Perceptions of social and work functioning are related to social anxiety and executive function in autistic adults

LAY ABSTRACT

Many autistic adults have trouble in social situations and at work. Researchers do not know exactly why autistic people might find it difficult in these environments, and no studies to date have looked the way anxiety or other cognitive processes might affect autistic peoples' ability to socialise and succeed in getting and keeping jobs. Anxiety (how much you worry) and difficulty with getting stuff done or switching attention (known as executive function) can be concerns for autistic people and may contribute to social and work difficulties. This study looked at the relationships between the way autistic people perceived their anxiety and executive functioning and their ability to socialise and work. Sixty-two autistic participants completed questionnaires related to their ability to socialise and work, their social anxiety and their executive function. We found that participants who thought that they had poorer ability to work also found themselves to have more difficulties with executive function and they were more socially anxious. Our results showed that how autistic participants perceived their social anxiety and executive function were important in their perception of their social skills and work ability. This study supports the idea that anxiety and executive function could be targeted in interventions to support autistic people and their social and work outcomes.

Transfer of bupivacaine, lignocaine and pethidine across the rabbit placenta: influence of maternal protein binding and fetal flow

The rabbit placenta perfused in itu was used to investigate the factors determining the placental transfer of drugs used in labour. Each doe was given an intravenous infusion of pethidine, lignocaine, bupivacaine and antipyrine concurrently, and the umbilical circulation was artificially perfused with Mammalian Krebs' bicarbonate buffer. The umbilical flow rate was varied between 0.25 and 4.0 ml/min. Drugs were analysed in maternal plasma and umbilical effluent by gas liquid chromatography . Maternal protein binding and lipid solubilities were also determined, and were high for bupivacaine, low for antipyrine and intermediate for pethidine and lignocaine. The Cuv /Cma (mean +/- s.e.) at 1.0 ml/min for antipyrine was 0.74 +/- 0.036; for pethidine, 0.64 +/- 0.04; for lignocaine, 0.5 +/- 0.026; and for bupivacaine 0.072 +/- 0.006. This is the same rank order as is observed for the drugs in humans. The placental clearance increased with flow rates up to 2.0 ml/min for antipyrine and up to 4.0 ml/min and probably more for pethidine, lignocaine and bupivacaine. Transfer rate is therefore reduced by maternal protein binding, is flow-dependent at low flows, and permeability-dependent at high flows for the less lipid-soluble compounds.