Validation of the Tunisian Test for Facial Emotions Recognition: Study in Children From 7 to 12 Years Old

A bibliometric analysis of autism spectrum disorder signaling pathways research in the past decade

Background

This study employs bibliometric methods to comprehensively understand the fundamental structure of research about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Signaling Pathways by examining key indicators such as nations, institutions, journals, authors, and keywords.

Methodology

We utilized the WoScc database to retrieve literature relevant to ASD Signaling Pathways published between 2013 and 2023. Through visual analysis and tools like CiteSpace and VosViewer, we explored nations, institutions, journals, authors, and keywords, thereby constructing relevant networks.

Results

26 The study encompasses 1,396 articles, revealing a consistent increase in publications. The United States, China, and Germany are leading nations in this literature. Regarding research institutions, the University of California system and Eric Klann have garnered significant attention due to their substantial contributions to the field of ASD Signaling Pathways. Most relevant research is published in the journal "Molecular Autism." Research interests are concentrated across various themes, including "elevating neuronal β-catenin levels," "Tunisian children," "Fmr1 knockout (KO) mice," "de novo mutations," "autistic children," "local translation," "propionic acid-induced mouse models," "neurosystems," "glucose metabolism," and "neuronal migration." Future research may emphasize exploring aspects such as gut microbiota, genes, stress, maternal immune activation, memory, and neurodevelopmental disorders of ASD.

Conclusion

This study, through bibliometric analysis of key indicators such as nations, institutions, journals, authors, and keywords, provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of research on ASD Signaling Pathways. These investigations predominantly focus on molecular mechanisms, animal model studies, population-based research, and the structure and function of neurosystems. Future research directions are also clearly proposed. First, in-depth research on the genes and neurodevelopmental disorders associated with ASD will continue to reveal the genetic basis and provide support for precise treatments. At the same time, attention to the gut microbiota will help explore its association with ASD, which may provide clues for new treatments. In addition, the relationship between stress and ASD will become the focus of research to understand better the emotional and behavioral characteristics of ASD patients in stressful situations. Maternal immune activation will also be further studied to explore how environmental factors influence the risk and development of ASD. Finally, a deeper understanding of the cognitive functions of patients with ASD, especially memory and learning, will help develop individualized treatment strategies to improve patients' quality of life. These directions will work together and are expected to provide a more comprehensive understanding of Signaling Pathways research in ASD and provide new ideas and opportunities for future intervention and treatment.

Assessing the construct validity of a theory of mind battery adapted to Tunisian school-aged children

Background

Theory of mind (ToM) refers to the ability to understand others' states of mind, desires, emotions, beliefs, and intentions to predict the content of their mental representations. Two major dimensions within ToM have been studied. The first is the type of inferred mental state, which can be cognitive or affective. The second comprises the types of processes involved according to their degree of complexity (first- and second-order false belief and advanced ToM). ToM acquisition is fundamental-a key component in the development of everyday human social interactions. ToM deficits have been reported in various neurodevelopmental disorders through various tools assessing disparate facets of social cognition. Nevertheless, Tunisian practitioners and researchers lack a linguistically and culturally appropriate psychometric tool for ToM assessment among school-aged children.

Objective

To assess the construct validity of a translated and adapted French ToM Battery for Arabic-speaking Tunisian school-aged children.

Methods

The focal ToM Battery was designed with neuropsychological and neurodevelopmental theory and composed of 10 subtests distributed evenly in three parts: Pre-conceptual, cognitive, and affective ToM. Translated and adapted to the Tunisian sociocultural context, this ToM battery was individually administered to 179 neurotypical Tunisian children (90 girls and 89 boys) aged 7-12 years.

Results

After controlling for the age effect, construct validity was empirically confirmed on two dimensions (cognitive and affective) via structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis, demonstrating that this solution has a good fit. The results confirmed that the age affected differentially the performance obtained on ToM tasks based on the two components of the battery.

Conclusion

Our findings confirm that the Tunisian version of the ToM Battery has robust construct validity for the assessment of cognitive and affective ToM in Tunisian school-aged children; hence, it could be adopted in clinical and research settings.

Validation of the Tunisian Empathy Scale for Children (TESC) in General Population and Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

BACKGROUND

Several empathy assessment tests have been proposed worldwide but none of them took into account cultural variations that seem to affect empathic manifestations. The aim of this study was to create and validate an empathy assessment questionnaire for school-aged Tunisian children entitled "Tunisian Empathy Scale for Children" (TESC).

METHODS

An evaluative cross-sectional study was conducted. The questionnaire was administered to parents of 197 neuro-typical children and 31 children with autism without associated intellectual deficits, aged between 7 and 12 years. Validation steps included: face validity, content validity, construct validity, and reliability study. A ROC curve analysis was used to investigate the diagnostic performance of the TESC.

RESULTS

Face validity was verified with an expert panel. Content validity was examined, and 11 items were removed as irrelevant or not assessable by parents. Exploratory factor analysis extracted four domains that explained 43% of the total variance. All these domains were significantly correlated with the total score (p < 10^-3) and are, respectively: empathic behaviors, affective empathy, cognitive empathy, and a combined affective and cognitive domain. The reliability study showed a satisfactory level of internal consistency of the TESC, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.615.The diagnostic performance of the TESC in relation to autism was evaluated by the ROC curve with a sensitivity and specificity of 84.3 and 62.1%, respectively, for a total score of 16.

CONCLUSION

A 15-item questionnaire assessing empathy in a multidimensional and culturally adapted way was obtained. The psychometric qualities of the TESC were satisfactory.