Negatively Skewed Locomotor Activity Is Related to Autistic Traits and Behavioral Problems in Typically Developing Children and Those With Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Kazuo Ogino,Ken Ebishima,Takayuki Nakahachi,Kazuhiro Yoshiuchi,Yoshiharu Yamamoto,Yoko Kamio,Hiroe Kikuchi,Toru Nakamura,Jinhyuk Kim,Tetsuya Ando,Hidetoshi Takahashi,Tomiki Sumiyoshi,Andrew Stickley

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00518

Abstract

An important objective for researchers and clinicians is to gain a better understanding of the factors that underlie autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). It is possible that investigating objective and quantitative behavioral phenotypes and their relationship to clinical characteristics, such as autistic traits and other emotional/behavioral problems, might facilitate this process. Given this, in the current study we examined the link between locomotor dynamics and clinical characteristics, including autistic traits and emotional/behavioral problems, in children with ASD (n = 14) and typically developing (TD) children (n = 13). A watch-type actigraph was used to continuously measure locomotor activity which was assessed in terms of mean activity levels and the skewness of activity. Parents assessed quantitative autistic traits using the Japanese version of the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and emotional and behavioral problems using the Japanese version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results showed that among all children, all-day activity was more negatively skewed, suggesting sporadic large all-day “troughs” in activity and was significantly correlated with the SRS social awareness subscale score (ρ = −0.446, p = 0.038). In addition, the more negatively skewed daytime locomotor activity was associated with the SDQ Hyperactivity Inattention subscale score (ρ = −0.493, p = 0.020). The results of this study indicate that investigating locomotor dynamics may provide one way to increase understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the clinical characteristics of ASD.

Highlights

The potential importance of translational research for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is increasing given that its biological pathology and fully effective treatments have not yet been determined
No other significant relationships were observed for the clinical characteristics of locomotor dynamics, while the significant relationships described above became non-significant when we divided the children into groups (ASD and typically developing (TD))
The results of this study showed that more negatively skewed all-day locomotor activity evaluated with an actigraph was related to the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) social awareness score when the ASD and TD children were combined in one group

Summary

Introduction

The potential importance of translational research for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is increasing given that its biological pathology and fully effective treatments have not yet been determined. The acquisition of more knowledge about objective and quantitative neurobiological and behavioral indices may facilitate the development of basic and clinical research as well as lead to possible ASD phenotypes being identified. In this context, locomotor dynamics may constitute a useful objective and quantifiable measure for translational research, as investigation of this behavioral index is less invasive and can be continued for an extended period of time in both laboratory (animal) and clinical research for the study of psychiatric and developmental disorders (Nakamura et al, 2008). Further extending the use of actigraphy to help determine the clinical relevance of locomotor activity in ASD may help reveal important mechanisms in the underlying neurophysiology of this condition, while using higher-order statistics might further contribute to the realization of this purpose

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion