Typically-developing Population Research Articles

The impact of depressive and anxious symptoms on quality of life in adults on the autism spectrum.

Quality of life (QoL) is lower in adults on the autism spectrum (AS) compared with typically developing (TD) adults. In this context, recent studies have examined the role of depression and anxiety in reducing QoL in AS adults. The aim of this study was to (1) replicate these findings of lower QoL and (2) assess the negative influence of depressive and anxious symptoms on QoL in an adult AS (N = 86) and TD (N = 87) German sample with a broad age range (18-70 years). For this, we used questionnaires that have been validated for the AS and TD population: the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version, the Autism-Specific QoL items, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. We replicated previous findings and extended them to autism-specific QoL. Our AS sample had lower QoL compared with the TD adults. However, depressive symptoms were the largest contributor to lower QoL in both samples, more so than group membership and anxious symptoms. We conclude that interventions to improve QoL in AS adults should specifically target depressive symptoms and for this, improvements to the diagnostic process and treatment of depression in AS are necessary.

Construct validity, reliability, and responsiveness of the Wrist Position Sense Test for use in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.

We investigate the construct validity, test re-test reliability, and responsiveness of the Wrist Position Sense Test (WPST) for children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP). Twenty-eight children with spastic hemiplegic CP [mean age 10.8 years; SD 2.4 years] and 39 typically developing (TD) children [mean age 11 years; SD 2.9 years] participated in a cross-sectional study to investigate construct validity and association with an upper limb activity measure, the Box and Block Test (BBT). Twenty-two TD children were tested at a second time-point to examine reliability. Test responsiveness was determined by random allocation of 17 children with CP to a treatment (n = 10) or control (n = 7) group with assessments completed at four time-points. Significantly greater differences were observed in mean error of indicated wrist position (p < 0.01) in children with CP at baseline (M = 21.6°, SD = 21.6°) than in TD children (M = 12.8°, SD = 11.0°). Larger WPST errors were associated with poorer performance on the BBT (p < 0.01) indicating a substantial association, and there were no consistent differences between time-points indicating test re-test reliability within a TD population. The WPST demonstrated responsiveness to intervention with a statistically significant reduction in mean error following treatment (p < 0.001), not seen in the control group (p = 0.28). The WPST demonstrated construct validity in this preliminary study. Scores were associated with an upper limb activity measure, and scores changed significantly following somatosensory training. These findings support further research and future psychometric investigation of the WPST in children with CP. This study provides psychometric knowledge about the WPST tool The WPST shows promise as a discriminative measure with preliminary evidence of responsiveness and intra-rater reliability Until further testing, the WPST can be used cautiously in future research studies to measure wrist position sense.

Seeing faces where there are none: Pareidolia correlates with age but not autism traits

Previous research has found that individuals with autism spectrum disorder experience difficulties when visually processing face stimuli compared to developmentally typical individuals. Whether, in the typically-developing population, face detection depends on autism-like traits (ALTs) is less clear. In this report, we aimed to develop an experimental design that is more sensitive to any individual differences in face detection than previous reports. We employed pareidolia, that is, cases where non-face stimuli are perceived to be faces, assuming this is more difficult than detection of ‘real’ faces, decreasing changes of ceiling performance. We also show multiple faces per trial, allowing for a more graded assessment of face detection ability. Participants were 263 individuals aged between 18 and 82 years of age. Pareidolia was investigated in two online experiments, with different types of stimuli: objects that could be perceived as faces (i.e., embedded faces task) and Mooney faces (Mooney face task). In the latter condition, we also investigated the face inversion effect. We found that neither detection ability or the inversion effect depended on ALTs. We did find a dependence of age for both measures, and a complex dependence on gender for Mooney faces. Our data suggest that face detection (and specifically pareidolia) does not depend on ALTs, but does depend on the age of the observer. The dependence on age appears to be different between the two experiments, suggesting that the underlying mechanisms necessary for face detection in our two experiments mature and decline at different rates.

Comparison of resting-state EEG between adults with Down syndrome and typically developing controls

BackgroundDown syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability (ID) worldwide. Understanding electrophysiological characteristics associated with DS provides potential mechanistic insights into ID, helping inform biomarkers and targets for intervention. Currently, electrophysiological characteristics associated with DS remain unclear due to methodological differences between studies and inadequate controls for cognitive decline as a potential cofounder.MethodsEyes-closed resting-state EEG measures (specifically delta, theta, alpha, and beta absolute and relative powers, and alpha peak amplitude, frequency and frequency variance) in occipital and frontal regions were compared between adults with DS (with no diagnosis of dementia or evidence of cognitive decline) and typically developing (TD) matched controls (n = 25 per group).ResultsWe report an overall ‘slower’ EEG spectrum, characterised by higher delta and theta power, and lower alpha and beta power, for both regions in people with DS. Alpha activity in particular showed strong group differences, including lower power, lower peak amplitude and greater peak frequency variance in people with DS.ConclusionsSuch EEG ‘slowing’ has previously been associated with cognitive decline in both DS and TD populations. These findings indicate the potential existence of a universal EEG signature of cognitive impairment, regardless of origin (neurodevelopmental or neurodegenerative), warranting further exploration.

Inferring the Performance of Children with Dyslexia from that of the General Population: The Case of Associative Phonological Working Memory

ABSTRACT The study examines whether the average performance of the population with dyslexia in a working memory measure can be inferred dimensionally from the characteristics of the typical population. Specifically, we focused on Associative Phonological Working Memory (APWM), an ability that we predicted being impaired in dyslexia due to the relationship of reading with both associative learning and working memory (WM). Study 1a revealed a linear relationship between APWM and reading ability in 438 typically-developing (TD) children, after accounting for fluid intelligence and phonological WM. In Study 1b a simulation procedure was used to calculate the deficit in APWM expected in children with dyslexia, based on the set of correlations found in Study 1a. This prediction was compared with the actual performance of 26 children with dyslexia. A deficit in APWM was confirmed, and its extent was in line with that simulated from the correlational structure seen in the TD population.

Autism Spectrum Disorder and Mental Health Problems: Patterns of Difficulties and Longitudinal Trajectories in a Population-Based Twin Sample

There is increasing concern regarding additional psychiatric problems that co-occur with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as reflected in recent changes to diagnostic schemes. However, there remains little research with population-based samples across childhood. We report on additional problems, as measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, in a population-based sample of 135 twins with ASD, 55 non-ASD co-twins, and 144 comparison twins low in ASD traits. Frequencies, associated demographic factors, and changes in mental health difficulties from age 4 to 13 years are presented. Our data confirm the high rates of additional difficulties reported in previous studies, and suggest that the profile, associated risk factors and longitudinal course of additional difficulties in ASD may differ from those in typically-developing populations.

Atypical age-related changes in cortical thickness in autism spectrum disorder

Recent longitudinal neuroimaging and neurophysiological studies have shown that tracking relative age-related changes in neural signals, rather than a static snapshot of a neural measure, could offer higher sensitivity for discriminating typically developing (TD) individuals from those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is not clear, however, which aspects of age-related changes (trajectories) would be optimal for identifying atypical brain development in ASD. Using a large cross-sectional data set (Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange [ABIDE] repository; releases I and II), we aimed to explore age-related changes in cortical thickness (CT) in TD and ASD populations (age range 6–30 years old). Cortical thickness was estimated from T1-weighted MRI images at three scales of spatial coarseness (three parcellations with different numbers of regions of interest). For each parcellation, three polynomial models of age-related changes in CT were tested. Specifically, to characterize alterations in CT trajectories, we compared the linear slope, curvature, and aberrancy of CT trajectories across experimental groups, which was estimated using linear, quadratic, and cubic polynomial models, respectively. Also, we explored associations between age-related changes with ASD symptomatology quantified as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) scores. While no overall group differences in cortical thickness were observed across the entire age range, ASD and TD populations were different in terms of age-related changes, which were located primarily in frontal and tempo-parietal areas. These atypical age-related changes were also associated with ADOS scores in the ASD group and used to predict ASD from TD development. These results indicate that the curvature is the most reliable feature for localizing brain areas developmentally atypical in ASD with a more pronounced effect with symptomatology and is the most sensitive in predicting ASD development.

Cortisol awakening response in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundThe cortisol awakening response (CAR) is characterised by an increase in cortisol in the 30 to 60 min after waking. Research has found significant associations between an atypical CAR and...

Visual memory profile in children with high functioning autism

Visual memory in children with high-functioning autism (HFA) is an area of debate. According to the few studies that have examined visual memory in children with autism, the memory profile appears to vary according to the memory process and type of stimuli, and contrasting results may be found. This study aims to analyze the visual memory profile of children with HFA. Fifteen children with HFA (mean age 9.6) and 15 typically developing children (TD; mean age 9.2) matched by chronological age and Leiter-R Brief IQ score took part in the study. Associative and recognition memory as well as visuospatial working memory were assessed. Impairments in face recognition and forward memory were found, whereas associative memory and shape recognition were preserved. The memory profile in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) showed relatively stronger abilities in associative memory than in the other visual memory domains. The results support the hypothesis that the level of stimulus processing may influence memory performance by having a large impact on tasks and stimuli that require access to a semantic or global level of processing. In contrast to the TD population, children with ASD may have difficulty extracting underlying regularities from experiences and generalizing that information. Highlights Children with high-functioning autism (HFA) show preserved ability in associative memory and shape recognition. Face recognition appears to be a specific deficit in children with HFA. Associative memory appeared to be the strongest ability in the memory profile of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing (TD) children.

Comparison of Three Clinical Trial Treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorder Through Multivariate Analysis of Changes in Metabolic Profiles and Adaptive Behavior.

Several studies associate autism spectrum disorder (ASD) pathophysiology with metabolic abnormalities related to DNA methylation and intracellular redox homeostasis. In this regard, three completed clinical trials are reexamined in this work: treatment with (i) methylcobalamin (MeCbl) in combination with low-dose folinic acid (LDFA), (ii) tetrahydrobiopterin, and (iii) high-dose folinic acid (HDFA) for counteracting abnormalities in the folate-dependent one-carbon metabolism (FOCM) and transsulfuration (TS) pathways and also for improving ASD-related symptoms and behaviors. Although effects of treatment on individual metabolites and behavioral measures have previously been investigated, this study is the first to consider the effect of interventions on a set of metabolites of the FOCM/TS pathways and to correlate FOCM/TS metabolic changes with behavioral improvements across several studies. To do so, this work uses data from one case–control study and the three clinical trials to develop multivariate models for considering these aspects of treatment. Fisher discriminant analysis (FDA) is first used to establish a model for distinguishing individuals with ASD from typically developing (TD) controls, which is subsequently evaluated on the three treatment data sets, along with one data set for a placebo, to characterize the shift of FOCM/TS metabolism toward that of the TD population. Treatment with MeCbl plus LDFA and, separately, treatment with tetrahydrobiopterin significantly shifted the metabolites toward the values of the control group. Contrary to this, treatment with HDFA had a lesser, though still noticeable, effect whilst the placebo group showed marginal, but not insignificant, variations in metabolites. A second analysis is then performed with non-linear kernel partial least squares (KPLS) regression to predict changes in adaptive behavior, quantified by the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Composite, from changes in FOCM/TS biochemical measurements provided by treatment. Incorporating the 74 samples receiving any treatment, including placebo, into the regression analysis yields an R2 of 0.471 after cross-validation when using changes in six metabolic measurements as predictors. These results are suggestive of an ability to effectively improve pathway-wide FOCM/TS metabolic and behavioral abnormalities in ASD with clinical treatment.

Characterization of spinal cord diffusion tensor imaging metrics in clinically asymptomatic pediatric subjects with incidental congenital lesions.

Retrospective study. To perform quantitative DTI measurements of the entire cervical and thoracic spinal cord (SC) in typically developing (TD) pediatric subjects with incidental findings of syringomyelia or hydromyelia on conventional MRI and in a TD population without any abnormalities. USA. 26 TD recruited as part of large SC DTI study, four of these had incidental findings. Axial DTI images were acquired on 3T MR scanner to cover the cervical and thoracic SC. We performed group analysis of DTI values in the cord above and below the MR-defined lesion. For single-subject analysis, the cord above and below the lesion was compared to average values of TD population. A standard least squares regression model was used to compare DTI parameters fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) between TD population and subjects with hydromyelia and syringomyelia. A p value of 0.05 was used for statistical significance. In group analysis, MD and AD were significantly different in cord above the lesion in subjects with hydromyelia and syringomyelia (n = 4) compared to TD population (n = 22). For single-subject analysis, DTI parameters were significantly different in cord above the syringomyelia and below the syringomyelia; MD, AD, and RD were significantly different. A subject with hydromyelia showed significant difference in FA below the lesion. This study demonstrates that DTI has the potential to be used as an imaging biomarker to evaluate SC above and below the congenital lesion in syringohydromyelia subjects.

Imaginary Companions in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

One of the deficits observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is impaired imaginative play. One form of imaginative play common in many typically developing (TD) children is having an imaginary companion (IC). The occurrence of ICs has not been investigated extensively in children with ASD. We examined differences in parent report of IC between TD and ASD populations in 215 (111 with ASD) gender-matched children aged between 2 and 8 years. Findings indicate that significantly fewer children with ASD created ICs, although there were many between-group similarities in IC forms and functions. Results are discussed in terms of qualitative differences in play, social attributions, and how children with ASD conceptualize their ICs’ minds.

Individual differences in high-level biological motion tasks correlate with autistic traits

Human actions are rich in social cues and play an essential role in interacting with the social environment. Hence, the perception of biological motion (i.e., movement elicited by humans and other animals) is considered to be an important gauge of a person’s social cognition capacities. It has been well-documented that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is associated with difficulties in social interactions. In the present study, we examined whether individual differences in biological motion perception relate to the degree of autistic traits among people in the typically-developing population. We employed three tasks that require different degrees of involvement of global action processing: action discrimination in noise, action inversion effect in binocular rivalry, and inter-personal interaction recognition. We found that individuals with higher numbers of autistic traits showed similar action discrimination performance as individuals with fewer autistic traits but exhibited a reduced inversion effect in binocular rivalry, and a decreased ability to recognize meaningful human interactions. These findings provide converging evidence that global processing of biological motion is affected in people with a high degree of autistic traits.

Dual Cognitive and Biological Correlates of Anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a high prevalence (~40%) of anxiety disorders compared to their non-ASD peers. It is unclear whether cognitive and biological processes associated with anxiety in ASD are analogous to anxiety in typically developing (TD) populations. In this study 55 boys with ASD (34 with a co-occurring anxiety disorder, 21 without) and 28 male controls, aged 10-16years and with a full-scale IQ≥70, completed a series of clinical, cognitive (attention bias/interpretation bias) and biological measures (salivary cortisol/HR response to social stress) associated with anxiety in TD populations. Structural equation modelling was used to reveal that that both attentional biases and physiological responsiveness were significant, but unrelated, predictors of anxiety in ASD.

Inter-rater reliability of treatment fidelity and therapeutic alliance measures for psychological therapies for anxiety in young people with autism spectrum disorders

Objectives: This article presents work undertaken to establish inter-rater reliability for a measure of treatment fidelity and a measure of therapeutic alliance for therapies for anxiety for young people with autism spectrum disorders. The discussion and decision-making processes behind achieving consensus of raters are rarely published. Margolin et al. (1998) have highlighted this issue and called for researchers to communicate the details of their observational and rating procedures. This article is a response to their call for greater transparency so that these methods are readily accessible for comparison with other studies.Methods: Participants were young people with autism spectrum disorders receiving treatment for anxiety, clinical staff treating these young people and the independent raters assessing the treatment sessions. We report: (i) the processes involved in establishing inter-rater reliability for two instruments, (ii) the results obtained with a sample of young people with autism spectrum disorders using these instruments.Results and conclusions: Results demonstrate that it was possible to attain satisfactory inter-rater reliability with each of these two instruments with a client group with autism spectrum disorders, even though the instruments were originally designed for typically-developing populations.

Learning new faces in typical and atypical populations of children

Recognizing an individual as familiar is an important aspect of our social cognition, which requires both learning a face and recalling it. It has been suggested that children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) have deficits and abnormalities in face processing. We investigated whether the process by which unfamiliar faces become familiar differs in typically developing (TD) children, children with ASD, and children with developmental delay. Children were familiarized with a set of moving novel faces presented over a three-day period. Recognition of the learned faces was assessed at five time points during the three-day period. Both immediate and delayed recall of faces was tested. All groups showed improvements in face recognition at immediate recall, which indicated that learning had occurred. The TD population showed slightly better performance than the two other groups, however no difference was specific to the ASD group. All groups showed similar levels of improvements with time. Our results are discussed in terms of learning in ASD.

A predictive coding perspective on autism spectrum disorders

A predictive coding perspective on autism spectrum disorders

P01-124 Riluzole for affective and behavioral disturbance in autism

Objective:This paper reviews the novel usage of riluzole, an antiglutamatergic and neuroprotective agent, for affective and behavioral stabilization in autism.Method:A review of the English-language literature on riluzole usage for pediatric and adult psychopathology, combined with the author's experience with two autistic patients who demonstrated prominent affective stabilization and reduction in self-injury with riluzole.Results:Riluzole was developed for usage in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and is the only drug to slow the progression of this devastating neurological disease. Riluzole inhibits release of glutamate, the primary excitatory amino acid in the brain, and enhances GABA-A receptor function. Riluzole has demonstrated efficacy in open-label trials of adult unipolar and bipolar depression as well as pediatric and adult obsessive-compulsive disorder. Case reports have additionally documented benefit in trichotillomania and self-injury. There is not yet published literature on riluzole usage in autism, but the following cases are presented:Pt 1: A 20 year-old male with autism, depression with suicidality and self-injury who demonstrated a partial response to electroconvulsive therapy and traditional adjunctive psychopharmacology. Riluzole addition provided sustained remission of residual symptoms.Pt 2: A 9 year-old male with autism, cyclical mood disturbance and extreme self-injury towards the head requiring extensive protective equipment for safety. Riluzole conferred both affective stabilization and prominent reduction in self-injury.Conclusion:Riluzole is a new psychopharmacological agent. Efficacy has been demonstrated for mood and anxiety disorders in the typically-developing population. Similar positive benefit may be seen for psychopathology in autism, and merits further investigation.