scholarly journals Deficits in executive functions among youths with autism spectrum disorders: an age-stratified analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 1625-1638 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.-F. Chen ◽  
Y.-L. Chien ◽  
C.-T. Wu ◽  
C.-Y. Shang ◽  
Y.-Y. Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Set Shifting ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Stratified Analysis

BackgroundImpaired executive function (EF) is suggested to be one of the core features in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD); however, little is known about whether the extent of worse EF in ASD than typically developing (TD) controls is age-dependent. We used age-stratified analysis to reveal this issue.MethodWe assessed 111 youths with ASD (aged 12.5 ± 2.8 years, male 94.6%) and 114 age-, and sex-matched TD controls with Digit Span and four EF tasks of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB): Spatial Span (SSP), Spatial Working Memory (SWM), Stockings of Cambridge (SOC), and Intradimensional/Extradimensional Shift Test (I/ED).ResultsCompared to TD controls, youths with ASD performed poorer on the Digit Span, SWM, SOC, and I/ED tasks. The performance of all the tasks improved with age for both groups. Age-stratified analyses were conducted due to significant age × group interactions in visuospatial planning (SOC) and set-shifting (I/ED) and showed that poorer performance on these two tasks in ASD than TD controls was found only in the child (aged 8–12 years) rather than the adolescent (aged 13–18 years) group. By contrast, youths with ASD had impaired working memory, regardless of age. The increased magnitude of group difference in visuospatial planning (SOC) with increased task demands differed between the two age groups but no age moderating effect on spatial working memory.ConclusionsOur findings support deficits in visuospatial working memory and planning in youths with ASD; however, worse performance in set-shifting may only be demonstrated in children with ASD.

Categorical Perception of Pitch Contours and Voice Onset Time in Mandarin-Speaking Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Fei Chen ◽  
Gang Peng
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Categorical Perception ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Lexical Tones ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Adolescents With Asd

Purpose Previous studies have shown enhanced pitch and impaired time perception in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, it remains unclear whether such deviated patterns of auditory processing depending on acoustic dimensions would transfer to the higher level linguistic pitch and time processing. In this study, we compared the categorical perception (CP) of lexical tones and voice onset time (VOT) in Mandarin Chinese, which utilize pitch and time changes, respectively, to convey phonemic contrasts. Method The data were collected from 22 Mandarin-speaking adolescents with ASD and 20 age-matched neurotypical controls. In addition to the identification and discrimination tasks to test CP performance, all the participants were evaluated with their language ability and phonological working memory. Linear mixed-effects models were constructed to evaluate the identification and discrimination scores across different groups and conditions. Results The basic CP pattern of cross-boundary benefit when perceiving both native lexical tones and VOT was largely preserved in high-functioning adolescents with ASD. The degree of CP of lexical tones in ASD was similar to that in typical controls, whereas the degree of CP of VOT in ASD was greatly reduced. Furthermore, the degree of CP of lexical tones correlated with language ability and digit span in ASD participants. Conclusions These findings suggest that the unbalanced acoustic processing capacities for pitch and time can be generalized to the higher level linguistic processing in ASD. Furthermore, the higher degree of CP of lexical tones correlated with better language ability in Mandarin-speaking individuals with ASD.

scholarly journals Cognitive Visual Dysfunctions in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Other Developmental Delays

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Kyung Seo ◽  
Young Hoon Kim ◽  
Eu Gene Park
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Developmental Delays ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Dorsal Stream ◽  
Visual Assessment ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Stream Functioning ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Social Communicative

Abstract Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by a triad of social, communicative, and imaginative impairments. Although early detection and intervention are important to improve functional outcomes in ASD, similar features between ASD and other developmental delays may impede timely diagnosis. In this study, we aimed to investigate the feasibility of Cognitive Visual Assessment Questionnaire (CVAQ) in differentiating ASD from other developmental delays.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 115 pediatric patients (80 males, 35 females) with ASD and other developmental delays who had the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) and CVAQ performed at Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital from January 2017 to June 2019. Results: The mean age at M-CHAT and CVAQ was 31.8 months (range, 14.1 – 48). The proportion of ASD was significantly higher in patients with screen-positive M-CHAT than those with screen-negative M-CHAT (P = 0.035). The sensitivity of CVAQ for detecting ASD was 83.3% and 94.1% in 14.1 – <24 months and 24 – <36 months age groups, respectively. Among patients with screen-negative M-CHAT, the mean number of failed tasks related to dorsal stream pathway was greater in ASD compared to other developmental delays, although the differences were not statistically significant (P = 0.437).Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that autistic individuals may have a specific impairment in dorsal stream functioning. CVAQ also showed improved sensitivity for detecting ASD in toddlers. When coupled with clinical observation and judgement, CVAQ is a useful alternative screening tool for differentiating ASD from other developmental delays in young children.

scholarly journals Meta-analysis of working memory impairment in autism spectrum disorders

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya Wang
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Executive Dysfunction ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Moderating Variables ◽  
Analytic Review ◽  
Core Components ◽  
Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by executive dysfunction, and working memory (WM) is one of the core components of executive function. Many studies have examined WM impairment in individuals with ASD, however, conclusive agreement has not yet been reached. The present study provided a meta-analytic review of WM impairment in individuals with ASD and explored potential moderating variables of this problem. A total of 29 studies were included in this study, and the participants comprised 862 individuals with ASD and 899 healthy controls. Significant WM impairment (Cohen’s d = -0.63) was found in individuals with ASD, however the impairment was not found to be associated with age. A number of moderation analyses showed that: (a) spatial WM was more severely impaired than verbal WM; and (b) component of cognitive processing (maintenance vs. maintenance plus manipulation) did not affect WM impairment. These findings suggest that WM is impaired in individuals with ASD and may have implications for intervention of WM impairment in these individuals.

Executive functions in youths with autism spectrum disorder and their unaffected siblings

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guan-Jye Seng ◽  
Wan-Ling Tseng ◽  
Yen-Nan Chiu ◽  
Wen-Che Tsai ◽  
Yu-Yu Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Planning Problem

Abstract Background Executive dysfunction is one of the main cognitive theories of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite evidence of deficits in executive functions in individuals with ASD, little is known about executive dysfunctions as candidate cognitive endophenotypes for ASD. In this study, we investigated executive functions in youths with ASD, their unaffected siblings and typically developing controls (TDC). Methods We recruited 240 youths with a clinical diagnosis of ASD (aged 6–18 years), 147 unaffected siblings of ASD youths, and 240 TDC youths. TDC youths were recruited based on the age and sex distribution of the ASD youths. Participants were assessed using the verbal Digit Span test and four executive function tasks from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery, including Intra-dimensional/Extra-dimensional Shift (I/ED), Spatial Span (SSP), Spatial Working Memory (SWM), and Stocking of Cambridge (SoC). Results ASD youths, relative to TDC, performed significantly worse in executive function tasks assessing verbal working memory (forward and backward digit span), set-shifting (I/ED), visuospatial working memory (SSP, SWM), and planning/problem solving (SoC). Furthermore, unaffected siblings, relative to TDC, performed worse in forward and backward digit recalls and made more errors in SWM. These results were independent of the effects of age, sex, IQ, and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Conclusions Our findings support impaired executive functions in youths with ASD. However, unaffected siblings were mostly unimpaired except in the areas of verbal and spatial working memory, which may be potential cognitive endophenotypes for ASD.

scholarly journals Set-shifting in children with autism spectrum disorders

Autism ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 523-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin E. Yerys ◽  
Gregory L. Wallace ◽  
Bryan Harrison ◽  
Mark J. Celano ◽  
Jay N. Giedd ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Set Shifting ◽  
Spectrum Disorders

scholarly journals A Meta-Analysis of Working Memory Impairments in Autism Spectrum Disorders

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya Wang ◽  
Yi-bing Zhang ◽  
Lu-lu Liu ◽  
Ji-fang Cui ◽  
Jing Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Memory Impairments ◽  
Spectrum Disorders
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