Alpha connectivity and inhibitory control in adults with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract Background Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often report difficulties with inhibition in everyday life. During inhibition tasks, adults with ASD show reduced activation of and connectivity between brain areas implicated in inhibition, suggesting impairments in inhibitory control at the neural level. Our study further investigated these differences by using magnetoencephalography (MEG) to examine the frequency band(s) in which functional connectivity underlying response inhibition occurs, as brain functions are frequency specific, and whether connectivity in certain frequency bands differs between adults with and without ASD. Methods We analysed MEG data from 40 adults with ASD (27 males; 26.94 ± 6.08 years old) and 39 control adults (27 males; 27.29 ± 5.94 years old) who performed a Go/No-go task. The task involved two blocks with different proportions of No-go trials: Inhibition (25% No-go) and Vigilance (75% No-go). We compared whole-brain connectivity in the two groups during correct No-go trials in the Inhibition vs. Vigilance blocks between 0 and 400 ms. Results Despite comparable performance on the Go/No-go task, adults with ASD showed reduced connectivity compared to controls in the alpha band (8–14 Hz) in a network with a main hub in the right inferior frontal gyrus. Decreased connectivity in this network predicted more self-reported difficulties on a measure of inhibition in everyday life. Limitations Measures of everyday inhibitory control were not available for all participants, so this relationship between reduced network connectivity and inhibitory control abilities may not be necessarily representative of all adults with ASD or the larger ASD population. Further research with independent samples of adults with ASD, including those with a wider range of cognitive abilities, would be valuable. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate reduced functional brain connectivity during response inhibition in adults with ASD. As alpha-band synchrony has been linked to top-down control mechanisms, we propose that the lack of alpha synchrony observed in our ASD group may reflect difficulties in suppressing task-irrelevant information, interfering with inhibition in real-life situations.

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Sensory Processing and Aggressive Behavior in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11010095 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 95

Author(s):

Frank van den Boogert ◽

Bram Sizoo ◽

Pascalle Spaan ◽

Sharon Tolstra ◽

Yvonne H. A. Bouman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Aggressive Behavior ◽

Sensory Processing ◽

Short Form ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Sensory Profile ◽

Sensory Sensitivity ◽

Aggression Questionnaire ◽

Adults With Asd

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be accompanied by aggressive behavior and is associated with sensory processing difficulties. The present study aims to investigate the direct association between sensory processing and aggressive behavior in adults with ASD. A total of 101 Dutch adult participants with ASD, treated in outpatient or inpatient facilities, completed the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (AASP), the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ), and the Aggression Questionnaire—Short Form (AQ-SF). Results revealed that sensory processing difficulties are associated with more aggressive behavior (f2=0.25), more proactive (f2=0.19) and reactive aggression (f2=0.27), more physical (f2=0.08) and verbal aggression (f2=0.13), and more anger (f2=0.20) and hostility (f2=0.12). Evidence was found for an interaction of the neurological threshold and behavioral response on total aggression and hostility. Participants with higher scores in comparison to the norm group in sensory sensitivity had the highest risk of aggressive behavior. In conclusion, clinical practice may benefit from applying detailed diagnostics on sensory processing difficulties when treating aggressive behavior in adults with ASD.

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Sex Differences in Functional Connectivity Between Resting State Brain Networks in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders ◽

10.1007/s10803-021-05191-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Vânia Tavares ◽

Luís Afonso Fernandes ◽

Marília Antunes ◽

Hugo Ferreira ◽

Diana Prata

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Sex Differences ◽

Resting State ◽

Brain Connectivity ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Control Networks ◽

Highly Sensitive ◽

Female Specific ◽

Main Effects

AbstractFunctional brain connectivity (FBC) has previously been examined in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) between-resting-state networks (RSNs) using a highly sensitive and reproducible hypothesis-free approach. However, results have been inconsistent and sex differences have only recently been taken into consideration using this approach. We estimated main effects of diagnosis and sex and a diagnosis by sex interaction on between-RSNs FBC in 83 ASD (40 females/43 males) and 85 typically developing controls (TC; 43 females/42 males). We found increased connectivity between the default mode (DM) and (a) the executive control networks in ASD (vs. TC); (b) the cerebellum networks in males (vs. females); and (c) female-specific altered connectivity involving visual, language and basal ganglia (BG) networks in ASD—in suggestive compatibility with ASD cognitive and neuroscientific theories.

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Implicit Semantic Processing of Linguistic and Non-linguistic Stimuli in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders ◽

10.1007/s10803-020-04736-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Emme O’Rourke ◽

Emily L. Coderre

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Language Processing ◽

Semantic Processing ◽

Autistic Traits ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Adults With Autism ◽

Priming Task ◽

Adults With Asd

AbstractWhile many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience difficulties with language processing, non-linguistic semantic processing may be intact. We examined neural responses to an implicit semantic priming task by comparing N400 responses—an event-related potential related to semantic processing—in response to semantically related or unrelated pairs of words or pictures. Adults with ASD showed larger N400 responses than typically developing adults for pictures, but no group differences occurred for words. However, we also observed complex modulations of N400 amplitude by age and by level of autistic traits. These results offer important implications for how groups are delineated and compared in autism research.

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Neuropsychiatric profile and psychotropic medication use in adults with autism spectrum disorder: results from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Adults with Autism

BJPsych Open ◽

10.1192/bjo.2018.64 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (6) ◽

pp. 461-466 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Rachael C. Cvejic ◽

Samuel R. C. Arnold ◽

Kitty-Rose Foley ◽

Julian N. Trollor

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Psychotropic Medication ◽

Medication Use ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Limited Evidence ◽

Adults With Autism ◽

Adolescents With Autism ◽

Adults With Asd

BackgroundChildren and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are a highly medicated group. Few studies have examined the neuropsychiatric profile and patterns of psychotropic medication use among adults with ASD.AimsTo describe and compare the neuropsychiatric profile and psychotropic medication use in a cohort of adults with ASD and non-autistic controls.MethodBaseline data from a survey-based, longitudinal study of adults with ASD in Australia. Participants were 188 adults with ASD and 115 controls aged 25–80 years.ResultsASD was associated with increased odds of psychotropic medication use even when controlling for the presence of any neurological or psychiatric disorder. There were no corresponding indications for 14.4% of psychotropic medications prescribed to adults with ASD.ConclusionsThis study found substantial psychotropic prescribing for adults with ASD. Patterns of psychotropic medication use may reflect prescribing for behavioural indications despite limited evidence to support this practice.Declaration of interestNone.

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Intact context memory performance in adults with autism spectrum disorder

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-99898-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sidni A. Justus ◽

Patrick S. Powell ◽

Audrey Duarte

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Selective Attention ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Memory Accuracy ◽

Age Related ◽

Adults With Asd ◽

Context Memory

AbstractResearch on memory in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) finds increased difficulty encoding contextual associations in episodic memory and suggests executive dysfunction (e.g., selective attention, cognitive flexibility) and deficient metacognitive monitoring as potential contributing factors. Findings from our lab suggest that age-related impairments in selective attention contribute to those in context memory accuracy and older adults tended to show dependence in context memory accuracy between relevant and irrelevant context details (i.e., hyper-binding). Using an aging framework, we tested the effects of selective attention on context memory in a sample of 23 adults with ASD and 23 typically developed adults. Participants studied grayscale objects flanked by two types of contexts (color, scene) on opposing sides and were told to attend to only one object-context relationship, ignoring the other context. At test, participants made object and context recognition decisions and judgment of confidence decisions allowing for an evaluation of context memory performance, hyper-binding, and metacognitive performance for context judgments in a single task. Results showed that adults with ASD performed similarly to typically developed adults on all measures. These findings suggest that context memory performance is not always disrupted in adults with ASD, even when demands on selective attention are high. We discuss the need for continued research to evaluate episodic memory in a wider variety of adults with ASD.

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Neural correlates of interpersonal space permeability and flexibility in autism spectrum disorder

10.1101/2020.10.14.339291 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Claudia Massaccesi ◽

Alexander Groessing ◽

Lisa A. Rosenberger ◽

Helena Hartmann ◽

Michela Candini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Social Interactions ◽

Effective Connectivity ◽

Adult Population ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Trust Game ◽

Future Research ◽

Adults With Asd ◽

Interpersonal Space

AbstractInterpersonal space can be defined as a safety zone immediately surrounding our body, which allows us to feel comfortable during social interactions. Previous studies indicate that the size of interpersonal space at which the other is perceived as intrusive (permeability) and the ability to adapt interpersonal distance based on contextual factors (flexibility) are altered in children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present fMRI study aimed at extending the previous findings by investigating the behavioral and neurophysiological underpinnings of interpersonal space permeability and flexibility in adults with ASD.Individuals with ASD and matched controls (CTR) performed a modified version of the stop-distance paradigm for measuring interpersonal space preferences. Participants observed prerecorded videos of two confederates moving towards them and rated their comfort to the observed distance. The assessment of interpersonal space preferences was performed before and after engaging in cooperative and non-cooperative social interactions with the confederates, experimentally induced by means of a repeated trust game.We observed general lower comfort in response to an approaching confederate in the ASD group compared to the CTR group, indicating preference for larger interpersonal space in autism (altered permeability). This preference was accompanied by reduced activity in bilateral dorsal intraparietal sulcus (dIPS) and left fusiform face area (FFA), regions previously shown to be involved in interpersonal space regulation. Furthermore, we observed differences in effective connectivity among dIPS, FFA, and amygdala in ASDs compared to CTRs, depending on the level of experienced comfort. No differences between ASDs and CTRs were observed in the adaptation of interpersonal space following a cooperative and non-cooperative social interaction, suggesting preserved interpersonal space flexibility in the ASD adult population.The present study provides evidence for impaired permeability of interpersonal space in adults with ASD. The findings suggest that a dysregulation of the activity and connectivity of brain areas involved in the processing of interpersonal space may contribute to preference for larger distance and avoidance of physical proximity in ASDs. Future research is needed to examine whether the observed alteration of interpersonal space processing is an effect of or a contributing factor to the social disabilities characterizing autism.

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Electrophysiological signatures of brain aging in autism spectrum disorder

10.1101/2021.03.18.434885 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Abigail Dickinson ◽

Shafali Jeste ◽

Elizabeth Milne

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Brain Aging ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Aging Brain ◽

Significant Group ◽

Care Plans ◽

Alpha Frequency ◽

Age Related ◽

Adults With Asd

AbstractEmerging evidence suggests that aging processes may be altered in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, it remains unclear if oscillatory slowing, a key neurophysiological change in the aging brain, manifests atypically in this population. This study sought to examine patterns of age-related oscillatory slowing in adults with ASD, captured by reductions in the brain’s peak alpha frequency. Resting-state EEG data from adults (18-70 years) with ASD (N=93) and age-matched neurotypical (NT) controls (N=87) were pooled from three independent datasets. A robust curve-fitting procedure quantified the peak frequency of alpha oscillations (7-13Hz) across all brain regions. Associations between peak alpha frequency and age were assessed and compared between groups. Consistent with characteristic patterns of oscillatory slowing, peak alpha frequency was negatively associated with age across the entire sample (p<.0001). A significant group by age interaction revealed that this relationship was more pronounced in adults with ASD (p<.01), suggesting that that age-related oscillatory slowing may be accelerated in this population. Scalable EEG measures such as peak alpha frequency could provide insights into neural aging that are crucially needed to inform care plans and preventive interventions that can promote successful aging in ASD.

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Interhemispheric alpha-band hypoconnectivity in children with autism spectrum disorder

Behavioural Brain Research ◽

10.1016/j.bbr.2018.04.026 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 348 ◽

pp. 227-234 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Abigail Dickinson ◽

Charlotte DiStefano ◽

Yin-Ying Lin ◽

Aaron Wolfe Scheffler ◽

Damla Senturk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Alpha Band

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Employment Training for Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

10.1093/med-psych/9780190624828.003.0008 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 196-222

Author(s):

David W. Test ◽

Debra G. Holzberg ◽

Kelly Clark ◽

Misty Terrell ◽

Dana E. Rusher

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Young Adults ◽

Employment Outcomes ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Adults With Autism ◽

Evidence Based Practices ◽

Young Adults With Autism ◽

Employment Rates ◽

Adults With Asd

Despite legislation to improve post-school outcomes for young adults with autism spectrum disorder, they experience poorer employment outcomes than their peers without disabilities. Data indicate persons with ASD experience lower employment rates, earn less money, work fewer hours, are less engaged in their communities, and live independently less frequently than their peers without disabilities. Furthermore, the earnings of individuals with ASD lag behind earnings of their peers both with and without disabilities. In order to help improve employment outcomes for youth with ASD, this chapter describes the characteristics contributing to employment of individuals with ASD, the factors influencing employment of individuals with ASD, and the research related to evidence-based practices for young adults with ASD.

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Use of a Videoconferencing Intervention and Systematic Hierarchy to Teach Daily Living Skills to Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions ◽

10.1177/1098300720921214 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 109830072092121

Author(s):

Katerina Ford ◽

Mian Wang ◽

Lynn Kern Koegel ◽

Robert L. Koegel ◽

Andrew Fedders

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Transition To Adulthood ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Adults With Autism ◽

Qualified Personnel ◽

Behavior Outcomes ◽

Living Skills ◽

Adults With Asd ◽

Number Of Individuals

Given the increasing number of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there is a critical need to develop programs that facilitate positive behavior outcomes during the transition to adulthood. Furthermore, many adults with ASD do not have access to intervention programs due to remote locations, lack of qualified personnel, and/or long waitlists. This study, conducted within the context of a combined multiple baseline and changing criterion design, examined the use of videoconferencing (VC) to provide intervention from a remote location. Results showed that following intervention participants were able to independently perform the targeted skills and all targeted skills maintained during follow-up probes. All participants rated the intervention highly and said that they would recommend the intervention to others. These results are discussed in relation to potential avenues to increase access to services for individuals with ASD, particularly in remote and underserved areas, using VC.

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