Social attention to activities in children and adults with autism spectrum disorder: effects of context and age

Abstract Background Diminished visual monitoring of faces and activities of others is an early feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is uncertain whether deficits in activity monitoring, identified using a homogeneous set of stimuli, persist throughout the lifespan in ASD, and thus, whether they could serve as a biological indicator (“biomarker”) of ASD. We investigated differences in visual attention during activity monitoring in children and adult participants with autism compared to a control group of participants without autism. Methods Eye movements of participants with autism (n = 122; mean age [SD] = 14.5 [8.0] years) and typically developing (TD) controls (n = 40, age = 16.4 [13.3] years) were recorded while they viewed a series of videos depicting two female actors conversing while interacting with their hands over a shared task. Actors either continuously focused their gaze on each other’s face (mutual gaze) or on the shared activity area (shared focus). Mean percentage looking time was computed for the activity area, actors’ heads, and their bodies. Results Compared to TD participants, participants with ASD looked longer at the activity area (mean % looking time: 58.5% vs. 53.8%, p < 0.005) but less at the heads (15.2% vs. 23.7%, p < 0.0001). Additionally, within-group differences in looking time were observed between the mutual gaze and shared focus conditions in both participants without ASD (activity: Δ = − 6.4%, p < 0.004; heads: Δ = + 3.5%, p < 0.02) and participants with ASD (bodies: Δ = + 1.6%, p < 0.002). Limitations The TD participants were not as well characterized as the participants with ASD. Inclusion criteria regarding the cognitive ability [intelligence quotient (IQ) > 60] limited the ability to include individuals with substantial intellectual disability. Conclusions Differences in attention to faces could constitute a feature discriminative between individuals with and without ASD across the lifespan, whereas between-group differences in looking at activities may shift with development. These findings may have applications in the search for underlying biological indicators specific to ASD. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02668991.

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Understanding Heterogeneity in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Methodological Shift in Neuroimaging Research From Investigating Group Differences to Individual Differences

Biological Psychiatry Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging ◽

10.1016/j.bpsc.2021.04.004 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (8) ◽

pp. 762-764

Author(s):

Budhachandra Khundrakpam ◽

Carola Tuerk ◽

Linda Booij

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Group Differences

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Cellular Bioenergetic and Metabolic Changes in Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry ◽

10.2174/1568026621666210521142131 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 ◽

Author(s):

Maria Gevezova ◽

Danail Minchev ◽

Iliana Pacheva ◽

Yordan Sbirkov ◽

Ralitsa Yordanova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Mononuclear Cells ◽

Cell Metabolism ◽

Strong Dependence ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Metabolic Changes ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Control Group ◽

Peripheral Blood Mononuclear ◽

And Gender

Background: Although Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is considered a heterogeneous neurological disease in childhood, a growing body of evidence associates it with mitochondrial dysfunction explaining the observed comorbidities. Introduction: The aim of this study is to identify variations in cellular bioenergetics and metabolism dependent on mitochondrial function in ASD patients and healthy controls using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). We hypothesized that PBMCs may reveal the cellular pathology and provide evidence of bioenergetic and metabolic changes accompanying the disease. Method: PBMC from children with ASD and a control group of the same age and gender were isolated. All patients underwent an in-depth clinical evaluation. A well-characterized cohort of Bulgarian children was selected. Bioenergetic and metabolic studies of isolated PBMCs were performed with a Seahorse XFp analyzer. Result: Our data show that PBMCs from patients with ASD have increased respiratory reserve capacity (by 27.5%), increased maximal respiration (by 67%) and altered adaptive response to oxidative stress induced by DMNQ. In addition, we demonstrate а strong dependence on fatty acids and impaired ability to reprogram cell metabolism. The listed characteristics are not observed in the control group. These results can contribute to a better understanding of the underlying causes of ASD, which is crucial for selecting a successful treatment. Conclusion: The current study, for the first time, provides a functional analysis of cell bioenergetics and metabolic changes in a group of Bulgarian patients with ASD. It reveals physiological abnormalities that do not allow mitochondria to adapt and meet the increased energetic requirements of the cell. The link between mitochondria and ASD is not yet fully understood, but this may lead to the discovery of new approaches for nutrition and therapy.

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Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Early Diagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorder Children

Journal of Dhaka Medical College ◽

10.3329/jdmc.v26i1.34000 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 43-47 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Shorifa Shahjadi ◽

Arif Salam Khan ◽

Mesbah Uddin Ahmed

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Mitochondrial Dysfunction ◽

Venous Blood ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Serum Lactate ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Control Group ◽

P Value ◽

Blood Ammonia ◽

Normal Children

Background: Mitochondrial dysfunction and abnormal brain bioenergetics can cause autism.Cellular function impairment due to mitochondrial dysfunction may cause cognitive impairment, language deficits and abnormal energy metabolism in autism.Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate biochemical evidence of the mitochondrial dysfunction by measuring blood ammonia, serum lactate, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and creatinine kinase (CK) in autism spectrum disorder children.Methods: This observational type of analytical study with case-control design was conducted in the Department of Physiology of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Shahbag, Dhaka. For this study, a total number of 20 Subjects were randomly selected, among which 10 were apparently healthy subjects (control group-A) for comparison and 10 were diagnosed children with autism spectrum disorder (study group-B). 5ml venous blood was collected from both groups for analysis serum CK, AST, ALT, lactate and blood ammonia. Blood ammonia, serum lactate, AST, ALT and CK level were estimated in all children by standard laboratory method. Independent samplet test was used for statistical analysis. P value <0.05 was accepted as significant. The mean of all the measured biochemical variables in normal children were within normal ranges.Result: Blood ammonia, serum lactate, AST, CK were found significantly higher in autism spectrum disorder children in comparison to control Conclusion: From the result of this study it may be concluded that mitochondrial dysfunction occur in autistic spectrum disorder children .J Dhaka Medical College, Vol. 26, No.1, April, 2017, Page 43-47

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Speech-in-noise recognition and the relation to vocal pitch perception in adults with autism spectrum disorder and typical development

10.31234/osf.io/u84vd ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stefanie Schelinski ◽

Katharina von Kriegstein

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

High Functioning Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Pitch Perception ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Control Group ◽

Noise Levels ◽

Adults With Autism ◽

Speech In Noise ◽

Vocal Pitch

We tested the ability to recognise speech-in-noise and its relation to the ability to discriminate vocal pitch in adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developed adults (matched pairwise on age, sex, and IQ). Typically developed individuals understood speech in higher noise levels as compared to the ASD group. Within the control group but not within the ASD group, better speech-in-noise recognition abilities were significantly correlated with better vocal pitch discrimination abilities. Our results show that speech-in-noise recognition is restricted in people with ASD. We speculate that perceptual impairments such as difficulties in vocal pitch perception might be relevant in explaining these difficulties in ASD.

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Feasibility of the stress and anger management program on children with high functioning autism spectrum disorder in a sample population from Karachi

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.1290 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S360-S360

Author(s):

B. Tauseef ◽

Z. Zadeh ◽

B. Fatima

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Anger Management ◽

High Functioning Autism ◽

Treatment Protocol ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Management Program ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Control Group ◽

Sample Population ◽

Waitlist Control Group

IntroductionResearch shows that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, struggle with emotional competence as compared to their typically developing counterparts. This leads to internalizing (stress) and externalizing (anger management) problems in the affected population. The stress and anger management program (STAMP) designed by Scarpa et al. is a manualized treatment protocol with good clinical efficacy.ObjectiveThe objective of the present study is to test the feasibility and suitability of STAMP as a systematized treatment protocol in Karachi and to enable the sample population, to become emotionally competent.AimThe aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of STAMP on the reduction of symptoms in the sample population.MethodTen children with high functioning autism spectrum disorder will be selected from various institutes in Karachi, and randomized to experimental and waitlist control group after pre-intervention assessment. Upon completion of the intervention with the experimental group, the waitlist control group will be offered the intervention. Both the groups will be assessed, immediately after the intervention, followed by a one-month follow up assessment.ResultsIt is expected that STAMP will significantly reduce the incidence of problem behaviours as measured by the standardized assessment questionnaires from the manual; as well as significantly reduce the severity of scores on the internalizing and externalizing components of the strength and difficulties questionnaire, in the experimental group as compared to the control group.ConclusionIt is expected that the results of the present study could be utilized to train mental health professionals in Karachi for systematized treatment of ASD and related problems.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Effect of physical therapy on 7- to 10-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder: A retrospective study in a university day hospital

Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic ◽

10.1521/bumc.2021.85.4.385 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 85 (4) ◽

pp. 385-404

Author(s):

Jokthan Guivarch ◽

Elisabeth Jouve ◽

Elodie Avenel ◽

François Poinso ◽

Laura Conforti-Roussel

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Retrospective Study ◽

Motor Impairment ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

The Body ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Control Group ◽

Autistic Children ◽

Dance Movement ◽

Cascading Effect

More than half of children who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suffer from motor impairment. In a retrospective study, the authors investigated the effect of a body-mediated workshop with dance movement therapy (DMT) on the motor skills and social skills of children with ASD by comparing 10 autistic children aged 7 to 10 years who benefited from DMT with 10 autistic children in a control group. Scores on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale were compared. The body-mediated workshop had significant benefits for motricity, especially manual dexterity, and for relational skills. A body-mediated workshop may have a multimodal effect and requires transmodal training. Regarding the mechanisms that explain the benefits and the cascading effect, the roles of imitation and multimodal connections are important.

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P.507 Visual activity monitoring and social attention in autism spectrum disorder: effect of context and age

European Neuropsychopharmacology ◽

10.1016/j.euroneuro.2019.09.513 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 ◽

pp. S357-S358

Author(s):

D. Kaliukhovich ◽

N.V. Manyakov ◽

A. Bangerter ◽

S. Ness ◽

A. Skalkin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Social Attention ◽

Activity Monitoring ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Visual Activity ◽

Disorder Effect

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Effects of pivotal response treatment on reciprocal vocal contingency in a randomized controlled trial of children with autism spectrum disorder

Autism ◽

10.1177/1362361320903138 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 24 (6) ◽

pp. 1566-1571

Author(s):

Jena McDaniel ◽

Paul Yoder ◽

Madison Crandall ◽

Maria Estefania Millan ◽

Christina Mich Ardel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Parent Report ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Pivotal Response Treatment ◽

Control Group ◽

Child Interaction ◽

Parent Child Interaction ◽

Treatment Package

A pivotal response treatment package consisting of clinician-delivered and parent-implemented strategies was recently found to be effective in improving language and social communication deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder. Reciprocal vocal contingency, an automated measure of vocal reciprocity, may provide stronger and complementary evidence of the effects of the pivotal response treatment package. Reciprocal vocal contingency is derived through an automated process from daylong audio samples from the child’s natural environment. Therefore, reciprocal vocal contingency is at lower risk for detection bias than parent report and brief parent–child interaction measures. Although differences were non-significant at baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention for the 48 children with autism spectrum disorder who were randomly assigned to the pivotal response treatment package or a delayed treatment control group, the pivotal response treatment package group had higher ranked reciprocal vocal contingency scores than the control group after 24 weeks ( U = 125, p = .04). These findings are consistent with results from parent report and parent–child interaction measures obtained during the trial. The participants in the pivotal response treatment package exhibited greater vocal responsiveness to adult vocal responses to their vocalizations than the control group. Findings support the effectiveness of the pivotal response treatment package on vocal reciprocity of children with autism spectrum disorder, which may be a pivotal skill for language development. Lay abstract A recent randomized controlled trial found that children with autism spectrum disorder who received a pivotal response treatment package showed improved language and social communication skills following the intervention. The pivotal response treatment package includes clinician-delivered and parent-implemented strategies. Reciprocal vocal contingency is an automated measure of vocal reciprocity derived from daylong audio samples from the child’s natural environment. It may provide stronger and complementary evidence of the effects of the pivotal response treatment package because it is at lower risk for detection bias than parent report and brief parent–child interaction measures. The current study compared reciprocal vocal contingency for 24 children with autism spectrum disorder in the pivotal response treatment package group and 24 children with autism spectrum disorder in the control group. The pivotal response treatment package group received 24 weeks of the pivotal response treatment package intervention. The control group received their usual intervention services during that time. The groups did not differ in reciprocal vocal contingency when the intervention started or after 12 weeks of intervention. However, after 24 weeks the pivotal response treatment package group had higher ranked reciprocal vocal contingency scores than the control group. These findings are consistent with results from parent report and parent–child interaction measures obtained during the trial. The participants in the pivotal response treatment package exhibited greater vocal responsiveness to adult vocal responses to their vocalizations than the control group. Findings support the effectiveness of the pivotal response treatment package on vocal reciprocity of children with autism spectrum disorder, which may be a pivotal skill for language development.

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Parental perception of stress and emotional-behavioural difficulties of children with autism spectrum disorder and specific language impairment

Autism & Developmental Language Impairments ◽

10.1177/2396941520971502 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. 239694152097150

Author(s):

Magda Di Renzo ◽

Federico Bianchi di Castelbianco ◽

Elena Vanadia ◽

Massimiliano Petrillo ◽

Lidia Racinaro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Language Impairment ◽

Specific Language Impairment ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Well Being ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Sensory Profile ◽

Control Group ◽

Specific Language

Background and aims The daily challenges of caring for a child with autism spectrum disorder affect many areas of everyday life and parental well-being, as well as parents’ ability to manage the needs of the family and the child concerned. A better understanding of parents’ perception of their child’s characteristics can allow better support for them and individualize intervention protocols in a more accurate way. The main objective of this study is the evaluation of the perception of stress by parents of children with autism compared to parents of children with specific language impairment. Methods The parents of 87 children aged between 2 and 6 years were included in this study, 34 children with a specific language impairment diagnosis and 53 children with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis (ASD) or at risk of developing it. They were asked to complete a self-report on perceived stress and rating scales on adaptive/problematic behaviours, executive functions and sensory profile of the child. Results The results reveal that parents of ASD children, compared to the control group, showed significantly higher levels of stress, mainly due to the difficulty of managing unexpected events, the feeling of loss of control over one's life and the fear of not being able to cope with the adversities they were experiences. The most critical area, both for ASD and control group, concern the executive function related to emotional reactions. Conclusions Thus, we argue that the difficulties in self-control, sensory modulation and emotional regulation, represent an element of stress for parents of children with developmental disorders. Implications: Regarding the difficulties of children with ASD, supporting the ways in which caregivers adapt to the signals of children is an important strategy, which has now become a key element of treatments for autism mediated by parents.

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The neonatal levels of TSB, NSE and CK-BB in autism spectrum disorder from Southern China

Translational Neuroscience ◽

10.1515/tnsci-2016-0002 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Meng-na Lv ◽

Hong Zhang ◽

Yi Shu ◽

Shan Chen ◽

Yuan-yuan Hu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Medical Records ◽

Southern China ◽

Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽

Group Identification ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Repetitive Behaviors ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Total Serum ◽

Control Group

AbstractBackground" Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs a child’s ability to communicate with others. It also includes restricted repetitive behaviors, interests and activities. Symptoms manifest before the age of 3. In the previous studies, we found structural abnormalities of the temporal lobe cortex. High spine densities were most commonly found in ASD subjects with lower levels of cognitive functioning. In the present study, we retrospectively analyzed medical records in relation to the neonatal levels of total serum bilirubin (TSB), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), creatine kinase brain band isoenzyme (CK-BB), and neonatal behavior in ASD patients from Southern China. Methods: A total of 80 patients with ASD (ASD group) were screened for this retrospective study. Among them, 34 were low-functioning ASD (L-ASD group) and 46 were high-functioning ASD (H-ASD group). Identification of the ASD cases was confirmed with a Revised Autism Diagnostic Inventory. For comparison with ASD cases, 80 normal neonates (control group) were selected from the same period. Biochemical parameters, including TSB, NSE and CK-BB in the neonatal period and medical records on neonatal behavior were collected. Results: The levels of serum TSB, NSE and CK-BB in the ASD group were significantly higher when compared with those from the control group (P < 0.01, or P < 0.05). The amounts of serum TSB, NSE and CK-BB in the L-ASD group were significantly higher when compared with those in the H-ASD group (P < 0.01, or P < 0.05). The Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS) scores in the ASD group were significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Likewise, the NBAS scores in the L-ASD group were significantly lower than that in the H-ASD group (P < 0.05). There was no association between serum TSB, NSE, CK-BB and NBAS scores (P > 0.05) in the ASD group. Conclusions: The neonatal levels of TSB, NSE and CK-BB in ASD from Southern China were significantly higher than those of healthy controls. These findings need to be investigated thoroughly by future studies with large sample.

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