Embedded research approaches to address the needs of the increasing, aging autistic population

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 100517
Author(s):  
Lindsay Shea ◽  
Stacy Nonnemacher
Keyword(s):  
Autistic Population

Novel FRAMESHIFT mutation in INDIAN autistic population causes NEUROLIGIN and NEUREXIN binding defect

Gene Reports ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 101245
Author(s):  
Rajat Hegde ◽  
Smita Hegde ◽  
Suyamindra S. Kulkarni ◽  
Aditya Pandurangi ◽  
Pramod B. Gai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Frameshift Mutation ◽  
Autistic Population

scholarly journals Genetic Analysis of Neuroligin 4Y Gene in Autism Population of India

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajat Hegde ◽  
Smita Hegde ◽  
Suyamindra S. Kulkarni ◽  
Aditya Pandurangi ◽  
Pramod B. Gai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Analysis ◽  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Missense Mutation ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Original Structure ◽  
Male Predominance ◽  
Local Configuration ◽  
Autistic Population

Abstract Background Autism is one of the most complex, heterogeneous neurological disorders. It is characterized mainly by abnormal communication, impaired social interaction, and restricted behaviors. Prevalence of autism is not clear in Indian population. Aim The present study hypothesizes that Y chromosome plays role in sex bias of autism in Indian autistic population. To investigate our hypothesis, we underwent genetic analysis of neuroligin 4Y [NLGN4Y] gene by sequencing 85 male autistic children after screening large population of 1,870 mentally ill children from North Karnataka region of India. Result Detailed sequencing of the single targeted gene revealed nine variants including, one novel missense mutation and eight synonymous variants; this accounts for 88.9% of synonymous variants. A single novel missense mutation is predicted to be nonpathogenic on the functions of neuroligin4Y protein but it slightly affects the local configuration by altering the original structure of a protein by changing charge and size of amino acid. Conclusion Probably NLGN4Y gene may not be the risk factor for autism in male children in Indian autistic population. Functional analysis was an important limitation of our study. Therefore, detailed functional analysis is necessary to determine the exact role of novel missense mutation of neuroligin 4Y [NLGN4Y] gene especially in the male predominance of autism in Indian autistic population.

Autism and virtual reality head-mounted displays: a state of the art systematic review

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 101-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Bradley ◽  
Nigel Newbutt
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Application Technology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Head Mounted Displays ◽  
Autistic Population

Purpose The use of virtual reality (VR) technologies in the education of autistic children has been a focus of research for over two decades. It is argued that this form of technology can provide authentic “real world” contexts that target social and life skills training in safe, controllable and repeatable virtual environments. The development of affordable VR head-mounted displays (HMD), such as Google cardboard and Oculus Rift, has seen a renewed interest in their use for a wide range of applications, including the education of autistic individuals. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach A systematic search of electronic databases focussing on empirical studies on the use of VR-HMD for children and adults on the autism spectrum was undertaken. Findings A review of the literature identified a limited number of studies in this field characterised by differences in the type of application, technology used and participant characteristics. Research limitations/implications Whilst there are some grounds for optimism, more research is needed on the use of this technology within educational settings to ensure robust recommendations can be made on the implementation, use and sustainability of this approach. Originality/value This paper is the first to consider the evidence base for the use of VR-HMD technology to support the needs of the autistic population.

scholarly journals "I'm trying to reach out, I'm trying to find my people": Loneliness and loneliness distress in autistic adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Quadt ◽  
Gemma Louise Williams ◽  
James S Mulcahy ◽  
Marta Silva ◽  
Dennis E O Larsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Strong Correlations ◽  
Sensory Sensitivity ◽  
Autistic Group ◽  
Autistic People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Autistic Adults ◽  
Anxiety Depression ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Autistic Population ◽  
Group Regression

Despite the persistent stereotype that autistic individuals are not motivated to seek meaningful social relationships, rates of loneliness among the autistic population are higher than in the non-autistic population. In this two-part, mixed methods study, we sought to 1) quantify the level of distress associated with loneliness in autistic and non-autistic adults and 2) gain qualitative insight into autistic experiences of loneliness. In Study A, 209 participants (encompassing a group of autistic individuals and a group of non-autistic comparison participants) completed questionnaire ratings of their level of loneliness, associated distress, trait anxiety, depression, and sensory sensitivity. Results indicated that the autistic group scored higher levels across all measures. Both groups manifest strong correlations between loneliness and loneliness distress. In the autistic group, but not the non-autistic group, regression analyses showed that loneliness and sensory sensitivity predicted levels of anxiety, wherein the effect of loneliness on anxiety was partially mediated by the level of sensory sensitivity. In Study B, nine autistic adults took part in ten-minute, unstructured dyadic conversations around the topic of loneliness. Inductive and deductive analyses enriched qualitative understanding of the experiences of loneliness of autistic individuals. Our results broadly oppose the social motivation deficit hypothesis and we instead frame our findings within the larger context of ‘ethical loneliness’, concluding that a concerted effort is needed to overcome the fundamental disconnect with the neurotypical world experienced by many autistic people.

scholarly journals Unconstrained multivariate EEG decoding can help detect lexical-semantic processing in individual children

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selene Petit ◽  
Nicholas A. Badcock ◽  
Tijl Grootswagers ◽  
Alexandra Woolgar
Keyword(s):  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Neural Signals ◽  
Individual Subject ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Semantic Comprehension ◽  
Autistic Population

AbstractIn conditions such as minimally-verbal autism, standard assessments of language comprehension are often unreliable. Given the known heterogeneity within the autistic population, it is crucial to design tests of semantic comprehension that are sensitive in individuals. Recent efforts to develop neural signals of language comprehension have focused on the N400, a robust marker of lexical-semantic violation at the group level. However, homogeneity of response in individual neurotypical children has not been established. Here, we presented 20 neurotypical children with congruent and incongruent visual animations and spoken sentences while measuring their neural response using EEG. Despite robust group-level responses, we found high inter-individual variability in response to lexico-semantic anomalies. To overcome this, we analysed our data using temporally and spatially unconstrained MVPA, supplemented by descriptive analyses to examine the timecourse, topography, and strength of the effect. Our results show that neurotypical children exhibit heterogenous responses to lexical-semantic violation, implying that any application to heterogenous disorders such as ASD will require individual-subject analyses that are robust to variation in topology and timecourse of neural responses.

scholarly journals Differences Between Autistic and Non-autistic Adults in the Recognition of Anger From Dynamic Expressions Remain After Controlling for Alexithymia.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Connor Tom Keating ◽  
Sophie L Sowden ◽  
Dagmar S Fraser ◽  
Jennifer L Cook
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Recognition ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Recognition Accuracy ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Reasoning Ability ◽  
Emotional Facial Expressions ◽  
Normal Speed ◽  
Point Light ◽  
And Control ◽  
Autistic Population

Abstract A burgeoning literature suggests that alexithymia, and not autism, is responsible for the difficulties with static emotion recognition that are documented in the autistic population. Here we investigate whether alexithymia can also account for difficulties with dynamic facial expressions. Autistic and control adults (N=60) matched on age, gender, non-verbal reasoning ability and alexithymia, completed an emotion recognition task, which employed dynamic point light displays of emotional facial expressions that varied in speed and spatial exaggeration. The ASD group exhibited significantly lower recognition accuracy for angry, but not happy or sad, expressions with normal speed and spatial exaggeration. The level of autistic, and not alexithymic, traits was a significant predictor of accuracy for angry expressions with normal speed and spatial exaggeration.

scholarly journals Gender differences in mental health prevalence in autism

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Felicity Sedgewick ◽  
Jenni Leppanen ◽  
Kate Tchanturia
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Gender Differences ◽  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mental Health Issues ◽  
Autistic People ◽  
Gendered Patterns ◽  
Autistic Population

Purpose Mental health conditions are known to be more common amongst autistic than non-autistic people. To date, there is little work exploring gender differences in mental health amongst autistic people and no work including non-binary/trans people. This paper aims to address this gap. Design/methodology/approach This was a large-scale online study, with 948 participants between 18 and 81 years old. Participants self-reported autism, anxiety, depression and eating disorder status. Analyses were run examining gender differences in the rates of these conditions in each group. Findings Autistic people are more likely to have anxiety and depression than non-autistic people of all genders. Autistic women and non-binary people experienced mental health issues at higher rates than men and at similar rates to each other. Autistic people were twice as likely as non-autistic people to have all eating disorders. Further, gendered patterns of eating disorders seen in the non-autistic population are also present in the autistic population. Research limitations/implications There are inherent issues with self-report of diagnoses online, but this study showed that using screening questionnaires is effective. Originality/value This is the first paper to look at gender differences in common mental health issues amongst autistic and non-autistic adults. It highlights that there are significant gendered patterns in the prevalence of mental health issues in both the autistic and non-autistic population and that these have an impact for how treatment should be approached to be effective.

scholarly journals A Review on Measuring Affect with Practical Sensors to Monitor Driver Behavior

Safety ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Welch ◽  
Harnett ◽  
Lee
Keyword(s):  
Work Environments ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Roadway Safety ◽  
Reliable Monitoring ◽  
Affect Detection ◽  
Driver Monitoring ◽  
Affective Information ◽  
Practical Constraints ◽  
Autistic Population ◽  
Machine Work

Using sensors to monitor signals produced by drivers is a way to help better understand how emotions contribute to unsafe driving habits. The need for intuitive machines that can interpret intentional and unintentional signals is imperative for our modern world. However, in complex human–machine work environments, many sensors will not work due to compatibility issues, noise, or practical constraints. This review focuses on practical sensors that have the potential to provide reliable monitoring and meaningful feedback to vehicle operators—such as drivers, train operators, pilots, astronauts—as well as being feasible for implementation and integration with existing work infrastructure. Such an affect-sensitive intelligent vehicle might sound an alarm if signals indicate the driver has become angry or stressed, take control of the vehicle if needed, and collaborate with other vehicles to build a stress map that improves roadway safety. Toward such vehicles, this paper provides a review of emerging sensor technologies for driver monitoring. In our research, we look at sensors used in affect detection. This insight is especially helpful for anyone challenged with accurately understanding affective information, like the autistic population. This paper also includes material on sensors and feedback for drivers from populations that may have special needs.

scholarly journals Hormonal Changes Analysis by Effects of Horses Assisted Therapy in the Autistic Population

2014 ◽  
Vol 132 ◽  
pp. 87-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Tabares Sánchez ◽  
Florencio Vicente Castro ◽  
Susana Sánchez Herrera ◽  
Javier Cubero Juánez
Keyword(s):  
Hormonal Changes ◽  
Autistic Population
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