Clinical and cognitive profile of nigral iron content in children with ADHD.

Exposure to multiple languages may support the development of Theory of Mind (ToM) in neurotypical (NT) and autistic children. However, previous research mainly applied group comparisons between monolingual and bilingual children, and the underlying mechanism of the observed difference remains unclear. The present study, therefore, sheds light on the effect of bilingualism on ToM in both NT and autistic children by measuring language experiences with a continuous operationalization. We measure ToM with a behavioral, linguistically simple tablet-based task, allowing inclusive assessment in autistic children. Analyses revealed no difference between monolingual and bilingual NT and autistic children. However, more balanced exposure to different languages within contexts positively predicted first-order false belief understanding in NT children but not autistic children. Mediation analysis showed that the impact in NT children was a direct effect and not mediated via other cognitive skills.

This research aimed to assess two components of emotion knowledge (EK): receptive EK with face emotion identification and matching tasks, and emotion situation knowledge with the emotion attribution task (EAT). Study 1 assessed the development of EK in 265 neurotypical (NT) children (4–11 years), divided into four age groups. Overall, results showed a significant improvement of EK with age in the NT population for the three tasks, especially between the ages of 4/5 and 6/7. Children were less successful at the EAT in comparison to the other two tasks, indicating that receptive EK develops earlier than emotion situation knowledge. The presence of visual context (EAT) does not help to improve our children’s overall facial emotion recognition, especially for anger and sadness, while these emotions are well recognized in isolated facial expressions (emotion identification). Study 2 compared EK between 32 children with Down syndrome (CA: M = 13 years, SD = 2.13) and 32 NT children (CA: M = 5.3 years, SD = 1.36): matched on a vocabulary task. Children with DS had more difficulties in EK than NT children. They had lower performances on the identification and the EAT tasks, while exhibited similar performances to their NT controls on the emotion matching task. Moreover, good abilities to identify emotion expressions seem to be a prerequisite for successful face-context recognition in NT children, but not in children with DS. Difficulties encountered by children with DS could result from executive dysfunction when dealing with complex visual information in addition to emotion processing difficulties.

Recent theories propose that domain-general deficits in prediction (i.e., the ability to anticipate upcoming information) underlie the behavioral characteristics associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). If these theories are correct, autistic children might be expected to demonstrate difficulties on linguistic tasks that rely on predictive processing. Previous research has largely focused on older autistic children and adolescents with average language and cognition. The present study used an eye-gaze task to evaluate predictive language processing among 3- to 4-year-old autistic children (n= 34) and 1.5- to 3-year-old, language-matched neurotypical (NT) children (n= 34). Children viewed images (e.g., a cake and a ball) and heard sentences with informative verbs (e.g., Eat the cake) or neutral verbs (e.g., Find the cake). Analyses of children's looking behaviors indicated that young autistic children, like their language-matched NT peers, engaged in predictive language processing. Regression results revealed a significant effect of diagnostic group, when statistically controlling for age differences. The NT group displayed larger difference scores between the informative and neutral verb conditions (in looks to target nouns) compared to the ASD group. Receptive language measures were predictive of looking behavior across time for both groups, such that children with stronger language skills were more efficient in making use of informative verbs to process upcoming information. Taken together, these results suggest that young autistic children can engage in predictive processing though further research is warranted to explore the developmental trajectory relative to NT development. LAY SUMMARY: This study found that 3- to 4-year-old autistic children and younger, language-matched neurotypical (NT) children both used verbs to predict upcoming nouns in sentences like "Eat the cake." For both autistic and NT children, those with stronger language skills were able to predict upcoming nouns more quickly.

Healthy sleep promotes physical, mental and neurobehavioural well-being, however it is widely acknowledged that neurodivergent children often experience sleep difficulties. We aimed to investigate the sleep health of neurodivergent (ND) children and neurotypical (NT) children in the Growing Up in New Zealand study over time. Methods Sleep duration, night wakings, and maternally reported sleep problems at 45-months, 2-years and 8-years were examined. Children were categorised into four groups based on Age-8 neurotype (ND/NT) and ethnicity (Māori/non-Māori) data and analysed using one-way ANOVA and chi square. Results Eight-year-old ND Māori had shorter average (mean [SD] hours) sleep (9.52 [1.30]) than NT non-Māori (9.76 [1.15], p=.016). At 2- and 8-years, a smaller proportion (% [95% CI]) of ND Māori (2-years 79.5% [72.6-85.2]; 8-years 77.0% [69.8-83.2]) and NT Māori (2-years 83.2% [80.6-85.6]; 8-years 80.0% [77.2-82.8]) had recommended sleep durations compared to NT non-Māori (2-years 87.2% [86.0-88.3]; 8- years 86.1% [84.9-87.3]). Similar patterns were observed for the other sleep measures, whereby a smaller proportion of ND children had an ‘appropriate’ number of night awakenings at 45-months and 8-years (Māori and non-Māori) compared to NT non-Māori. A larger proportion of ND children (Māori and non-Māori) had problematic sleep at 45-months and 8-years than NT children (Māori and non-Māori). This study adds to our knowledge of differences in sleep between Māori and non-Māori children, and the timeframe for the emergence of differences in sleep between ND and NT children.

Latent Class Analysis of Child Behavior Checklist Attention Problems

Previous research links resting frontal gamma power to key developmental outcomes in young neurotypical (NT) children and infants at risk for language impairment. However, it remains unclear whether gamma power is specifically associated with language or with more general cognitive abilities among young children diagnosedwith autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study evaluates differences in resting frontal gamma power between young autistic and NT children and tests whether gamma power is uniquely associated with individual differences in expressive language, receptive language and non-verbal cognitive abilities in autistic and NT children. Participants included 48 autistic children and 58 age- and sex-matched NT children (ages 22-60months). Baseline electroencephalography (EEG) recordings were acquired from each participant. Children also completed the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL). We found thatfrontal gamma power at rest did not differ between autistic and NT children. Among autistic children, reduced frontal gamma power was significantly associated with both higher expressive language skills and higher non-verbal cognitive skills, controlling for age and sex. The interaction between frontal gamma power and diagnostic status no longer explained unique variance in expressive language skills after controlling for variance associated with non-verbal cognitive skills across autistic and NT children. Together, these findings suggest that reduced gamma power is associated with both better expressive language and non-verbal cognitive skills among young autistic children. Moreover, associations between high frequency neural activity and cognition are not specific to verbal abilities but reflect neural mechanisms associated with general higher-order cognitive abilities in ASD.

Objective:Children with epilepsy are at greater risk of lower academic achievement than their typically developing peers (Reilly and Neville, 2015). Demographic, social, and neuropsychological factors, such as executive functioning (EF), mediate this relation. While research emphasizes the importance of EF skills for academic achievement among typically developing children (e.g., Best et al., 2011; Spiegel et al., 2021) less is known among children with epilepsy (Ng et al., 2020). The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of EF skills on academic achievement in a nationwide sample of children with epilepsy.Participants and Methods:Participants included 427 children with epilepsy (52% male; MAge= 10.71), enrolled in the Pediatric Epilepsy Research Consortium (PERC) Epilepsy Surgery Database who had been referred for surgery and underwent neuropsychological testing. Academic achievement was assessed by performance measures (word reading, reading comprehension, spelling, and calculation and word-based mathematics) and parent-rating measures (Adaptive Behavior Assessment System (ABAS) Functional Academics and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) School Performance). EF was assessed by verbal fluency measures, sequencing, and planning measures from the Delis Kaplan Executive Function System (DKEFS), NEPSY, and Tower of London test. Rating-based measures of EF included the 'Attention Problems’ subscale from the CBCL and 'Cognitive Regulation’ index from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF-2). Partial correlations assessed associations between EF predictors and academic achievement, controlling for fullscale IQ (FSIQ; A composite across intelligence tests). Significant predictors of each academic skill or rating were entered into a two-step regression that included FSIQ, demographics, and seizure variables (age of onset, current medications) in the first step with EF predictors in the second step.Results:Although zero-order correlations were significant between EF predictors and academic achievement (.29 < r’s < .63 for performance; -.63 < r’s < -.50 for rating measures), partial correlations controlling for FSIQ showed fewer significant relations. For performance-based EF, only letter fluency (DKEFS Letter Fluency) and cognitive flexibility (DKEFS Trails Condition 4) demonstrated significant associations with performance-based academic achievement (r’s > .29). Regression models for performance-based academic achievement indicated that letter fluency (ß = .22, p = .017) and CBCL attention problems (ß = -.21, p =.002) were significant predictors of sight-word reading. Only letter fluency (ß = .23, p =.006) was significant for math calculation. CBCL Attention Problems were a significant predictor of spelling performance (ß = -.21, p = .009) and reading comprehension (ß = -.18, p =.039). CBCL Attention Problems (ß = -.38, p <.001 for ABAS; ß = -.34, p =.002 for CBCL School) and BRIEF-2 Cognitive Regulation difficulties (ß = -.46, p < .001 for ABAS; ß = -.46, p =.013 for CBCL School) were significant predictors of parent-rated ABAS Functional Academics and CBCL School Performance.Conclusions:Among a national pediatric epilepsy dataset, performance-based and ratings-based measures of EF predicted performance academic achievement, whereas only ratings-based EF predicted parent-rated academic achievement, due at least in part to shared method variance. These findings suggest that interventions that increase cognitive regulation, reduce symptoms of attention dysfunction, and promote self-generative, flexible thinking, may promote academic achievement among children with epilepsy.

Autistic children (AT) are known to exhibit distinct postural control patterns compared to neurotypical (NT) children. However, identifying and interpreting these differences can be complex due to the wide range of variables used to analyse Centre of Pressure (CoP) trajectories. This study aims to elucidate the specific characteristics of postural control in AT children by identifying the most discriminative CoP variables that distinguish them from NT children. The study evaluated 24 AT and 24 NT children while they stood on a force plate for 30s under three conditions: eyes open (EO), eyes closed (EC), and the feet on a foam pad with eyes open (EOF). A total of 75 variables-including frequential, linear, and non-linear variables-were extracted from the CoP trajectory. These variables, expressed as the rate of change between the EC and EOF conditions relative to the EO condition, were compared between the AT and NT groups. A best-subsets approach was used to identify the most discriminative variables, and Pearson correlations were calculated to assess their relationship with age and Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) scores. Of the 75 variables analysed, 15 showed significant differences between the AT and NT groups. The best-subsets analysis and the correlations revealed that variables such as the rate of change between the EOF and EO conditions, and the root mean square of the trembling component of the CoP trajectory, were particularly discriminative. Autistic children demonstrated a more rigid and regular CoP trajectory, particularly in the EO condition, compared to NT children. These findings suggest that AT children have greater difficulty integrating multisensory information and an increased reliance on supraspinal processes for postural control.

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has subjected most of the world population to changes in daily life activities, mostly related to social isolation, family distancing and home confinement. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental syndromes, such as cri du chat syndrome (CDC) might be especially sensitive to the consequences of the pandemic, as they usually require a predefined and strictly controlled routine. Even before the pandemic, sleep disorders and complaints were more frequent in these children compared with neurotypical (NT) children. This study aimed to evaluate the sleep pattern of children with CDC and ASD before and during the pandemic, comparing it with NT children.MethodsChildren and adolescents between 0-18 years` parents or legal guardians were asked to answer the adapted Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire, related to both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsBefore quarantine, children with CDC and ASD had increased chances of sleeping in their parents’ bed, of needing parental assistance to fall asleep, of taking >30min to fall asleep and of having a wake after sleep onset time >30min compared to children with typical development. Being part of the CDC group significantly increased the odds of having awakenings during the night. After quarantine, there were a decrease in the proportion of children sleeping in their own bedrooms and an increase in the odds of awakening during the night in all groups. Children with CDC and ASD had increased chances of sleeping in their parents’ bed and had a significantly higher chance of taking more than 30min to fall asleep. Both the CDC and ASD group presented worse sleep patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic.ConclusionOur results indicated that the ASD and CDC groups usually have more sleep problems and complaints than NT children. The CDC group showed worse sleep parameters overall, even before quarantine.Support (If Any)Our studies are supported by Associação Fundo de Incentivo à Pesquisa (AFIP), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES Finance Code 001 to GLF) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico Tecnológico (CNPq – Grant #141445/2021-1 to GLF); S.T. and M.L.A. received CNPq fellowships.

BackgroundUnusual behavioral reactions to sensory stimuli are frequently reported in individuals on the autism spectrum (AS). Despite the early emergence of sensory features (< age 3) and their potential impact on development and quality of life, little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying sensory reactivity in early childhood autism.MethodsHere, we used electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate tactile cortical processing in young children aged 3–6 years with autism and in neurotypical (NT) children. Scalp EEG was recorded from 33 children with autism, including those with low cognitive and/or verbal abilities, and 45 age- and sex-matched NT children during passive tactile fingertip stimulation. We compared properties of early and later somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) and their adaptation with repetitive stimulation between autistic and NT children and assessed whether these neural measures are linked to “real-world” parent-reported tactile reactivity.ResultsAs expected, we found elevated tactile reactivity in children on the autism spectrum. Our findings indicated no differences in amplitude or latency of early and mid-latency somatosensory-evoked potentials (P50, N80, P100), nor adaptation between autistic and NT children. However, latency of later processing of tactile information (N140) was shorter in young children with autism compared to NT children, suggesting faster processing speed in young autistic children. Further, correlational analyses and exploratory analyses using tactile reactivity as a grouping variable found that enhanced early neural responses were associated with greater tactile reactivity in autism.LimitationsThe relatively small sample size and the inclusion of a broad range of autistic children (e.g., with low cognitive and/or verbal abilities) may have limited our power to detect subtle group differences and associations. Hence, replications are needed to verify these results.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that electrophysiological somatosensory cortex processing measures may be indices of “real-world” tactile reactivity in early childhood autism. Together, these findings advance our understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying tactile reactivity in early childhood autism and, in the clinical context, may have therapeutic implications.

Here’s the story: Narrative ability and executive function in autism spectrum disorder

Animals are part of humans’ social environment and present numerous benefits. Each partner in a human-animal interaction uses signals emitted by the other (e.g. postures, gestures or gaze directions) to collect information to adjust their behaviour. Face processing impairment is associated with social interaction impairment observed in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). For example children with ASD explore human eyes visually less than do neurotypical (NT) children. Given the strong bonding between ASD children and animals, we hypothesized that animal face processing by ASD is normal. Thus, our study compared ASD (n=12) and NT (n=18) childrens’ patterns of fixation of animal (horse, dog, and cat) and human faces in a passive viewing task using an eye tracking technique. Our results, using animal pictures, confirmed that the eyes were the part of the face looked at the longest by NT children and, to a lesser extent, by ASD children, but only NT children looked at the eyes of human pictures longer than other parts. Familiarity with animals seemed to modulate the exploration of animal, especially cat faces. Implications for understanding social interaction impairment related to ASD are discussed.

Interacting with animals often provides numerous benefits for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). One potential explanation for this is that children with ASD exhibit particular visual attention to animals. This study aimed to characterize the visual attention patterns towards humans and animals in children with ASD compared to neurotypical (NT) children during one-time first exposure to an assistance dog. Forty children participated (18 ASD, 22 NT). The interventions were videorecorded. Three categories of visual attention (gaze, glance, and mutual gaze) directed towards assistance dogs and human professionals were coded using ethological methods. Both the children with ASD and the NT children gazed more frequently at the assistance dog than at the professional. However, although infrequently, both groups shared more mutual gazes with the professional than with the assistance dog. Both the NT children and the children with ASD preferred to gaze rather than to glance at, or share mutual gazes with, the assistance dogs. The attention patterns of the NT children towards the professionals were consistent, whereas those of the children with ASD were not. Statistical linear models revealed that a child’s status (ASD/NT) was the only factor influencing the frequency and duration of the visual behaviors observed. These results confirm that individuals with ASD exhibit particularly focused attention towards animals.

BackgroundRecent advancements in digital technologies hold promise for psychological interventions. Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a particularly innovative tool, and its application expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic period. A recent study combining material and psychological rewards within a VR platform showed that this approach effectively improves attention-deficit behaviors in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), enhancing their inhibitory control abilities.ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a newly developed VR-based cognitive control training game for children with ADHD symptoms. Specifically, it examined the sustainability of the training effects through a 3-month follow-up assessment. In addition, the study analyzed training response patterns and influential factors using a clustering method.MethodA total of 29 children and adolescents (21 males and 8 females) aged 10-14 years participated in the study, with a mean IQ of 94 (SD 16.53). For 20 consecutive days, participants self-administered the training on a daily basis using the VR app. The following assessments were administered face-to-face: the Korean Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition; the Stroop test; the Color Trails test; and the Flanker test from the National Institutes of Health toolbox. In addition, the parent-completed Korean Child Behavior Checklist was used to identify behavioral problems in the children. Participants engaged in at least 20 minutes of daily training for 20 consecutive days, with assessments conducted at baseline, posttraining, and follow-up.ResultsRepeated measures ANOVA revealed significant main effects in the Stroop Color-Word test (F2,56=4.97; P=.001; ηp2=0.151), Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) Total Problems (F2,56=21.0; P<.001; ηp2=0.429), CBCL Attention Problems (F2,56=11.7; P<.001; ηp2=0.294), and CBCL ADHD (F2,56=3.46; P=.004; ηp2=0.110). K-means clustering identified 2 distinct clusters that did not differ significantly in IQ variables but showed significant differences in game-related behavioral variables, including mean correct response time (t27=−2.56; P=.02) and the correct response ratio (t27=2.60; P=.02).ConclusionsThe findings indicate that the VR-based training effectively improved cognitive control on the Stroop test and ADHD-related symptoms as measured by the CBCL. However, no significant training effects were observed on other attentional measures, namely the Color Trails test and the Flanker test from the National Institutes of Health toolbox. This VR-based approach shows promise as a potential therapeutic intervention for children with ADHD symptoms.

Bilingualism is a complex experience that may enhance executive functions (EF). This potential benefit could be particularly relevant for autistic children, given that they tend to present EF difficulties. Some studies find bilingualism benefits in attention, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and memory, in neurotypical and autistic children while others do not. These inconsistencies may arise from oversimplifying the operationalization of bilingualism, obscuring the mechanisms underlying its effects on EF. This study used continuous measures to operationalize bilingualism and test its links with EF. Bayesian multilevel modeling showed that higher second language proficiency in 168 autistic (M = 8;3) and 262 neurotypical (M = 7;8) children was associated with better attention and working memory in neurotypical children and better attention, short-term memory, working memory, and shifting abilities in autistic children.