone in fields such as social neuroscience and neuropsychology, are collected and discussed in terms of the hormone measurement methods that different authors have used. In this way, the article is expected to contribute to the panorama of debates and current perspectives regarding investigation involving this important biomarker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Carlos Caicedo Mera
- Laboratorio Interdisciplinar de Ciencias y Procesos Humanos LINCIPH, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Colombia
| | - Melissa Andrea Cárdenas Molano
- Laboratorio Interdisciplinar de Ciencias y Procesos Humanos LINCIPH, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Colombia
| | - Christian Camilo García López
- Laboratorio Interdisciplinar de Ciencias y Procesos Humanos LINCIPH, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Colombia
| | - Cristina Acevedo Triana
- Laboratorio Interdisciplinar de Ciencias y Procesos Humanos LINCIPH, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Colombia
| | - Jorge Martínez Cotrina
- Laboratorio Interdisciplinar de Ciencias y Procesos Humanos LINCIPH, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Colombia
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15
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Ma X, Gu H, Zhao J. Atypical gaze patterns to facial feature areas in autism spectrum disorders reveal age and culture effects: A meta-analysis of eye-tracking studies. Autism Res 2021; 14:2625-2639. [PMID: 34542246 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Revised: 08/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Children and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often present with atypical gaze patterns to others' faces, a finding substantiated throughout the literature. Yet, a quantification of atypical gaze patterns to different facial regions (e.g., eyes versus mouth) in ASD remains controversial. Also few study has investigated how age and culture impacted the pattern of gaze abnormalities in ASD. This research therefore conducted a meta-analysis of eye-tracking studies to evaluate age and culture effect on atypical gaze patterns of face processing in ASD. A total of 75 articles (91 studies) and 4209 individuals (ASD: 2027; controls: 2182) across all age ranges (i.e., childhood through to adulthood) from both Eastern and Western cultures were included in this meta-analysis. Individuals with ASD yielded shorter fixation durations to the eyes than individuals without ASD. Group differences in the time spent fixating on the eyes were not modulated by age, but affected by culture. Effect size in the eastern culture was larger than that in the western culture. In contrast, group differences on time spent looking at the mouth were not significant, but changed with age and modulated by culture. Relative to the neurotypical controls, Western individuals with ASD spent more time looking at the mouth from school age, whereas Eastern individuals with ASD did not gaze longer on mouth until adulthood. These results add to the body of evidence supporting atypical gaze behaviors to eyes in ASD and provide new insights into a potential mouth compensation strategy that develops with age in ASD. LAY SUMMARY: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often show atypical gaze patterns when looking at others' faces compared to neurotypical individuals. This paper examines the role of age and culture on pattern of gaze abnormalities in individuals with ASD. Results show that reduction of gaze on eyes in ASD is stable across all ages and cultures, while increase of gaze on mouth emerges as individuals with ASD get older. The findings provide a developmental insight to the gaze patterns on the autism spectrum across culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue'er Ma
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Shaanxi Provincial Key Research Center of Child Mental and Behavioral Health, Xi'an, China
| | - Haixia Gu
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Shaanxi Provincial Key Research Center of Child Mental and Behavioral Health, Xi'an, China
| | - Jingjing Zhao
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Shaanxi Provincial Key Research Center of Child Mental and Behavioral Health, Xi'an, China
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16
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John S, Jaeggi AV. Oxytocin levels tend to be lower in autistic children: A meta-analysis of 31 studies. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2021; 25:2152-2161. [PMID: 34308675 DOI: 10.1177/13623613211034375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
LAY ABSTRACT Oxytocin is a hormone that mediates interpersonal relationships through enhancing social recognition, social memory, and reducing stress. It is released centrally into the cerebrospinal fluid, as well as peripherally into the blood, where it can easily be measured. Some studies indicate that the oxytocin system with its social implications might be different in people with autism spectrum disorder. With summarizing evidence of 31 studies, this meta-analysis suggests that children with autism spectrum disorder have lower blood oxytocin levels compared to neurotypical individuals. This might not be the case for adults with autism spectrum disorder, where we could not find a difference. Our findings motivate further exploration of the oxytocin system in children with autism spectrum disorder. This could lead to therapeutic options in treating autism spectrum disorder in childhood.
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17
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Le J, Zhao W, Kou J, Fu M, Zhang Y, Becker B, Kendrick KM. Oxytocin facilitates socially directed attention. Psychophysiology 2021; 58:e13852. [PMID: 34032304 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13852] [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: 10/10/2020] [Revised: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Socially directed gaze following is an important component of social interaction and communication, allowing us to attend mutually with others to objects or people so that we can share their experience and also learn from them. This type of joint social attention is impaired in disorders such as autism. Previous research has demonstrated that the neuropeptide oxytocin can facilitate attention toward social cues, although to date no study in humans has investigated its influence on socially directed gaze or on associations of the latter with autistic and empathic traits. In a within-subject, randomized, placebo-controlled trial we used eye-tracking to investigate the effects of intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) on socially directed gaze toward one of two objects in 40 adult male subjects. Subjects viewed videos of an actor and actress directing their gaze toward one of two objects by either moving only their eyes, moving both their eyes and head, or moving their eyes and head and pointing with a finger. Results showed that OXT increased the proportion of time subjects viewed the object the actor or actress were looking/pointing at across all three conditions, although unexpectedly we found no associations with trait autism or empathy under either placebo or OXT treatments. These findings demonstrate that OXT can facilitate socially directed gaze following to promote mutual attention toward objects which may be potentially beneficial therapeutically in disorders with impaired social communication and interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiao Le
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Weihua Zhao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Juan Kou
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Meina Fu
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Yingying Zhang
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
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18
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Fukushima S, Takahashi T, Tsukamoto K, Matsumura M, Takigawa R, Sakai Y, Maniwa S, Murphy L, Taketani T. The feasibility of Gazefinder under 12 months of age infants. Sci Rep 2021; 11:10009. [PMID: 33976346 PMCID: PMC8113266 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-89585-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Eye-tracking to evaluate gaze patterns has developed as an assessment tool for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Gazefinder is one of Eye-tracking devices and few studies have investigated whether it can measure the gaze data of infants under 12 months of age. We conducted a prospective cross-sectional study from April 2019 to March 2020 in a periodic health checkup in Ohchi County, Shimane, Japan. Participants included infants between 4 and 11 months of age who were not suspected the presence of developmental problems. Ninety-three participants’ datapoints were analyzed. The mean age was 6.5 months and mean developmental quotient was 88%. The mean fixation time percentage of all sequences was 81.0% (standard deviation; 4.4), and there was no significant difference in each age group. Infants in all groups showed a significantly higher predilection for eyes than for mouths. There was a positive association of age with human gaze and a negative association with geometric gaze. Moreover, we confirmed that joint attention skills were enhanced in accordance with their growth process. The eye-tracking data were almost corresponding to previous studies’ data of infant with typical development and Gazefinder could be applied to infants starting at 4 months of age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuntaro Fukushima
- Division of Pediatrics, Ohchi Municipal Hospital, 3848-2, Nakano Ohnan-cho, Ohchi, Shimane, 696-0102, Japan. .,Department of Pediatrics, Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, 89-1, Enya-cho, Izumo, Shimane, 693-8501, Japan.
| | - Tomoo Takahashi
- Division of Pediatrics, Ohchi Municipal Hospital, 3848-2, Nakano Ohnan-cho, Ohchi, Shimane, 696-0102, Japan.,Department of Pediatrics, Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, 89-1, Enya-cho, Izumo, Shimane, 693-8501, Japan
| | - Kazuki Tsukamoto
- Department of Pediatrics, Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, 89-1, Enya-cho, Izumo, Shimane, 693-8501, Japan
| | - Misaki Matsumura
- Department of Pediatrics, Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, 89-1, Enya-cho, Izumo, Shimane, 693-8501, Japan
| | - Ryo Takigawa
- Department of Pediatrics, Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, 89-1, Enya-cho, Izumo, Shimane, 693-8501, Japan
| | - Yasuo Sakai
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, Izumo, Shimane, Japan
| | - Sokichi Maniwa
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, Izumo, Shimane, Japan
| | - Lynne Murphy
- Department of Medical English Education, Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, Izumo, Shimane, Japan
| | - Takeshi Taketani
- Department of Pediatrics, Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, 89-1, Enya-cho, Izumo, Shimane, 693-8501, Japan
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Kaliukhovich DA, Manyakov NV, Bangerter A, Ness S, Skalkin A, Boice M, Goodwin MS, Dawson G, Hendren R, Leventhal B, Shic F, Pandina G. Visual Preference for Biological Motion in Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Eye-Tracking Study. J Autism Dev Disord 2021; 51:2369-2380. [PMID: 32951157 PMCID: PMC8189980 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04707-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Participants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (n = 121, mean [SD] age: 14.6 [8.0] years) and typically developing (TD) controls (n = 40, 16.4 [13.3] years) were presented with a series of videos representing biological motion on one side of a computer monitor screen and non-biological motion on the other, while their eye movements were recorded. As predicted, participants with ASD spent less overall time looking at presented stimuli than TD participants (P < 10-3) and showed less preference for biological motion (P < 10-5). Participants with ASD also had greater average latencies than TD participants of the first fixation on both biological (P < 0.01) and non-biological motion (P < 0.02). Findings suggest that individuals with ASD differ from TD individuals on multiple properties of eye movements and biological motion preference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dzmitry A. Kaliukhovich
- grid.419619.20000 0004 0623 0341Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340 Beerse, Belgium
| | - Nikolay V. Manyakov
- grid.419619.20000 0004 0623 0341Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340 Beerse, Belgium
| | - Abigail Bangerter
- grid.497530.c0000 0004 0389 4927Janssen Research & Development, LLC, 1125 Trenton-Harbourton Road, Titusville, NJ 08560 USA
| | - Seth Ness
- grid.497530.c0000 0004 0389 4927Janssen Research & Development, LLC, 1125 Trenton-Harbourton Road, Titusville, NJ 08560 USA
| | - Andrew Skalkin
- grid.497530.c0000 0004 0389 4927Janssen Research & Development, LLC, 1125 Trenton-Harbourton Road, Titusville, NJ 08560 USA ,Present Address: DataGrok, Inc., 1800 JFK Blvd Suite 300, PMB 90078, Philadelphia, PA 19103 USA
| | - Matthew Boice
- grid.497530.c0000 0004 0389 4927Janssen Research & Development, LLC, 1125 Trenton-Harbourton Road, Titusville, NJ 08560 USA
| | - Matthew S. Goodwin
- grid.261112.70000 0001 2173 3359Department of Health Sciences, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, 312E Robinson Hall, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Geraldine Dawson
- grid.26009.3d0000 0004 1936 7961Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University School of Medicine, 2608 Erwin Road, Suite 30, Durham, NC 27705 USA
| | - Robert Hendren
- grid.34477.330000000122986657Present Address: Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, 2001 8th Ave Suite #400, Seattle, WA 98121 USA
| | - Bennett Leventhal
- grid.266102.10000 0001 2297 6811Benioff Children’s Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Ave, Langley Porter, San Francisco, CA 94143-0984 USA
| | - Frederick Shic
- grid.34477.330000000122986657Present Address: Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, 2001 8th Ave Suite #400, Seattle, WA 98121 USA ,grid.47100.320000000419368710Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, USA
| | - Gahan Pandina
- grid.497530.c0000 0004 0389 4927Janssen Research & Development, LLC, 1125 Trenton-Harbourton Road, Titusville, NJ 08560 USA
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20
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Eye-Tracking in Infants and Young Children at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review of Visual Stimuli in Experimental Paradigms. J Autism Dev Disord 2020; 51:2578-2599. [DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04731-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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21
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Yamasue H, Okada T, Munesue T, Kuroda M, Fujioka T, Uno Y, Matsumoto K, Kuwabara H, Mori D, Okamoto Y, Yoshimura Y, Kawakubo Y, Arioka Y, Kojima M, Yuhi T, Owada K, Yassin W, Kushima I, Benner S, Ogawa N, Eriguchi Y, Kawano N, Uemura Y, Yamamoto M, Kano Y, Kasai K, Higashida H, Ozaki N, Kosaka H. Effect of intranasal oxytocin on the core social symptoms of autism spectrum disorder: a randomized clinical trial. Mol Psychiatry 2020; 25:1849-1858. [PMID: 29955161 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-018-0097-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Revised: 02/20/2018] [Accepted: 03/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Although small-scale studies have described the effects of oxytocin on social deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), no large-scale study has been conducted. In this randomized, parallel-group, multicenter, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial in Japan, 106 ASD individuals (18-48 y.o.) were enrolled between Jan 2015 and March 2016. Participants were randomly assigned to a 6-week intranasal oxytocin (48IU/day, n = 53) or placebo (n = 53) group. One-hundred-three participants were analyzed. Since oxytocin reduced the primary endpoint, Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) reciprocity, (from 8.5 to 7.7; P < .001) but placebo also reduced the score (8.3 to 7.2; P < .001), no between-group difference was found (effect size -0.08; 95% CI, -0.46 to 0.31; P = .69); however, plasma oxytocin was only elevated from baseline to endpoint in the oxytocin-group compared with the placebo-group (effect size -1.12; -1.53 to -0.70; P < .0001). Among the secondary endpoints, oxytocin reduced ADOS repetitive behavior (2.0 to 1.5; P < .0001) compared with placebo (2.0 to 1.8; P = .43) (effect size 0.44; 0.05 to 0.83; P = .026). In addition, the duration of gaze fixation on socially relevant regions, another secondary endpoint, was increased by oxytocin (41.2 to 52.3; P = .03) compared with placebo (45.7 to 40.4; P = .25) (effect size 0.55; 0.10 to 1.0; P = .018). No significant effects were observed for the other secondary endpoints. No significant difference in the prevalence of adverse events was observed between groups, although one participant experienced temporary gynecomastia during oxytocin administration. Based on the present findings, we cannot recommend continuous intranasal oxytocin treatment alone at the current dose and duration for treatment of the core social symptoms of high-functioning ASD in adult men, although this large-scale trial suggests oxytocin's possibility to treat ASD repetitive behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hidenori Yamasue
- Department of Psychiatry, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Higashiku, Hamamatsu City, 431-3192, Japan. .,Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan.
| | - Takashi Okada
- Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 466-8550, Japan
| | - Toshio Munesue
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa, 920-8640, Japan
| | - Miho Kuroda
- Department of Child Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan
| | - Toru Fujioka
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan
| | - Yota Uno
- Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 466-8550, Japan.,Laboratory for Psychiatric and Molecular Neuroscience, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA
| | - Kaori Matsumoto
- Graduate School of Psychology, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, 7-1 Ohgigaoka, Nonoichi, 921-8054, Japan
| | - Hitoshi Kuwabara
- Department of Child Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan.,Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development at Hamamatsu, Handayama 1 Higashiku, Hamamatsu, 431-3192, Japan
| | - Daisuke Mori
- Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 466-8550, Japan.,Brain and Mind Research Center, Nagoya University, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 466-8550, Japan
| | - Yuko Okamoto
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan
| | - Yuko Yoshimura
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa, 920-8640, Japan
| | - Yuki Kawakubo
- Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 466-8550, Japan.,Department of Child Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan
| | - Yuko Arioka
- Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 466-8550, Japan
| | - Masaki Kojima
- Department of Child Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan
| | - Teruko Yuhi
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa, 920-8640, Japan
| | - Keiho Owada
- Department of Child Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan
| | - Walid Yassin
- Department of Child Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan
| | - Itaru Kushima
- Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 466-8550, Japan
| | - Seico Benner
- Department of Child Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan
| | - Nanayo Ogawa
- Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 466-8550, Japan
| | - Yosuke Eriguchi
- Department of Child Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan
| | - Naoko Kawano
- Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 466-8550, Japan
| | - Yukari Uemura
- Biostatistics Division, Clinical Research Support Center, University of Tokyo Hospital, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan
| | - Maeri Yamamoto
- Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 466-8550, Japan
| | - Yukiko Kano
- Department of Child Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan
| | - Kiyoto Kasai
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan
| | - Haruhiro Higashida
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa, 920-8640, Japan
| | - Norio Ozaki
- Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 466-8550, Japan
| | - Hirotaka Kosaka
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan.,Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan
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22
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Development of Social Attention and Oxytocin Levels in Maltreated Children. Sci Rep 2020; 10:7407. [PMID: 32366913 PMCID: PMC7198561 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64297-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 04/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Child maltreatment (CM) is a major risk factor for various psychopathologies but also adversely affects social development. Research on oxytocin (OT) is currently drawing attention as an endocrine basis for social development. In this study, we investigated the relationship between visual attention to social cues and salivary OT levels in children exposed to CM. The results revealed that the CM group had a significantly lower percentage of gaze fixation for the human face eye area and lower salivary OT levels compared to the typical development group. Moreover, a path analysis suggested that gaze fixation for the eye area was a mediator of the relationship between salivary OT levels and social-emotional problems in the CM group. These results suggest that lower endogenous OT levels in maltreated children may lead to atypical development of their visual attention to eyes as a social cue, resulting in social-emotional problems.
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23
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Fujioka T, Tsuchiya KJ, Saito M, Hirano Y, Matsuo M, Kikuchi M, Maegaki Y, Choi D, Kato S, Yoshida T, Yoshimura Y, Ooba S, Mizuno Y, Takiguchi S, Matsuzaki H, Tomoda A, Shudo K, Ninomiya M, Katayama T, Kosaka H. Developmental changes in attention to social information from childhood to adolescence in autism spectrum disorders: a comparative study. Mol Autism 2020; 11:24. [PMID: 32272970 PMCID: PMC7146883 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-020-00321-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2019] [Accepted: 02/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Elucidating developmental changes in the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is important to support individuals with ASD. However, no report has clarified the developmental changes in attention to social information for a broad age range. The aim of this study was to investigate the developmental changes in attention to social information from early childhood to adolescence in individuals with ASD and typically developed (TD) children. METHODS We recruited children with ASD (n = 83) and TD participants (n = 307) between 2 and 18 years of age. Using the all-in-one-eye-tracking system, Gazefinder, we measured the percentage fixation time allocated to areas of interest (AoIs) depicted in movies (the eyes and mouth in movies of a human face with/without mouth motion, upright and inverted biological motion in movies showing these stimuli simultaneously, people and geometry in preference paradigm movies showing these stimuli simultaneously, and objects with/without finger-pointing in a movie showing a woman pointing toward an object). We conducted a three-way analysis of variance, 2 (diagnosis: ASD and TD) by 2 (sex: male and female) by 3 (age group: 0-5, 6-11, and 12-18 years) and locally weighted the scatterplot smoothing (LOESS) regression curve on each AoI. RESULTS In the face stimuli, the percentage fixation time to the eye region for the TD group increased with age, whereas the one for the ASD group did not. In the ASD group, the LOESS curves of the gaze ratios at the eye region increased up to approximately 10 years of age and thereafter tended to decrease. For the percentage fixation time to the people region in the preference paradigm, the ASD group gazed more briefly at people than did the TD group. LIMITATIONS It is possible that due to the cross-sectional design, the degree of severity and of social interest might have differed according to the subjects' age. CONCLUSIONS There may be qualitative differences in abnormal eye contact in ASD between individuals in early childhood and those older than 10 years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toru Fujioka
- Department of Science of Human Development, Humanities and Social Science, Faculty of Education, University of Fukui, Fukui, Fukui Japan
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kenji J. Tsuchiya
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka, Japan
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Manabu Saito
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan
| | - Yoshiyuki Hirano
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka, Japan
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Chiba University, Chiba, Chiba Japan
| | - Muneaki Matsuo
- Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Saga, Saga Japan
| | - Mitsuru Kikuchi
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka, Japan
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Maegaki
- Division of Child Neurology, Department of Brain and Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Tottori, Japan
| | - Damee Choi
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka, Japan
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Sumi Kato
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan
| | - Tokiko Yoshida
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Chiba University, Chiba, Chiba Japan
| | - Yuko Yoshimura
- Institute of Human and Social Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa Japan
| | - Sawako Ooba
- Tottori University Hospital, Yonago, Tottori, Japan
| | - Yoshifumi Mizuno
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychological Medicine, University of Fukui Hospital, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan
| | - Shinichiro Takiguchi
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka, Japan
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychological Medicine, University of Fukui Hospital, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan
| | - Hideo Matsuzaki
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Akemi Tomoda
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Katsuyuki Shudo
- Development Center, Healthcare Business Division, JVCKENWOOD Corporation, Yokohama, Kanagawa Japan
| | - Masaru Ninomiya
- Development Center, Healthcare Business Division, JVCKENWOOD Corporation, Yokohama, Kanagawa Japan
| | - Taiichi Katayama
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Hirotaka Kosaka
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka, Japan
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, Japan
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24
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Fujioka T, Fujisawa TX, Inohara K, Okamoto Y, Matsumura Y, Tsuchiya KJ, Katayama T, Munesue T, Tomoda A, Wada Y, Kosaka H. Attenuated relationship between salivary oxytocin levels and attention to social information in adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder: a comparative study. Ann Gen Psychiatry 2020; 19:38. [PMID: 32518579 PMCID: PMC7275403 DOI: 10.1186/s12991-020-00287-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2019] [Accepted: 05/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous research studies have assessed the relationship between attention to social information and peripheral (e.g., plasma and salivary) oxytocin (OT) levels in typically developing (TD) children and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A relationship between them was observed in TD children, but not in children with ASD. However, this relationship remains unexamined in other age groups. To clarify whether this lack of association is maintained throughout development in individuals with ASD, we aimed to assess the relationship between salivary OT levels and attention to social information in adolescents and adults with and without ASD. METHODS We recruited male adolescents and adults with ASD (n = 17) and TD participants (n = 24). Using the all-in-one eye-tracking system Gazefinder, we measured the percentage fixation time allocated to social information. We also measured the salivary OT levels and Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) of participants. Subsequently, we confirmed group differences and conducted a correlation analysis to investigate the relationships between these three measures. RESULTS Salivary OT levels did not show any significant difference between the ASD and TD groups and were negatively correlated with the AQ in the whole-group analysis, but not in within-group analysis. Individuals with ASD had significantly lower percentage fixation times than did TD individuals for eye regions in human faces with/without mouth motion, for upright biological motion, and for people regions in the people and geometry movies. The percentage of fixation for geometric shapes in the people and geometry movies was significantly higher in the ASD than in the TD group. In the TD group, salivary OT levels were positively correlated with percentage fixation times for upright biological motion and people and negatively correlated with inverted biological motion and geometry. However, no significant correlations were found in the ASD group. CONCLUSIONS Our exploratory results suggest that salivary OT levels in adolescents and adults with ASD are less indicative of attention to social stimuli than they are in TD adolescents and adults. It is suggested that their association is slightly weaker in adolescents and adults with ASD and that this attenuated relationship appears to be maintained throughout development.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Fujioka
- Faculty of Education, University of Fukui, Fukui, Fukui Japan.,Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka Japan.,Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui Japan
| | - T X Fujisawa
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka Japan.,Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui Japan
| | - K Inohara
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan.,Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui Japan
| | - Y Okamoto
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka Japan.,Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui Japan.,Waseda Institute for Advanced Study, Waseda University, Shinjuku, Tokyo Japan
| | - Y Matsumura
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui Japan
| | - K J Tsuchiya
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka Japan.,Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Japan
| | - T Katayama
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka Japan
| | - T Munesue
- Kaga Mental Hospital, Kaga, Ishikawa Japan
| | - A Tomoda
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka Japan.,Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui Japan
| | - Y Wada
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui Japan.,Kaga Mental Hospital, Kaga, Ishikawa Japan
| | - H Kosaka
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka Japan.,Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui Japan.,Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui Japan
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25
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Todorova GK, Hatton REM, Pollick FE. Biological motion perception in autism spectrum disorder: a meta-analysis. Mol Autism 2019; 10:49. [PMID: 31890147 PMCID: PMC6921539 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-019-0299-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Accepted: 11/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Biological motion, namely the movement of others, conveys information that allows the identification of affective states and intentions. This makes it an important avenue of research in autism spectrum disorder where social functioning is one of the main areas of difficulty. We aimed to create a quantitative summary of previous findings and investigate potential factors, which could explain the variable results found in the literature investigating biological motion perception in autism. Methods A search from five electronic databases yielded 52 papers eligible for a quantitative summarisation, including behavioural, eye-tracking, electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Results Using a three-level random effects meta-analytic approach, we found that individuals with autism generally showed decreased performance in perception and interpretation of biological motion. Results additionally suggest decreased performance when higher order information, such as emotion, is required. Moreover, with the increase of age, the difference between autistic and neurotypical individuals decreases, with children showing the largest effect size overall. Conclusion We highlight the need for methodological standards and clear distinctions between the age groups and paradigms utilised when trying to interpret differences between the two populations.
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26
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Oyama A, Takeda S, Ito Y, Nakajima T, Takami Y, Takeya Y, Yamamoto K, Sugimoto K, Shimizu H, Shimamura M, Katayama T, Rakugi H, Morishita R. Novel Method for Rapid Assessment of Cognitive Impairment Using High-Performance Eye-Tracking Technology. Sci Rep 2019; 9:12932. [PMID: 31506486 PMCID: PMC6736938 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-49275-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2019] [Accepted: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
A rapid increase in the number of patients with dementia has emerged as a global health challenge. Accumulating evidence suggests that early diagnosis and timely intervention can delay cognitive decline. The diagnosis of dementia is commonly performed using neuropsychological tests, such as the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), administered by trained examiners. While these traditional neuropsychological tests are valid and reliable, they are neither simple nor sufficiently short as routine screening tools for dementia. Here, we developed a brief cognitive assessment utilizing an eye-tracking technology. The subject views a series of short (178 s) task movies and pictures displayed on a monitor while their gaze points are recorded by the eye-tracking device, and the cognitive scores are determined from the gaze plots data. The cognitive scores were measured by both an eye tracking-based assessment and neuropsychological tests in 80 participants, including 27 cognitively healthy controls (HC), 26 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 27 patients with dementia. The eye tracking-based cognitive scores correlated well with the scores from the neuropsychological tests, and they showed a good diagnostic performance in detecting patients with MCI and dementia. Rapid cognitive assessment using eye-tracking technology can enable quantitative scoring and the sensitive detection of cognitive impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akane Oyama
- Department of Geriatric and General Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Shuko Takeda
- Department of Clinical Gene Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.
| | - Yuki Ito
- Department of Clinical Gene Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Tsuneo Nakajima
- Department of Geriatric and General Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Yoichi Takami
- Department of Geriatric and General Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Yasushi Takeya
- Department of Geriatric and General Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Koichi Yamamoto
- Department of Geriatric and General Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Ken Sugimoto
- Department of Geriatric and General Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Hideo Shimizu
- Department of Clinical Gene Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.,Department of Internal Medicine, Osaka Dental University, Hirakata, Osaka, 573-1121, Japan
| | - Munehisa Shimamura
- Department of Neurology, Department of Health Development and Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Taiichi Katayama
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Hiromi Rakugi
- Department of Geriatric and General Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Ryuichi Morishita
- Department of Clinical Gene Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.
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Kou J, Le J, Fu M, Lan C, Chen Z, Li Q, Zhao W, Xu L, Becker B, Kendrick KM. Comparison of three different eye-tracking tasks for distinguishing autistic from typically developing children and autistic symptom severity. Autism Res 2019; 12:1529-1540. [PMID: 31369217 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2019] [Revised: 06/03/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Altered patterns of visual social attention preference detected using eye-tracking and a variety of different paradigms are increasingly proposed as sensitive biomarkers for autism spectrum disorder. However, few eye-tracking studies have compared the relative efficacy of different paradigms to discriminate between autistic compared with typically developing children and their sensitivity to specific symptoms. To target this issue, the current study used three common eye-tracking protocols contrasting social versus nonsocial stimuli in young (2-7 years old) Chinese autistic (n = 35) and typically developing (n = 34) children matched for age and gender. Protocols included dancing people versus dynamic geometrical images, biological motion (dynamic light point walking human or cat) versus nonbiological motion (scrambled controls), and child playing with toy versus toy alone. Although all three paradigms differentiated autistic and typically developing children, the dancing people versus dynamic geometry pattern paradigm was the most effective, with autistic children showing marked reductions in visual preference for dancing people and correspondingly increased one for geometric patterns. Furthermore, this altered visual preference in autistic children was correlated with the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule social affect score and had the highest discrimination accuracy. Our results therefore indicate that decreased visual preference for dynamic social stimuli may be the most effective visual attention-based paradigm for use as a biomarker for autism in Chinese children. Clinical trial ID: NCT03286621 (clinicaltrials.gov); Clinical trial name: Development of Eye-tracking Based Markers for Autism in Young Children. Autism Res 2019, 12: 1529-1540. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Eye-tracking measures may be useful in aiding diagnosis and treatment of autism, although it is unclear which specific tasks are optimal. Here we compare the ability of three different social eye-gaze tasks to discriminate between autistic and typically developing young Chinese children and their sensitivity to specific autistic symptoms. Our results show that a dynamic task comparing visual preference for social (individuals dancing) versus geometric patterns is the most effective both for diagnosing autism and sensitivity to its social affect symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Kou
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Jiao Le
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Meina Fu
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Chunmei Lan
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Zhuo Chen
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Qin Li
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Weihua Zhao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Lei Xu
- Chengdu Southwest Children's Hospital, Institute of Child Rehabilitation Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
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Howard PL, Zhang L, Benson V. What Can Eye Movements Tell Us about Subtle Cognitive Processing Differences in Autism? Vision (Basel) 2019; 3:E22. [PMID: 31735823 PMCID: PMC6802779 DOI: 10.3390/vision3020022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2019] [Revised: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 05/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is neurodevelopmental condition principally characterised by impairments in social interaction and communication, and repetitive behaviours and interests. This article reviews the eye movement studies designed to investigate the underlying sampling or processing differences that might account for the principal characteristics of autism. Following a brief summary of a previous review chapter by one of the authors of the current paper, a detailed review of eye movement studies investigating various aspects of processing in autism over the last decade will be presented. The literature will be organised into sections covering different cognitive components, including language and social communication and interaction studies. The aim of the review will be to show how eye movement studies provide a very useful on-line processing measure, allowing us to account for observed differences in behavioural data (accuracy and reaction times). The subtle processing differences that eye movement data reveal in both language and social processing have the potential to impact in the everyday communication domain in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippa L Howard
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth BH12 5BB, UK
| | - Li Zhang
- Academy of Psychology and Behaviour, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300074, China
| | - Valerie Benson
- School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK
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Wan G, Kong X, Sun B, Yu S, Tu Y, Park J, Lang C, Koh M, Wei Z, Feng Z, Lin Y, Kong J. Applying Eye Tracking to Identify Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children. J Autism Dev Disord 2019; 49:209-215. [PMID: 30097760 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-018-3690-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Eye tracking (ET) holds potential for the early detection of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To overcome the difficulties of working with young children, developing a short and informative paradigm is crucial for ET. We investigated the fixation times of 37 ASD and 37 typically developing (TD) children ages 4-6 watching a 10-second video of a female speaking. ASD children showed significant reductions in fixation time at six areas of interest. Furthermore, discriminant analysis revealed fixation times at the mouth and body could significantly discriminate ASD from TD with a classification accuracy of 85.1%, sensitivity of 86.5%, and specificity of 83.8%. Our study suggests that a short video clip may provide enough information to distinguish ASD from TD children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guobin Wan
- Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital, 3012 Fuqiang Rd, Futian Qu, Shenzhen, 518040, Guangdong Sheng, China
| | - Xuejun Kong
- Martinos Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th Street, 1118A, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Binbin Sun
- Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital, 3012 Fuqiang Rd, Futian Qu, Shenzhen, 518040, Guangdong Sheng, China
| | - Siyi Yu
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 120 2nd Ave, Room 101, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Yiheng Tu
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 120 2nd Ave, Room 101, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Joel Park
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 120 2nd Ave, Room 101, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Courtney Lang
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 120 2nd Ave, Room 101, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Madelyn Koh
- Martinos Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th Street, 1118A, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Zhen Wei
- Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital, 3012 Fuqiang Rd, Futian Qu, Shenzhen, 518040, Guangdong Sheng, China
| | - Zhe Feng
- Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital, 3012 Fuqiang Rd, Futian Qu, Shenzhen, 518040, Guangdong Sheng, China
| | - Yan Lin
- Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital, 3012 Fuqiang Rd, Futian Qu, Shenzhen, 518040, Guangdong Sheng, China.
| | - Jian Kong
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 120 2nd Ave, Room 101, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
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30
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Quintana DS, Westlye LT, Smerud KT, Mahmoud RA, Andreassen OA, Djupesland PG. Saliva oxytocin measures do not reflect peripheral plasma concentrations after intranasal oxytocin administration in men. Horm Behav 2018; 102:85-92. [PMID: 29750971 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2018.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2018] [Accepted: 05/06/2018] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Oxytocin plays an important role in social behavior. Thus, there has been significant research interest for the role of the oxytocin system in several psychiatric disorders, and the potential of intranasal oxytocin administration to treat social dysfunction. Measurement of oxytocin concentrations in saliva are sometimes used to approximate peripheral levels of oxytocin; however, the validity of this approach is unclear. In this study, saliva and plasma oxytocin was assessed after two doses of Exhalation Delivery System delivered intranasal oxytocin (8 IU and 24 IU), intravenous oxytocin (1 IU) and placebo in a double-dummy, within-subjects design with men. We found that intranasal oxytocin (8 IU and 24 IU) administration increased saliva oxytocin concentrations in comparison to saliva oxytocin concentration levels after intravenous and placebo administration. Additionally, we found that saliva oxytocin concentrations were not significantly associated with plasma oxytocin concentrations after either intranasal or intravenous oxytocin administration. Altogether, we suggest that saliva oxytocin concentrations do not accurately index peripheral oxytocin after intranasal or intravenous oxytocin administration, at least in men. The data indicates that elevated oxytocin saliva levels after nasal delivery primarily reflect exogenous administered oxytocin that is cleared from the nasal cavity to the oropharynx, and is therefore a weak surrogate for peripheral blood measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S Quintana
- NORMENT KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Lars T Westlye
- NORMENT KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Knut T Smerud
- Smerud Medical Research International AS, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Ole A Andreassen
- NORMENT KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
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31
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Torres N, Martins D, Santos AJ, Prata D, Veríssimo M. How do hypothalamic nonapeptides shape youth's sociality? A systematic review on oxytocin, vasopressin and human socio-emotional development. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 90:309-331. [PMID: 29738796 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Revised: 04/26/2018] [Accepted: 05/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The hypothalamic nonapeptides oxytocin and vasopressin are important modulators of socio-affective behaviours in a wide variety of animal species, including humans. Nevertheless, there is little research addressing their possible roles on socio-affective dimensions of human behaviour across development, during which considerable behavioural and physiological change occurs. Questions still remain about the extent to which findings from adults may directly apply to earlier phases of human development. In this article, we systematically summarize and discuss all existing studies investigating the developmental association of endogenous levels of hypothalamic neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin with human social behaviour or on its disruption in paediatric populations. Evidence is sparse insofar as there are still relatively few developmental studies and limited due to correlational research designs and unreliability of methods currently used for neuropeptide measurements in biological fluids. The findings to date generally converge with adult evidence, but also suggest that important differences between age stages may exist. Further studies focusing these differences may prove critical for informing drug development for socio-affective deficits in paediatric populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nuno Torres
- William James Center for Research, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Daniel Martins
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - António J Santos
- William James Center for Research, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Diana Prata
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK; Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal; ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Manuela Veríssimo
- William James Center for Research, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Lisboa, Portugal.
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32
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Farah R, Haraty H, Salame Z, Fares Y, Ojcius DM, Said Sadier N. Salivary biomarkers for the diagnosis and monitoring of neurological diseases. Biomed J 2018; 41:63-87. [PMID: 29866603 PMCID: PMC6138769 DOI: 10.1016/j.bj.2018.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2017] [Revised: 03/13/2018] [Accepted: 03/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Current research efforts on neurological diseases are focused on identifying novel disease biomarkers to aid in diagnosis, provide accurate prognostic information and monitor disease progression. With advances in detection and quantification methods in genomics, proteomics and metabolomics, saliva has emerged as a good source of samples for detection of disease biomarkers. Obtaining a sample of saliva offers multiple advantages over the currently tested biological fluids as it is a non-invasive, painless and simple procedure that does not require expert training or harbour undesirable side effects for the patients. Here, we review the existing literature on salivary biomarkers and examine their validity in diagnosing and monitoring neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism and Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. Based on the available research, amyloid beta peptide, tau protein, lactoferrin, alpha-synuclein, DJ-1 protein, chromogranin A, huntingtin protein, DNA methylation disruptions, and micro-RNA profiles provide display a reliable degree of consistency and validity as disease biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raymond Farah
- Neuroscience Research Center, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Hayat Haraty
- Neuroscience Research Center, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Ziad Salame
- Research Department, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Youssef Fares
- Neuroscience Research Center, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - David M Ojcius
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of the Pacific, Arthur Dugoni School of Dentistry, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Najwane Said Sadier
- Neuroscience Research Center, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon.
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33
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Salivary Oxytocin Concentration Changes during a Group Drumming Intervention for Maltreated School Children. Brain Sci 2017; 7:brainsci7110152. [PMID: 29144396 PMCID: PMC5704159 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci7110152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2017] [Revised: 11/09/2017] [Accepted: 11/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Many emotionally-disturbed children who have been maltreated and are legally separated from their parents or primary caregivers live in group homes and receive compulsory education. Such institutions provide various special intervention programs. Taiko-ensou, a Japanese style of group drumming, is one such program because playing drums in a group may improve children’s emotional well-being. However, evidence for its efficacy has not been well established at the biological level. In this study, we measured salivary levels of oxytocin (OT), a neuropeptide associated with social memory and communication, in three conditions (recital, practice, and free sessions) in four classes of school-aged children. Following the sessions, OT concentrations showed changes in various degrees and directions (no change, increases, or decreases). The mean OT concentration changes after each session increased, ranging from 112% to 165%. Plasma OT concentrations were equally sensitive to drum playing in school-aged boys and girls. However, the difference between practice and free play sessions was only significant among elementary school boys aged 8–12 years. The results suggest that younger boys are most responsive to this type of educational music intervention.
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Kotani M, Shimono K, Yoneyama T, Nakako T, Matsumoto K, Ogi Y, Konoike N, Nakamura K, Ikeda K. An eye tracking system for monitoring face scanning patterns reveals the enhancing effect of oxytocin on eye contact in common marmosets. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2017; 83:42-48. [PMID: 28586711 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2017] [Accepted: 05/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Eye tracking systems are used to investigate eyes position and gaze patterns presumed as eye contact in humans. Eye contact is a useful biomarker of social communication and known to be deficient in patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Interestingly, the same eye tracking systems have been used to directly compare face scanning patterns in some non-human primates to those in human. Thus, eye tracking is expected to be a useful translational technique for investigating not only social attention and visual interest, but also the effects of psychiatric drugs, such as oxytocin, a neuropeptide that regulates social behavior. In this study, we report on a newly established method for eye tracking in common marmosets as unique New World primates that, like humans, use eye contact as a mean of communication. Our investigation was aimed at characterizing these primates face scanning patterns and evaluating the effects of oxytocin on their eye contact behavior. We found that normal common marmosets spend more time viewing the eyes region in common marmoset's picture than the mouth region or a scrambled picture. In oxytocin experiment, the change in eyes/face ratio was significantly greater in the oxytocin group than in the vehicle group. Moreover, oxytocin-induced increase in the change in eyes/face ratio was completely blocked by the oxytocin receptor antagonist L-368,899. These results indicate that eye tracking in common marmosets may be useful for evaluating drug candidates targeting psychiatric conditions, especially ASDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manato Kotani
- Higher Brain Function Research, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Co., Ltd., 33-94 Enoki-cho, Suita, Osaka, 564-0053, Japan
| | - Kohei Shimono
- Molecular Pathophysiology Research, Drug Research Division, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Co., Ltd., 3-1-98 Kasugadenaka, Konohana-ku, Osaka, 554-0022, Japan
| | - Toshihiro Yoneyama
- Omics Group, Genomic Science Laboratories, Drug Research Division, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Co., Ltd., 3-1-98 Kasugadenaka, Konohana-ku, Osaka, 554-0022, Japan
| | - Tomokazu Nakako
- Higher Brain Function Research, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Co., Ltd., 33-94 Enoki-cho, Suita, Osaka, 564-0053, Japan
| | - Kenji Matsumoto
- Higher Brain Function Research, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Co., Ltd., 33-94 Enoki-cho, Suita, Osaka, 564-0053, Japan
| | - Yuji Ogi
- Higher Brain Function Research, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Co., Ltd., 33-94 Enoki-cho, Suita, Osaka, 564-0053, Japan
| | - Naho Konoike
- Department of Neuroscience, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan
| | - Katsuki Nakamura
- Department of Neuroscience, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan
| | - Kazuhito Ikeda
- Higher Brain Function Research, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Co., Ltd., 33-94 Enoki-cho, Suita, Osaka, 564-0053, Japan.
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Nishizato M, Fujisawa TX, Kosaka H, Tomoda A. Developmental changes in social attention and oxytocin levels in infants and children. Sci Rep 2017; 7:2540. [PMID: 28566712 PMCID: PMC5451468 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-02368-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2016] [Accepted: 04/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Oxytocin (OT) signalling represents one of the most critical systems involved in human social behaviour. Although several studies have examined the relationship between social functioning and peripheral OT levels, the association between OT and the development of social attention has not been well studied. Therefore, we investigated the developmental relationship between gaze fixation for social cues and OT levels during young childhood. We examined visual attention using an eye tracking system in infants and children (5-90 months of age) and measured the concentration of OT in saliva samples. We observed a negative association between age and both attention toward social cues and salivary OT levels, and a positive association between age and attention for non-social cues. We also observed that salivary OT levels were modulated by polymorphisms in oxytocin receptor (OXTR) rs53576. Our results suggest that there is an age-dependent association between visual attention for social cues and OT levels in infants and children, and that the development of visual attention to the eyes as social cues is associated with both OXTR polymorphisms and OT levels. Such findings indicate that OT and OXTR status may provide insight into the atypical development of social attention in infants and young children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minaho Nishizato
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, University of Fukui, Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193, Japan
| | - Takashi X Fujisawa
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, University of Fukui, Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193, Japan
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan
| | - Hirotaka Kosaka
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, University of Fukui, Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193, Japan
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan
| | - Akemi Tomoda
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, University of Fukui, Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193, Japan.
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan.
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36
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Relationship between Salivary Oxytocin Levels and Generosity in Preschoolers. Sci Rep 2016; 6:38662. [PMID: 27929138 PMCID: PMC5144141 DOI: 10.1038/srep38662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2015] [Accepted: 11/14/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
This study examined the association between salivary oxytocin (sOT) levels and generosity in preschoolers. Fifty preschoolers played two dictator games (DG) by deciding how to allocate 10 chocolates between themselves and another child, who was either from the same class as the participant (ingroup member), or an unknown child from another class (outgroup member). sOT levels were assessed in saliva collected from the children immediately prior to the DG tasks. While sOT levels were negatively associated with allocations made to both ingroup and outgroup members by boys, among girl sOT levels were positively related to allocations made to ingroup members, and unrelated to allocations made to outgroup members. These results suggest sex differences in the association between salivary oxytocin and generosity.
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Rutigliano G, Rocchetti M, Paloyelis Y, Gilleen J, Sardella A, Cappucciati M, Palombini E, Dell'Osso L, Caverzasi E, Politi P, McGuire P, Fusar-Poli P. Peripheral oxytocin and vasopressin: Biomarkers of psychiatric disorders? A comprehensive systematic review and preliminary meta-analysis. Psychiatry Res 2016; 241:207-20. [PMID: 27183106 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.04.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2015] [Revised: 04/28/2016] [Accepted: 04/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
A large array of studies have investigated peripheral oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (ADH) as potential biomarkers of psychiatric disorders, with highly conflicting and heterogenous findings. We searched Web of KnowledgeSM and Scopus® for English original articles investigating OT and/or ADH levels in different biological fluids (plasma/serum, saliva, urine and cerebrospinal fluid) across several psychiatric disorders. Sixty-four studies were included. We conducted 19 preliminary meta-analyses addressing OT alterations in plasma/serum, saliva, urine and cerebrospinal fluid of 7 psychiatric disorders and ADH alterations in plasma/serum, saliva, urine and cerebrospinal fluid of 6 psychiatric disorders compared to controls. Hedge's g was used as effect size measure, together with heterogeneity analyses, test of publication biases and quality control. None of them (except serum OT in anorexia nervosa) revealed significant differences. There is no convincing evidence that peripheral ADH or OT might be reliable biomarkers in psychiatric disorders. However, the lack of significant results was associated with high methodological heterogeneity, low quality of the studies, small sample size, and scarce reliability of the methods used in previous studies, which need to be validated and standardized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grazia Rutigliano
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO63, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK; Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Roma, 67-56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Matteo Rocchetti
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO63, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK; Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Yannis Paloyelis
- Neuroimaging Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO89, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK
| | - James Gilleen
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO63, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK; Department of Psychology, University of Roehampton, UK
| | - Alberto Sardella
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO63, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK
| | - Marco Cappucciati
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO63, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK; Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Erika Palombini
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO63, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK; Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Liliana Dell'Osso
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Roma, 67-56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Edgardo Caverzasi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Pierluigi Politi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Philip McGuire
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO63, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK
| | - Paolo Fusar-Poli
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO63, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK; OASIS clinic, SLaM NHS Foundation Trust, 190 Kennington Lane, SE11 5DL London, UK.
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Chita-Tegmark M. Attention Allocation in ASD: a Review and Meta-analysis of Eye-Tracking Studies. REVIEW JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s40489-016-0077-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Fujioka T, Inohara K, Okamoto Y, Masuya Y, Ishitobi M, Saito DN, Jung M, Arai S, Matsumura Y, Fujisawa TX, Narita K, Suzuki K, Tsuchiya KJ, Mori N, Katayama T, Sato M, Munesue T, Okazawa H, Tomoda A, Wada Y, Kosaka H. Gazefinder as a clinical supplementary tool for discriminating between autism spectrum disorder and typical development in male adolescents and adults. Mol Autism 2016; 7:19. [PMID: 27011784 PMCID: PMC4804639 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-016-0083-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2015] [Accepted: 03/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Gaze abnormality is a diagnostic criterion for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, few easy-to-use clinical tools exist to evaluate the unique eye-gaze patterns of ASD. Recently, we developed Gazefinder, an all-in-one eye-tracking system for early detection of ASD in toddlers. Because abnormal gaze patterns have been documented in various ASD age groups, we predicted that Gazefinder might also detect gaze abnormality in adolescents and adults. In this study, we tested whether Gazefinder could identify unique gaze patterns in adolescents and adults with ASD. Methods We measured the percentage of eye fixation time allocated to particular objects depicted in movies (i.e., eyes and mouth in human face movies, upright and inverted biological motion in movies that presented these stimuli simultaneously, and people and geometry in movies that presented these stimuli simultaneously) by male adolescents and adults with ASD (N = 26) and age-matched males with typical development (TD; N = 35). We compared these percentages between the two groups (ASD and TD) and with scores on the social responsiveness scale (SRS). Further, we conducted discriminant analyses to determine if fixation times allocated to particular objects could be used to discriminate between individuals with and without ASD. Results Compared with the TD group, the ASD group showed significantly less fixation time at locations of salient social information (i.e., eyes in the movie of human faces without lip movement and people in the movie of people and geometry), while there were no significant groupwise differences in the responses to movies of human faces with lip movement or biological motion. In a within-group correlation analysis, a few of the fixation-time items correlated with SRS, although most of them did not. No items significantly correlated with SRS in both ASD and TD groups. The percentage fixation times to eyes and people, which exhibited large effect sizes for the group difference, could differentiate ASD and TD with a sensitivity of 81.0 % and a specificity of 80.0 %. Conclusions These findings suggest that Gazefinder is potentially a valuable and easy-to-use tool for objectively measuring unique gaze patterns and discriminating between ASD and TD in male adolescents and adults. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13229-016-0083-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toru Fujioka
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan
| | - Keisuke Inohara
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Department of Informatics, Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, The University of Electro-Communications, Chofu, Tokyo, 182-8585 Japan
| | - Yuko Okamoto
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Masuya
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan
| | - Makoto Ishitobi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo, 187-8553 Japan
| | - Daisuke N Saito
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan ; Biomedical Imaging Research Center, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan
| | - Minyoung Jung
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan
| | - Sumiyoshi Arai
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan
| | - Yukiko Matsumura
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan
| | - Takashi X Fujisawa
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan
| | - Kosuke Narita
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511 Japan
| | - Katsuaki Suzuki
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan ; Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 431-3192 Japan ; Department of Psychiatry, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 431-3192 Japan
| | - Kenji J Tsuchiya
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan ; Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 431-3192 Japan ; Department of Psychiatry, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 431-3192 Japan
| | - Norio Mori
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan ; Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 431-3192 Japan ; Department of Psychiatry, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 431-3192 Japan
| | - Taiichi Katayama
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan
| | - Makoto Sato
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan ; Research Center for Children's Mental Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan ; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan
| | - Toshio Munesue
- Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan ; Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-8641 Japan
| | - Hidehiko Okazawa
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan ; Biomedical Imaging Research Center, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan
| | - Akemi Tomoda
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan
| | - Yuji Wada
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan
| | - Hirotaka Kosaka
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan
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Chita-Tegmark M. Social attention in ASD: A review and meta-analysis of eye-tracking studies. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2016; 48:79-93. [PMID: 26547134 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2015.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 203] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2015] [Revised: 09/29/2015] [Accepted: 10/19/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Determining whether social attention is reduced in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and what factors influence social attention is important to our theoretical understanding of developmental trajectories of ASD and to designing targeted interventions for ASD. This meta-analysis examines data from 38 articles that used eye-tracking methods to compare individuals with ASD and TD controls. In this paper, the impact of eight factors on the size of the effect for the difference in social attention between these two groups are evaluated: age, non-verbal IQ matching, verbal IQ matching, motion, social content, ecological validity, audio input and attention bids. Results show that individuals with ASD spend less time attending to social stimuli than typically developing (TD) controls, with a mean effect size of 0.55. Social attention in ASD was most impacted when stimuli had a high social content (showed more than one person). This meta-analysis provides an opportunity to survey the eye-tracking research on social attention in ASD and to outline potential future research directions, more specifically research of social attention in the context of stimuli with high social content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meia Chita-Tegmark
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, United States.
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Mizushima SG, Fujisawa TX, Takiguchi S, Kumazaki H, Tanaka S, Tomoda A. Effect of the Nature of Subsequent Environment on Oxytocin and Cortisol Secretion in Maltreated Children. Front Psychiatry 2015; 6:173. [PMID: 26696910 PMCID: PMC4677106 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2015] [Accepted: 11/26/2015] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Childhood maltreatment (CM), including abuse and neglect, is a crucial factor that distorts child development. CM is associated with alterations in numerous brain regions, and may be associated with hormonal dysregulation. This study aimed to investigate differences in secretion patterns of cortisol (CT) and oxytocin (OT) among children who experienced CM, children living in residential care facilities and in unstable environments. Among 38 maltreated children, 23 (mean age = 12.2 years, SD = 3.0) were categorized as "Settled" and 15 (mean age = 13.1 years, SD = 2.2) as "Unsettled." Twenty-six age- and gender-matched (mean age = 12.6 years, SD = 2.1), typically developing (TD) children were also included. Clinical and psychological assessments, including IQ and trauma evaluations, were conducted for all participants. Age, gender, and full-scale IQ were used as covariates in hormone analysis. Two saliva samples were collected, one on awakening and the other at bedtime. There were significant differences in the awakening CT levels of the "Unsettled" group, and in bedtime OT levels in the "Settled" group as compared with TD children, and between CM groups. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in trauma-symptomatic depression scores between the "Settled" and "Unsettled" CM group. These results suggest that CT diurnal secretions tend to be reactive to current stress rather than previous experience. OT diurnal secretions are presumably hyper-regulated for coping with the environment to survive and thrive. By measuring salivary CT/OT diurnal patterns, hormonal dysregulation of CM children living in "Settled" environments and "Unsettled" environments was indicated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sakae G. Mizushima
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Takashi X. Fujisawa
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | | | - Hirokazu Kumazaki
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Shiho Tanaka
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Akemi Tomoda
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
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Takagai S, Tsuchiya KJ, Itoh H, Kanayama N, Mori N, Takei N. Cohort Profile: Hamamatsu Birth Cohort for Mothers and Children (HBC Study). Int J Epidemiol 2015; 45:333-42. [DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyv290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Tsuji S, Yuhi T, Furuhara K, Ohta S, Shimizu Y, Higashida H. Salivary oxytocin concentrations in seven boys with autism spectrum disorder received massage from their mothers: a pilot study. Front Psychiatry 2015; 6:58. [PMID: 25954210 PMCID: PMC4404976 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2015] [Accepted: 04/05/2015] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Seven male children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), aged 8-12 years, attending special education classrooms for ASD and disabled children, were assigned to receive touch therapy. Their mothers were instructed to provide gentle touch in the massage style of the International Liddle Kidz Association. The mothers gave massages to their child for 20 min every day over a period of 3 months, followed by no massage for 4 months. To assess the biological effects of such touch therapy, saliva was collected before and 20 min after a single session of massage for 20 min from the children and mothers every 3 weeks during the massage period and every 4 weeks during the non-massage period, when they visited a community meeting room. Salivary oxytocin levels were measured using an enzyme immunoassay kit. During the period of massage therapy, the children and mothers exhibited higher oxytocin concentrations compared to those during the non-massage period. The changes in oxytocin levels before and after a single massage session were not significantly changed in children and mothers. The results suggested that the ASD children (massage receivers) and their mothers (massage givers) show touch therapy-dependent changes in salivary oxytocin concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuji Tsuji
- Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Psychological Science, Tezukayama University , Nara , Japan
| | - Teruko Yuhi
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University , Kanazawa , Japan
| | - Kazumi Furuhara
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University , Kanazawa , Japan
| | - Shogo Ohta
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University , Kanazawa , Japan
| | - Yuto Shimizu
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University , Kanazawa , Japan
| | - Haruhiro Higashida
- Department of Basic Research on Social Recognition, Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University , Kanazawa , Japan
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Miller TV, Caldwell HK. Oxytocin during Development: Possible Organizational Effects on Behavior. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2015; 6:76. [PMID: 26042087 PMCID: PMC4437049 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2015.00076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2014] [Accepted: 04/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Oxytocin (Oxt) is a neurohormone known for its physiological roles associated with lactation and parturition in mammals. Oxt can also profoundly influence mammalian social behaviors such as affiliative, parental, and aggressive behaviors. While the acute effects of Oxt signaling on adult behavior have been heavily researched in many species, including humans, the developmental effects of Oxt on the brain and behavior are just beginning to be explored. There is evidence that Oxt in early postnatal and peripubertal development, and perhaps during prenatal life, affects adult behavior by altering neural structure and function. However, the specific mechanisms by which this occurs remain unknown. Thus, this review will detail what is known about how developmental Oxt impacts behavior as well as explore the specific neurochemicals and neural substrates that are important to these behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Travis V. Miller
- Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology and Behavior, Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Heather K. Caldwell
- Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology and Behavior, Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
- *Correspondence: Heather K. Caldwell, Kent State University, PO Box 5190, 121 Cunningham Hall, Kent, OH 44242, USA,
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