Associations Between Autism Spectrum Quotient and Integration of Visual Stimuli in 9-year-old Children: Preliminary Evidence of Sex Differences

PURPOSE

The dorsal stream vulnerability hypothesis posits that the dorsal stream, responsible for visual motion and visuo-motor processing, may be particularly vulnerable during neurodevelopment. Consistent with this, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been associated with deficits in global motion integration, though deficits in ventral stream tasks, such as form identification, have also been reported. In the current study, we examined whether a similar pattern of results is found in a cohort of 381 children born with neurodevelopmental risk factors and exhibiting a wide spectrum of caregiver-reported autistic traits.

METHODS

We examined the associations between global motion perception, global form perception, fine motor function, visual-motor integration, and autistic traits (autism spectrum quotient, AQ) using linear regression, accounting for possible interactions with sex and other factors relevant to neurodevelopment.

RESULTS

All assessments of dorsal stream function were significantly associated with AQ such that worse performance predicted higher AQ scores. We also observed a significant sex interaction, with worse global form perception associated with higher AQ in boys (n = 202) but not girls (n = 179).

CONCLUSION

We found widespread associations between dorsal stream functions and autistic traits. These associations were observed in a large group of children with a range of AQ scores, demonstrating a range of visual function across the full spectrum of autistic traits. In addition, ventral function was associated with AQ in boys but not girls. Sex differences in the associations between visual processing and neurodevelopment should be considered in the designs of future studies.

Autism traits dimensionality and multivariate relationship with alexithymia and anxiety in the general population

BACKGROUND

Autism is characterized by social and non-social alterations observed beyond the clinical diagnosis. Research analyzing the expression of autism traits in the general population helps to unravel the relationship between autism dimensions and other associated variables, such as alexithymia and anxiety. The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) was developed to assess autism traits in the general population; however, inconsistent results regarding its dimensionality have emerged.

AIMS

This study aimed to extend evidence about the AQ measurement model, and explore the multivariate relationship between autism traits, alexithymia, and trait anxiety.

METHODS

292 adults of the general population were recruited. An Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were performed to assess the factorial structure of AQ. A path analysis was carried out to explore the relationship between autism traits, alexithymia, and trait anxiety.

RESULTS

The results supported a three-factor model of AQ. The path analysis model showed evidence of a significant role of alexithymia as a mediator of the relationship between autism traits and anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The present study provides empirical support for a three-factor model of AQ in the general population. The association between autism traits, alexithymia, and anxiety dimensions highlights the multidimensional nature of these variables and the need to account for their distinct impact on autism-related variables.

Development of the Signposting Questionnaire for Autism (SQ-A): measurement comparison with the 10-item Autism Spectrum Quotient-Child and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in the UK and Latvia

Background

Recognising the signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be a challenge for frontline professionals. The use of brief parent-completed questionnaires for recording the signs of ASD in school-aged children may be an important and efficient contributor to professional insight. However, to date, such questionnaires have not been designed to be used in coordination with current standardised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) diagnostic tools. Furthermore, the measurement characteristics of such questionnaires have been unexplored across countries that differ in levels of national autism service provision and cultural interpretation of the signs of ASD.

Methods

A new 14-item questionnaire (Signposting Questionnaire for Autism (SQ-A)) was developed using published DSM-5 items from a clinical interview, the Diagnostic Interview for Social Communication Disorders (DISCO). Measurement comparison was tested with the Short Autism Spectrum Quotient-Child (AQ-10) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Parents of 4–11-year-old children in the UK (N = 200) and Latvia (N = 104) completed all three questionnaires. Information on clinical diagnosis provided by parents led to classification into three groups: ASD diagnosis, other conditions and no conditions. In the UK, a subsample of teachers also provided cross-informant reliability.

Results

In both countries, there was evidence of acceptable to good internal consistency for the SQ-A, with significantly higher scores for the ASD group and evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. There was also good parent-teacher reliability for the three measures. Notably, the questionnaires designed specifically to measure autism (SQ-A, AQ-10) performed more similarly to one another compared to the broader SDQ, with differences found for the ASD group. The overall pattern of responding to the three questionnaires was highly similar between countries.

Conclusions

These results indicate the potential of the 14-item SQ-A to guide frontline professionals in the recognition of the signs of autism in children, facilitating the provision of appropriate support.

Negatively phrased items of the Autism Spectrum Quotient function differently for groups with and without autism

The Autism Spectrum Quotient is a widely used instrument for the detection of autistic traits. However, the validity of comparisons of Autism Spectrum Quotient scores between groups may be threatened by differential item functioning. Differential item functioning entails a bias in items, where participants with equal values of the latent trait give different answers because of their group membership. In this article, items of the Autism Spectrum Quotient were studied for differential item functioning between different groups within a single sample (N = 408). Three analyses were conducted. First, using a Rasch mixture model, two latent groups were detected that show differential item functioning. Second, using a Rasch regression tree model, four groups were found that show differential item functioning: men without autism, women without autism, people 50 years and younger with autism, and people older than 50 years with autism. Third, using traditional methods, differential item functioning was detected between groups with and without autism. Therefore, group comparisons with the Autism Spectrum Quotient are at risk of being affected by bias. Eight items emerged that consistently show differences in response tendencies between groups across analyses, and these items were generally negatively phrased. Two often-used short forms of the Autism Spectrum Quotient, the AQ-28 and AQ-10, may be more suitable for group comparisons.

Empathy, Autistic Tendencies, and Systemizing Tendencies-Relationships Between Standard Self-Report Measures

The aim of the present study was to investigate associations between four highly used self-report measures assessing empathy (measured as both a unidimensional and multidimensional construct), autistic tendencies, and systemizing tendencies. Participants in this study completed the following self-report measures: The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Empathy Quotient (EQ) to measure empathy, and the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and the Systemizing Quotient-Revised (SQ-R) to assess autistic and systemizing tendencies, respectively. The final sample consisted of N = 1,098 participants (304 males) without a diagnosed autism spectrum disorder, most of whom were university students. The IRI scale "Perspective Taking" and the EQ were negatively related to the AQ in male and female participants, while the IRI scale "Empathic Concern" was negatively related to the AQ in females only. Moreover, the AQ was positively related to the SQ-R in females only. Lastly, the SQ-R and a number of the empathy scales were significantly associated: For example and surprisingly, the EQ correlated weakly and positively with the SQ-R in both male and female participants. The results from this study illustrate how standard self-report measures of empathy, autistic tendencies, and systemizing tendencies are associated with each other in a large sample not diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Additionally, some potential gender-specific effects are revealed.

Exploring Traits of Autism and Their Impact on Functional Disability in Children with Somatic Symptom Disorder

Subclinical traits of autism were measured in children with somatic symptom disorder (SSD, n = 28) and compared with age-matched controls (n = 26) using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) children's version. The KINDL^R quality of life questionnaire was used to assess functional disability. Although there was no significant group difference in total traits of autism, SSD group had significantly greater difficulty in attention switching domain. Logistic regression analysis confirmed attention switching and age were associated with increased likelihood of SSD. In SSD group, difficulty in attention switching significantly negatively correlated with total, family, and friends quality of life scores. In conclusion, assessment and treatment targeting difficulties in attention switching could be useful when dealing with children with SSD.

Brief Report: The Go/No-Go Task Online: Inhibitory Control Deficits in Autism in a Large Sample

Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC, also referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorders) entail difficulties with inhibition: inhibiting action, inhibiting one's own point of view, and inhibiting distractions that may interfere with a response set. However, the association between inhibitory control (IC) and ASC, especially in adulthood, is unclear. The current study measured IC, using the Go/No-Go task online, in a large adult sample of 201 people with ASC and 240 controls. Number of both False Alarm and False Positive responses were significantly associated with autistic traits and diagnostic status, separately, but not jointly. These findings suggest that deficits in inhibition are associated with ASC. Future studies need to investigate the role of inhibition in ASC in everyday difficulties.

Brief Report: Discrimination of Foreign Speech Pitch and Autistic Traits in Non-Clinical Population

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) are widely suggested to show enhanced perceptual discrimination but inconsistent findings have been reported for pitch discrimination. Given the high variability in ASC, this study investigated whether ASC traits were correlated with pitch discrimination in an undergraduate sample when musical and language experiences were taken into consideration. Results indicated that the social skills subscale of the Autism Spectrum Quotient was associated with foreign speech pitch discrimination, suggesting that individuals who were less sociable and socially skillful were less able to discriminate foreign speech pitch. Current findings have an implication in investigating individual differences in ASC and further investigation is needed for spelling out the relationship between the non-social and social aspects of ASC.

The relationship between level of autistic traits and local bias in the context of the McGurk effect

The McGurk effect is a well-known illustration that demonstrates the influence of visual information on hearing in the context of speech perception. Some studies have reported that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display abnormal processing of audio-visual speech integration, while other studies showed contradictory results. Based on the dimensional model of ASD, we administered two analog studies to examine the link between level of autistic traits, as assessed by the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), and the McGurk effect among a sample of university students. In the first experiment, we found that autistic traits correlated negatively with fused (McGurk) responses. Then, we manipulated presentation types of visual stimuli to examine whether the local bias toward visual speech cues modulated individual differences in the McGurk effect. The presentation included four types of visual images, comprising no image, mouth only, mouth and eyes, and full face. The results revealed that global facial information facilitates the influence of visual speech cues on McGurk stimuli. Moreover, individual differences between groups with low and high levels of autistic traits appeared when the full-face visual speech cue with an incongruent voice condition was presented. These results suggest that individual differences in the McGurk effect might be due to a weak ability to process global facial information in individuals with high levels of autistic traits.

Neural activity in the posterior superior temporal region during eye contact perception correlates with autistic traits

The present study investigated the relationship between neural activity associated with gaze processing and autistic traits in typically developed subjects using magnetoencephalography. Autistic traits in 24 typically developed college students with normal intelligence were assessed using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). The Minimum Current Estimates method was applied to estimate the cortical sources of magnetic responses to gaze stimuli. These stimuli consisted of apparent motion of the eyes, displaying direct or averted gaze motion. Results revealed gaze-related brain activations in the 150-250 ms time window in the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), and in the 150-450 ms time window in medial prefrontal regions. In addition, the mean amplitude in the 150-250 ms time window in the right pSTS region was modulated by gaze direction, and its activity in response to direct gaze stimuli correlated with AQ score. pSTS activation in response to direct gaze is thought to be related to higher-order social processes. Thus, these results suggest that brain activity linking eye contact and social signals is associated with autistic traits in a typical population.