scholarly journals Autonomic Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew P. Owens ◽  
Christopher J. Mathias ◽  
Valeria Iodice
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Autonomic Dysfunction ◽  
Autonomic Function ◽  
Vasovagal Syncope ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Postural Tachycardia Syndrome ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Ehlers Danlos Syndrome

Background: There have been previous reports of enhanced sympathoexcitation in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, there has been no formal investigation of autonomic dysfunction in ASD. Also, the joint hypermobile form of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hE-DS) that maybe overrepresented in ASD and orthostatic related autonomic dysfunction. This study examined the comorbidity of ASD, autonomic dysfunction and hE-DS in two UK autonomic national referral centers. Proven, documented and globally accepted clinical autonomic investigations were used to assess neuro-cardiovascular autonomic function in a cohort of ASD subjects and in age-matched healthy controls.Methods: Clinical data from 28 referrals with a confirmed diagnosis of ASD over a 10-year period were compared with 19 age-matched healthy controls. Autonomic function was determined using methods established in the centers previously described in detail.Results: 20/28 ASD had a diagnosed autonomic condition; 9 had the postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), 4 PoTS and vasovagal syncope (VVS), 3 experienced presyncope, 1 essential hyperhidrosis, 1 orthostatic hypotension, 1 VVS alone and 1 a combination of PoTS, VVS and essential hyperhidrosis. 16/20 ASD with autonomic dysfunction had hE-DS. In ASD, basal heart rate and responses to orthostatic tests of autonomic function were elevated, supporting previous findings of increased sympathoexcitation. However, sympathetic vasoconstriction was impaired in ASD.Conclusion: Intermittent neuro-cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction affecting heart rate and blood pressure was over-represented in ASD. There is a strong association with hE-DS. Autonomic dysfunction may further impair quality of life in ASD, particularly in those unable to adequately express their experience of autonomic symptoms.

scholarly journals Quantitation of plasma thiamine, related metabolites and plasma protein oxidative damage markers in children with autism spectrum disorder and healthy controls

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (sup1) ◽  
pp. S85-S90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Attia Anwar ◽  
Marina Marini ◽  
Provvidenza Maria Abruzzo ◽  
Alessandra Bolotta ◽  
Alessandro Ghezzo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Oxidative Damage ◽  
Plasma Protein ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Healthy Controls

scholarly journals Associations Between Interoceptive Cognition and Age in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Development

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa E. Mash ◽  
Kimberly B. Schauder ◽  
Channing Cochran ◽  
Sohee Park ◽  
Carissa J. Cascio
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Standard Test ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typical Development ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Atypical Development ◽  
Interoceptive Accuracy ◽  
Post Hoc

Interoceptive awareness is linked to emotional and social cognition, which are impaired in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is unknown how this ability is associated with age in either typical or atypical development. We used a standard test of interoceptive accuracy (IA) to investigate these questions in children and adults with and without ASD. Perceived number of heartbeats over 4 time intervals was compared with actual heart rate to determine IA. Effects of group, age, IQ, heart rate, and mental counting ability on accuracy were assessed using multiple regression. Post hoc correlations were performed to clarify significant interactions. Age was unrelated to IA in both groups when IQ ≥115. When IQ <115, this relationship was positive in typical development and negative in ASD. These results suggest that cognitive ability moderates the effect of age on IA differently in autism and typical development.

scholarly journals 2288 Neural correlates of face processing in autism spectrum disorder: A quantitative meta-analysis of current literature and future directions

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (S1) ◽  
pp. 21-22
Author(s):  
Carla J. Ammons ◽  
Mary-Elizabeth Winslett ◽  
Rajesh K. Kana
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Repetitive Behavior ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Specific Level

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects 1 in 68 people and includes restricted, repetitive behavior, and social communication deficits. Aspects of face processing (i.e., identity, emotion perception) are impaired in some with ASD. Neuroimaging studies have shown aberrant patterns of brain activation and connectivity of face processing regions. However, small sample sizes and inconsistent results have hindered clinical utility of these findings. The study aims to establish consistent patterns of brain responses to faces in ASD and provide directions for future research. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Neuroimaging studies were identified through a multi-database search according to PRISMA guidelines. In total, 23 studies were retained for a sample size of 383 healthy controls and 345 ASD. Peak coordinates were extracted for activation likelihood estimation (ALE) in GingerALE v2.3.6. Follow-up ALE analyses investigated directed Versus undirected gaze, static Versus dynamic, emotional Versus neutral, and familiar Versus unfamiliar faces. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Faces produced bilateral activation of the fusiform gyrus (FG) in healthy controls (−42 −52 −20; 22 −74 −12, p<0.05, FDR) and left FG activation in ASD (−42 −54 −16, p<0.05, FDR). Activation in both groups was lateral to the mid-fusiform sulcus. Follow-up results pending. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Reduced right FG activation to faces may inform biomarker or response to intervention studies. Mid-fusiform sulcus proved a reliable predictor of functional divides should be investigated on a subject-specific level.

scholarly journals Disorder-specific grey matter deficits in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder relative to autism spectrum disorder

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 965-976 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Lim ◽  
K. Chantiluke ◽  
A. I. Cubillo ◽  
A. B. Smith ◽  
A. Simmons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Grey Matter ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Childhood Disorders ◽  
Male Adolescents ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder

Background.Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are two common childhood disorders that exhibit genetic and behavioural overlap and have abnormalities in similar brain systems, in particular in frontal and cerebellar regions. This study compared the two neurodevelopmental disorders to investigate shared and disorder-specific structural brain abnormalities.Method.Forty-four predominantly medication-naïve male adolescents with ADHD, 19 medication-naïve male adolescents with ASD and 33 age-matched healthy male controls were scanned using high-resolution T1-weighted volumetric imaging in a 3-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to test for group-level differences in structural grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes.Results.There was a significant group difference in the GM of the right posterior cerebellum and left middle/superior temporal gyrus (MTG/STG). Post-hoc analyses revealed that this was due to ADHD boys having a significantly smaller right posterior cerebellar GM volume compared to healthy controls and ASD boys, who did not differ from each other. ASD boys had a larger left MTG/STG GM volume relative to healthy controls and at a more lenient threshold relative to ADHD boys.Conclusions.The study shows for the first time that the GM reduction in the cerebellum in ADHD is disorder specific relative to ASD whereas GM enlargement in the MTG/STG in ASD may be disorder specific relative to ADHD. This study is a first step towards elucidating disorder-specific structural biomarkers for these two related childhood disorders.

scholarly journals Heart rate variability during sleep in children with autism spectrum disorder

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 423-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
René Harder ◽  
Beth A. Malow ◽  
R. Lucas Goodpaster ◽  
Fahad Iqbal ◽  
Ann Halbower ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder

Voxel-based meta-analysis of regional white-matter volume differences in autism spectrum disorder versus healthy controls

2010 ◽  
Vol 41 (7) ◽  
pp. 1539-1550 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Radua ◽  
E. Via ◽  
M. Catani ◽  
D. Mataix-Cols
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
White Matter Volume ◽  
Matter Volume

BackgroundWe conducted a meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to clarify the changes in regional white-matter volume underpinning this condition, and generated an online database to facilitate replication and further analyses by other researchers.MethodPubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Knowledge and Scopus databases were searched between 2002 (the date of the first white-matter VBM study in ASD) and 2010. Manual searches were also conducted. Authors were contacted to obtain additional data. Coordinates were extracted from clusters of significant white-matter difference between patients and controls. A new template for white matter was created for the signed differential mapping (SDM) meta-analytic method. A diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-derived atlas was used to optimally localize the changes in white-matter volume.ResultsThirteen datasets comprising 246 patients with ASD and 237 healthy controls met inclusion criteria. No between-group differences were found in global white-matter volumes. ASD patients showed increases of white-matter volume in the right arcuate fasciculus and also in the left inferior fronto-occipital and uncinate fasciculi. These findings remained unchanged in quartile and jackknife sensitivity analyses and also in subgroup analyses (pediatric versus adult samples).ConclusionsPatients with ASD display increases of white-matter volume in tracts known to be important for language and social cognition. Whether the results apply to individuals with lower IQ or younger age and whether there are meaningful neurobiological differences between the subtypes of ASD remain to be investigated.

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