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Day TC, Malik I, Boateng S, Hauschild KM, Lerner MD. Vocal Emotion Recognition in Autism: Behavioral Performance and Event-Related Potential (ERP) Response. J Autism Dev Disord 2024; 54:1235-1248. [PMID: 36694007 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-023-05898-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Autistic youth display difficulties in emotion recognition, yet little research has examined behavioral and neural indices of vocal emotion recognition (VER). The current study examines behavioral and event-related potential (N100, P200, Late Positive Potential [LPP]) indices of VER in autistic and non-autistic youth. Participants (N = 164) completed an emotion recognition task, the Diagnostic Analyses of Nonverbal Accuracy (DANVA-2) which included VER, during EEG recording. The LPP amplitude was larger in response to high intensity VER, and social cognition predicted VER errors. Verbal IQ, not autism, was related to VER errors. An interaction between VER intensity and social communication impairments revealed these impairments were related to larger LPP amplitudes during low intensity VER. Taken together, differences in VER may be due to higher order cognitive processes, not basic, early perception (N100, P200), and verbal cognitive abilities may underlie behavioral, yet occlude neural, differences in VER processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Talena C Day
- Psychology Department, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, Psychology B-354, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-2500, USA
| | - Isha Malik
- Psychology Department, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, Psychology B-354, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-2500, USA
| | - Sydney Boateng
- Psychology Department, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, Psychology B-354, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-2500, USA
| | | | - Matthew D Lerner
- Psychology Department, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, Psychology B-354, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-2500, USA.
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McKenney EE, Richards JK, Day TC, Brunwasser SM, Cucchiara CL, Kofner B, McDonald RG, Gillespie-Lynch K, Lamm J, Kang E, Lerner MD, Gotham KO. Satisfaction with social connectedness is associated with depression and anxiety symptoms in neurodiverse first-semester college students. Autism 2024:13623613231216879. [PMID: 38380636 DOI: 10.1177/13623613231216879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
LAY ABSTRACT How satisfied people feel with their social connections and support is related to mental health outcomes for many different types of people. People may feel less socially connected at some times in their life-like when they start college. Feeling disconnected from others could lead to depression or anxiety. The transition to college may be especially difficult for autistic students as they are more likely to have difficulties adjusting socially. In our study, we asked 263 college students to answer questions about their emotions and social satisfaction twice per week during their first semester of college. We found that students who reported being less satisfied with their social connectedness (either at the beginning or throughout the semester) tended to express more symptoms of depression and anxiety. This relationship between social satisfaction and anxiety was even stronger for people who had a strong desire for social interaction (i.e. were more socially motivated). Students with more autistic traits tended to report more mood concerns, and they also reported being less satisfied with friendships at the beginning of the semester. This information may help to support ongoing efforts to better address mental health in autistic college students by encouraging efforts to improve social satisfaction.
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McKenney EE, Brunwasser SM, Richards JK, Day TC, Kofner B, McDonald RG, Williams ZJ, Gillespie-Lynch K, Kang E, Lerner MD, Gotham KO. Repetitive Negative Thinking As a Transdiagnostic Prospective Predictor of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Neurodiverse First-Semester College Students. Autism Adulthood 2023; 5:374-388. [PMID: 38116057 PMCID: PMC10726187 DOI: 10.1089/aut.2022.0078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
Background Improving the understanding and treatment of mental health concerns, including depression and anxiety, are significant priorities for autistic adults. While several theories have been proposed to explain the high prevalence of internalizing symptoms in autistic populations, little longitudinal research has been done to investigate potential causal mechanisms. Additional research is needed to explore how proposed contributors to depression from general population research predict and/or moderate the development of internalizing symptoms in autistic individuals. In this study, we investigated the relation of one established risk factor, repetitive negative thinking (RNT), to internalizing symptoms over the course of college students' first semester, additionally examining whether this association is moderated by a measure of autistic traits. Methods Students were recruited from 4 northeastern U.S. universities: 144 participating students included 97 nonautistic students and 47 participants who either reported a formal autism diagnosis (n = 15) or endorsed a history of self and/or others thinking that they may be autistic (n = 32). Participants completed a baseline survey battery within their first 2 weeks of starting college, a brief biweekly survey throughout their first semester (up to 24 times across 12 weeks), and an endpoint packet. Results Elevated trait-like RNT at baseline was prospectively associated with biweekly ratings of depression and anxiety symptoms across the semester. In addition, greater RNT was synchronously related to elevated sadness, anhedonia, and anxiety throughout the semester. Contrary to hypotheses, a shorter term predictive relationship between RNT at one timepoint and mood symptoms at the next was largely unsupported. While these patterns were observed across neurotypes, students with higher self-reported autistic traits were more likely to experience RNT, as well as depressive and anxiety symptoms. Conclusions These preliminary findings highlight RNT as a specific mechanism that may be a useful prevention and/or intervention target toward reducing the elevated depression and anxiety rates in the autistic community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin E. McKenney
- Department of Psychology, Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey, USA
| | | | - Jared K. Richards
- Department of Psychology, Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey, USA
| | - Talena C. Day
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
| | - Bella Kofner
- Department of Psychology, College of Staten Island, Staten Island, New York, USA
| | - Rachel G. McDonald
- Department of Psychology, Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey, USA
| | - Zachary J. Williams
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, and Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | | | - Erin Kang
- Department of Psychology, Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey, USA
| | - Matthew D. Lerner
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
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Day TC, Gerber A, McNair ML, Reicher D, Lerner MD. Trajectories of internalizing symptoms among autistic and nonautistic youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Autism Res 2023; 16:1403-1412. [PMID: 37222243 PMCID: PMC10524859 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic elicited increases in anxiety and depression in youth, and youth on the autism spectrum demonstrate elevations in such symptoms pre-pandemic. However, it is unclear whether autistic youth experienced similar increases in internalizing symptoms after the COVID-19 pandemic onset or whether decreases in these symptoms were present, as speculated in qualitative work. In the current study, longitudinal changes in anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in autistic youth were assessed in comparison to nonautistic youth. A well-characterized sample of 51 autistic and 25 nonautistic youth (ageM = 12.8, range = 8.5-17.4 years, IQ > 70) and their parents completed the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS), a measure of internalizing symptoms, repeatedly, representing up to 7 measurement occasions from June to December 2020 (N ~ 419 occasions). Multilevel models were used to evaluate changes in internalizing symptoms over time. Internalizing symptoms did not differ between autistic and nonautistic youth in the summer of 2020. As reported by youth themselves, internalizing symptoms decreased in autistic youth, both overall and compared to nonautstic peers. This effect was driven by decreases in generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and depression symptoms in autistic youth. Reductions in generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and depression in autistic youth may be due to COVID-19 pandemic-specific differences in response to social, environmental, and contextual changes that unfolded in 2020. This highlights the importance of understanding unique protective and resilience factors that may be evident in autistic individuals in response to broad societal shifts such as those seen in response to COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Talena C. Day
- Psychology Department, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
| | - Alan Gerber
- Psychology Department, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
| | | | - Debra Reicher
- Psychiatry Department, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew D Lerner
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, N.Y
| | - Talena C Day
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, N.Y
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Keifer CM, Day TC, Hauschild KM, Lerner MD. Social and Nonsocial Reward Anticipation in Typical Development and Autism Spectrum Disorders: Current Status and Future Directions. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2021; 23:32. [PMID: 33851268 DOI: 10.1007/s11920-021-01247-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW While there has been sustained interest in understanding the role of reward processing in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), researchers are just beginning to focus on the anticipation phase of reward processing in this population. This review aimed to briefly summarize recent advancements in functional imaging studies of anticipatory social and nonsocial reward processing in individuals with and without ASD and provide suggestions for avenues of future research. RECENT FINDINGS Reward salience and activation of the complex network of brain regions supporting reward anticipation vary across development and by important demographic characteristics, such as sex assigned at birth. Current research comparing social and nonsocial reward anticipation may possess confounds related to the mismatch in tangibility and salience of social and nonsocial experimental stimuli. Growing evidence suggests individuals with ASD demonstrate aberrant generalized reward anticipation that is not specific to social reward. Future research should carefully match social and nonsocial reward stimuli and consider employing a longitudinal design to disentangle the complex processes contributing to the development of reward anticipation. It may be useful to conceptualize differences in reward anticipation as a transdiagnostic factor, rather than an ASD-specific deficit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cara M Keifer
- Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA. .,Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
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Abstract
In adults with autism spectrum disorder, co-occurring psychiatric conditions are prevalent, and depression is one of the most common co-occurring disorders. This study examined the relationship between depression and cognitive ability, autism symptom severity, and self-reported social impairments in autism spectrum disorder. A total of 33 adults with autism spectrum disorder and 28 adults with typical development completed a standardized psychiatric interview, cognitive test, measure of clinician-rated autism symptom severity, and self-report of social impairments. Nine participants with autism spectrum disorder (27%) met the criteria for a depressive disorder (autism spectrum disorder + depressive disorder). Relatively more females with autism spectrum disorder had a co-occurring depressive disorder. The typical development group had a higher intelligence quotient than the autism spectrum disorder group, but the autism spectrum disorder + depressive disorder group did not differ from the typical development or autism spectrum disorder group. While the autism spectrum disorder + depressive disorder group had lower clinician-rated autism symptom severity than the autism spectrum disorder group, the autism spectrum disorder + depressive disorder group reported more social impairments than the autism spectrum disorder group. Self-reported social impairments predicted depression in adults with autism spectrum disorder when accounting for symptom severity and cognitive ability. These findings suggest that more self-perceived social impairments are related to depressive disorders in autism spectrum disorder, and may help clinicians identify individuals who are vulnerable in developing a co-occurring depressive disorder. Future directions include follow-up studies with larger cohorts and longitudinal designs to support inferences regarding directionality of these relationships.
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Cagnoni PJ, Matthes S, Day TC, Bearman SI, Shpall EJ, Jones RB. Modification of the pharmacokinetics of high-dose cyclophosphamide and cisplatin by antiemetics. Bone Marrow Transplant 1999; 24:1-4. [PMID: 10435726 DOI: 10.1038/sj.bmt.1701832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Interpatient variability in exposure to certain chemotherapy agents can influence patient outcome, particularly with high-dose chemotherapy. We evaluated the possibility of a pharmacokinetic (PK) drug-drug interaction between the antiemetic agents and high-dose cyclophosphamide, cisplatin and BCNU (CPA/cDDP/BCNU). Twenty-three self-selected patients treated with high-dose CPA/cDDP/BCNU followed by autologous hematopoietic progenitor cell support (AHPCS) received ondansetron, lorazepam and diphenhydramine as antiemetics. PK parameters for each chemotherapeutic drug in the regimen were compared with those of 129 patients who received exactly the same chemotherapy but an antiemetic regimen substituting prochlorperazine for ondansetron. In addition, we performed a review of the English literature for reported drug-drug interactions between antiemetics and chemotherapy agents that led to modifications in any PK parameters of the chemotherapy agent. Our retrospective study showed that the mean area under the curve (AUC) for both cyclophosphamide (76,600 vs 90,600 microg/ml/min, P=0.001) and cisplatin (525 vs 648 microg/ml/min, P = 0.01) were significantly lower in the ondansetron group when compared with the prochlorperazine group. The AUC for BCNU was not significantly different in both groups (544 vs 677, P = 0.43). We found only one report of modifications of the PK parameters of high-dose chemotherapy agents due to drug-drug interactions with the most commonly used antiemetics in a review of the English literature between 1966 and 1995. We concluded that the AUC of high-dose cyclophosphamide and cisplatin are significantly lower when ondansetron, as opposed to prochlorperazine, is used as the antiemetic. The small sample size and heterogeneity of this group of patients precludes any outcome analysis of pharmacodynamic endpoints such as toxicity or antitumor effect. Nevertheless, the potential for interactions between antiemetics and chemotherapy agents should be taken into account when using different high-dose chemotherapy regimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- P J Cagnoni
- University of Colorado Bone Marrow Transplant Program, University of Colorado Cancer Center, Denver, USA
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