Voice processing abilities in children with autism, children with specific language impairments and young typically developing children

It is well established that people with autism have impaired face processing, but much less is known about voice processing in autism. Four experiments were therefore carried out to assess (1) familiar voice-face and sound-object matching; (2) familiar voice recognition; (3) unfamiliar voice discrimination; and (4) vocal affect naming and vocal-facial affect matching. In Experiments 1 and 2 language-matched children with specific language impairment (SLI) were the controls. In Experiments 3 and 4 language-matched children with SLI and young mainstream children were the controls. The results were unexpected: the children with autism were not impaired relative to controls on Experiments 1, 2 and 3, and were superior to the children with SLI on both parts of Experiment 4, although impaired on affect matching relative to the mainstream children. These results are interpreted in terms of an unexpected impairment of voice processing in the children with SLI associated partly, but not wholly, with an impairment of cross-modal processing. Performance on the experimental tasks was not associated with verbal or nonverbal ability in either of the clinical groups. The implications of these findings for understanding autism and SLI are discussed

Assistive Autonomous Ground Vehicles in Smart Grid

AbstractAutonomous Ground Vehicles (AGVs) are nominated for a wide range of applications in smart cities. This paper studies and simulates the potential field algorithm used for path planning of such AGVs to extend there application for automation and control of smart grids. Different sensors are studied and implemented in the algorithm to help the AGV navigate from an initial position to a goal by avoiding any obstacles in its path. A solution is analyzed and simulated for the problem of AGVs getting trapped in local minima. A new application for the AGVs as assistance in smart grid is also discussed. A real implementation of the project has also been done at the KTH Smart Mobility Lab, Sweden using the Nexus robots and the algorithm was implemented successfully

Pathways and prospects in cancer research: Securing futures and negotiating boundaries

This paper draws on literature from the sociology of expectations to explore accounts of experts in cancer research and clinical practice. The cancer specialists’ accounts presented in this article are taken from interviews undertaken as part of a project that aimed to develop a research agenda for the next ten to thirty years that will achieve early detection and prevention in the four main cancers: (i) bowel and colorectal, (ii) prostate, (iii) lung and (iv) breast. Drawing on secondary analysis of the interviews, this article provides a sociological exploration of both the experts’ versions of the future and the interactions between the interviewer and research participant to show expectation in the making: the competing stories of what is and what ought to be the focus of cancer research now and in the (near) future. The building of a cancer research agenda is shown to be a contested future, represented by a dominant and resistant view of the cancer problem, in which cancer specialists must engage in performative strategies and boundary work to frame the present problem: what cancer is and how it can be detected and, subsequently, to claim credibility for a future pathway

Family socioeconomic position in early life and onset of depressive symptoms and depression:a prospective cohort study

PURPOSE: To investigate whether low parental socioeconomic position (SEP) at birth is associated only with early-onset depressive symptoms in offspring. METHODS: This prospective cohort study used data on 9193 individuals (4768 females, 4425 males) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Depressive symptoms during three age periods (10–12, 12–16, 16–20 years) were assessed using the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, and ICD-10 depression at age 18 was assessed using the Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised. RESULTS: Low SEP was associated with increased incidence rates of depressive symptoms in all age periods, with indicators of low standard of living showing the strongest associations. For instance, incidence rate ratios for material hardship were 1.75 (95% CI [1.42–2.15]) at 10–12 years, 1.36 (1.16–1.61) at 12–16 years and 1.39 (1.21–1.59) at 16–20 years. Low SEP was also associated with increased odds of ICD-10 depression at 18 years, ranging from OR = 1.20 (95% CI [0.94–1.52]) for manual social class to 1.74 (1.35–2.24) for material hardship. CONCLUSIONS: There was no evidence that depressive symptoms can be “subtyped” by the age of onset, because the association with low SEP was evident for early- and later-onset symptoms. If socioeconomic inequalities in early life have long-term adverse impacts on mental health, policies addressing these inequalities could benefit the mental health of the population. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00127-016-1308-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

The longitudinal association between external locus of control, social cognition and adolescent psychopathology

Purpose To investigate the longitudinal associations between social cognitive ability an external locus of control (externality) and adolescent psychopathology. Methods 7058 participants from a prospective population-based cohort provided data on externality, social communication and emotion perception between 7 to 16 years and psychotic experiences and depressive symptoms at 12 and 18 years. Bivariate probit modelling was used to investigate associations between these risk factors and psychopathological outcomes. Results Externality was associated with psychopathology at 12 (psychotic experiences OR1.23 95%CI 1.14,1.33; depression OR1.12 95%CI 1.02,1.22) and 18 years (psychotic experiences OR1.38 95% CI1.23,1.55; depression OR1.40 95% CI1.28,1.52). Poor social communication was associated with depression at both ages (12 years OR1.22 95%CI 1.11,1.34; 18 years OR1.21 95%CI 1.10,1.33) and marginally associated with psychotic experiences. There was marginal evidence of a larger association between externality and psychotic experiences at 12 years (p=0.06) and between social communication and depression at 12 years (p=0.03). Conclusions Externality was more strongly associated with psychotic experiences. At 18 years change in externality between 8 and 16 years was associated with a larger increase in the risk of depression. Poor social communication was more strongly associated with depression

Peer victimisation during adolescence and its impact on depression in early adulthood:prospective cohort study in the United Kingdom

Objective: To investigate the strength of the association between victimisation by peers at age 13 years and depression at 18 years. Design: Longitudinal observational study. Setting: Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a UK community based birth cohort. Participants: 6719 participants who reported on peer victimisation at age 13 years. Main outcome measures: Depression defined according to international classification of diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) criteria, assessed using the clinical interview schedule-revised during clinic assessments with participants when they were aged 18 years. 3898 participants had data on both victimisation by peers at age 13 years and depression at age 18 years. Results: Of the 683 participants who reported frequent victimisation at age 13 years, 101 (14.8%) were depressed according to ICD-10 criteria at 18 years; of the 1446 participants reporting some victimisation at age 13 years, 103 (7.1%) were depressed at age 18 years; and of the 1769 participants reporting no victimisation at age 13 years, 98 (5.5%) were depressed at age 18 years. Compared with children who were not victimised those who were frequently victimised by peers had over a twofold increase in odds of depression (odds ratio 2.96, 95% confidence interval 2.21 to 3.97, P<0.001). This association was slightly reduced when adjusting for confounders (2.32, 1.49 to 3.63, P<0.001). The population attributable fraction suggested that 29.2% (95% confidence interval 10.9% to 43.7%) of depression at age 18 years could be explained by peer victimisation if this were a causal relation. Conclusion: When using observational data it is impossible to be certain that associations are causal. However, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that victimisation by peers in adolescence is associated with an increase in the risk of developing depression as an adult

Conditional Beliefs of Primary-Care Patients with Treatment-Resistant Depression

Background:Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) aims to reframe underlying conditional beliefs that are thought to maintain depression.Aim:To systematically explore conditional beliefs expressed by primary-care based patients with TRD, defined as non-response to at least 6 weeks of antidepressants.Method:Conditional beliefs (stated in an “If. . .then. . .” format) were extracted from a random sample of 50 sets of therapist notes from the CoBalT trial, a large randomized controlled trial of CBT for TRD in primary care. The beliefs were separated into their two constituent parts; the demands (Ifs) and consequences (thens). An approach based on framework analysis provided a systematic way of organizing the data, and identifying key themes.Results:Four main themes emerged from the demand part of the conditional beliefs (Ifs): 1. High standards; 2. Putting others first/needing approval; 3. Coping; and 4. Hiding “true” self. Three main themes emerged from the consequence part of the conditional beliefs (thens): 1. Defectiveness; 2. Responses of others; 3. Control of emotions.Conclusions: Identifying common themes in the conditional beliefs of patients with TRD adds to our clinical understanding of this client group, providing useful information to facilitate the complex process of collaborative case conceptualization and working with conditional beliefs within CBT interventions.</jats:p

Possible Association of APOE Genotype with Working Memory in Young Adults

Possession of the ε4 allele of the Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. Early adult life effects of ε4 are less well understood. Working memory has been relatively little studied (compared to episodic memory) in relation to APOE genotype despite its importance in cognitive functioning. Our hypothesis was that ε4 would lead to an impairment in working memory in young adults.We studied working memory using a computerised n-back task in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) at age 18. Data was available for 1049-1927 participants and for the 2- and 3-back versions of the task. Using multiple and multi-level regression controlling for important confounders we examined the association between APOE genotype on accuracy and reaction times.There was no evidence of a genotype effect on accuracy when the two difficulty levels were examined separately. There was some evidence to support a deleterious effect of the ε4 allele on n-back accuracy in the multi-level regression. There was weak evidence that the ε22 group were less accurate but the numbers were very low in this group. The ε34 group had faster reaction times than the reference ε33 group in all adjusted analyses but the ε44 group were only faster in the 3-back condition in multi-level analyses.There was no evidence of benefit in ε4 carriers, but there was some evidence of a detrimental effect on working memory in this large study

Evaluating the role of a galanin enhancer genotype on a range of metabolic, depressive and addictive phenotypes

Funded by •ERC. Grant Number: 284167 •NIH. Grant Number: 1RO1DK0921127-01 •NWO. Grant Numbers: 463-06-001, 451-04-034Peer reviewedPublisher PD