Autism, Dilogic and Persons

The syndrome of autism was first systematically identified in the 1940's (Kanner 1943), and has been the focus of a broad range of work since that time (Rutter 1999). Its symptomatology is seemingly diverse, and involves a rough division between 'personal' and 'nonpersonal' tendencies. In the personal category are difficulties in understanding and interacting with other persons, socialisation, empathy and communication. In the non-personal category are difficulties in adaptability, occasional special abilities, and a wide range of peculiarities in learning, generalisation, pursuit of narrow interests, and so on. Some tendencies, such as peculiarities in the use of language, seem to span both categories. A central question in the theory of autism, therefore, is whether these two categories of impairment share a common pattern or character. It is true that received sets of diagnostic criteria (World Health Organisation 1993; American Psychiatric Association 1994), drawn from empirical observation, give the impression of a split syndrome in which non-personal and personal tendencies occur together but are different in nature. However, we cannot simply trust the language games which inform the presentation of these observations: as Wittgenstein repeatedly argued, forms of words and 'analogies in language' can have the effect of obscuring both similarities and differences between things (Peterson 1990). The main thesis of the present paper is that there does exist a pattern common to these two areas of impairment, in that both involve dilogical structures

Psycho-physiologic emergentism; four minds in a body

The mind-body problem represents one of the most debated topics in the neurosciences. From a psychological standpoint, abstract/non-material data are an intrinsic part of the mind, intervening to a large extent in reasoning and decision making processes. Imaging studies also show a strong correlation between higher cognitive functions (such as working memory) and specific cerebral brain regions (a fronto-parietal network of interacting left and right brain areas). In contrast, the physical/material brain would be unable to interact with abstract-immaterial data, such that the psychological processing of abstract data (processes such as thinking, reasoning, and judgment) is attributed to the mind, with the mind representing a distinct entity interposed between the brain and abstract-immaterial data. Recent data suggest that the mind-body problem may simply be an artifact of human experience/ understanding, as the brain actually represents actually an intrinsic part of the mind. Even if the physical brain is not able to interact with abstract mental data, the brain still could process abstract data through a dynamic association between the abstract data and cerebral stimuli/ impulses. This form of processing without interaction defines the mind as a complex neurobiological structure, with the unconscious part of the mind processing abstract-immaterial data in a conscious/ mental format. In this overview, important concepts of psycho-physiologic emergentism, including internal mental reality, internal mental existence, internal mental interaction, and structural and informational dichotomies of the brain, are iterated. Such concepts/properties represent a neuro-informational support system capable of generating four distinct minds within the single brain. Future studies should further develop the dynamic and immaterial-material nature of the mind, as a possible premise for a scientific definition and understanding of mental events like affectivity, emotions, soul, etc

The moderating effect of autism symptomology on the relationship of cognitive and adaptive functioning with anxiety symptoms in infants and toddlers

Anxiety disorders have been shown to have a high prevalence rate in the general population and the prevalence in those with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is even higher. The detection, diagnosis, and implementation of an early intervention program for these disorders are crucial to the developmental outcome for such individuals. Researchers have shown how cognitive and adaptive functioning are related and affect anxiety symptoms in children as well as the high comorbidity with ASD. The aim of this study was to confirm those relationships, using scores from the BISCUIT-Part 2 (anxiety symptomology) and the BDI-II (Cognitive and Adaptive Developmental Quotient), and to show the moderating effect of autism symptomology, as measured by the BISCUIT-Part 1, in infants and toddlers. A sample of 2,366 infants and toddlers between the ages of 17 -36 months of age was utilized in a hierarchical moderation analysis and follow-up post-hoc analyses were also completed to determine the source of the interaction within subdomains of cognitive and adaptive functioning. The relationship between autism symptomology and anxiety was confirmed as well as the relationship between Cognitive DQ and anxiety. Adaptive DQ was found to be positively correlated with anxiety but in the opposite direction as expected. The moderating effect of autism symptomology in the interaction terms between Cognitive and Adaptive DQ individually with anxiety was statistically significant but with a small effect size. Similar results were found for the full regression model including the 3-way interaction between Cognitive DQ, Adaptive DQ, and autism symptomology with a negligible effect size

Izkusnje uciteljev poslovne sole s studentom z motnjo avtisticnega spektra

Autism has become an increasingly relevant topic in the research of neuroscience with the objective of enabling people with this condition to become equal opportunity members of the society; this includes an exploration of the benefits of the public education system. However, the science and knowledge in this field have thus far been limited, and the results of scientific findings have been very rare. The objective of the study was to explore primarily the first experiences of higher education teachers dealing with a student with an autism spectrum disorder. The aim was to learn lessons and contribute to some new understanding of special and adapted pedagogical approaches. The methodology of the study is qualitative, using (i) a case study as an objective of the researchers, and (ii) in-depth interviews with the twelve teachers about their experience with (for them) the new demanding assignment to teach a student with an autism spectrum disorder. The case study is about three years of undergraduate studies of a student with autism spectrum disorder who, in the end, obtained a bachelor’s degree in the field of business. The findings reveal that teachers generally viewed the experience as very positive and found teaching to be a challenge. For success, cooperation with experts and parents is crucial, but the education institution (of which all are stakeholders) could and should have done more. However, taking into account that the challenge is new, this study may contribute to some further development. (DIPF/Orig.

The Role of Alpha Oscillations among the Main Neuropsychiatric Disorders in the Adult and Developing Human Brain: Evidence from the Last 10 Years of Research

Alpha oscillations (7–13 Hz) are the dominant rhythm in both the resting and active brain. Accordingly, translational research has provided evidence for the involvement of aberrant alpha activ- ity in the onset of symptomatological features underlying syndromes such as autism, schizophrenia, major depression, and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, findings on the matter are difficult to reconcile due to the variety of paradigms, analyses, and clinical phenotypes at play, not to mention recent technical and methodological advances in this domain. Herein, we seek to address this issue by reviewing the literature gathered on this topic over the last ten years. For each neuropsychiatric disorder, a dedicated section will be provided, containing a concise account of the current models proposing characteristic alterations of alpha rhythms as a core mechanism to trigger the associated symptomatology, as well as a summary of the most relevant studies and scientific con- tributions issued throughout the last decade. We conclude with some advice and recommendations that might improve future inquiries within this field

Interacting with Fictions:The Role of Pretend Play in Theory of Mind Acquisition

Pretend play is generally considered to be a developmental landmark in Theory of Mind acquisition. The aim of the present paper is to offer a new account of the role of pretend play in Theory of Mind development. To this end I combine Hutto and Gallagher’s account of social cognition development with Matravers’ recent argument that the cognitive processes involved in engagement with narratives are neutral regarding fictionality. The key contribution of my account is an analysis of pretend play as interaction with fictions. I argue that my account offers a better explanation of existing empirical data on the development of children’s pretend play and Theory of Mind than the competing theories from Leslie, Perner and Harris

Are developmental disorders like cases of adult brain damage? Implications from connectionist modelling

It is often assumed that similar domain-specific behavioural impairments found in cases of adult brain damage and developmental disorders correspond to similar underlying causes, and can serve as convergent evidence for the modular structure of the normal adult cognitive system. We argue that this correspondence is contingent on an unsupported assumption that atypical development can produce selective deficits while the rest of the system develops normally (Residual Normality), and that this assumption tends to bias data collection in the field. Based on a review of connectionist models of acquired and developmental disorders in the domains of reading and past tense, as well as on new simulations, we explore the computational viability of Residual Normality and the potential role of development in producing behavioural deficits. Simulations demonstrate that damage to a developmental model can produce very different effects depending on whether it occurs prior to or following the training process. Because developmental disorders typically involve damage prior to learning, we conclude that the developmental process is a key component of the explanation of endstate impairments in such disorders. Further simulations demonstrate that in simple connectionist learning systems, the assumption of Residual Normality is undermined by processes of compensation or alteration elsewhere in the system. We outline the precise computational conditions required for Residual Normality to hold in development, and suggest that in many cases it is an unlikely hypothesis. We conclude that in developmental disorders, inferences from behavioural deficits to underlying structure crucially depend on developmental conditions, and that the process of ontogenetic development cannot be ignored in constructing models of developmental disorders

Personalized Recommendation of PoIs to People with Autism

The suggestion of Points of Interest to people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) challenges recommender systems research because these users' perception of places is influenced by idiosyncratic sensory aversions which can mine their experience by causing stress and anxiety. Therefore, managing individual preferences is not enough to provide these people with suitable recommendations. In order to address this issue, we propose a Top-N recommendation model that combines the user's idiosyncratic aversions with her/his preferences in a personalized way to suggest the most compatible and likable Points of Interest for her/him. We are interested in finding a user-specific balance of compatibility and interest within a recommendation model that integrates heterogeneous evaluation criteria to appropriately take these aspects into account. We tested our model on both ASD and "neurotypical" people. The evaluation results show that, on both groups, our model outperforms in accuracy and ranking capability the recommender systems based on item compatibility, on user preferences, or which integrate these two aspects by means of a uniform evaluation model

Developmental and sex modulated neurological alterations in autism spectrum disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was first described in 1943 by Dr. Leo Kranner in a case study published in The Nervous Child. It is a neurodevelopment disorder, with a range of clinical symptoms. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), used by clinicians to diagnose mental disorders, a child needs to have persistent social deficits, language impairments, and repetitive behaviors, that cannot be explained by neurological damage or intellectual disability. It is known that children diagnosed with ASD are often are developmentally delayed therefore alterations in the typical developmental trajectory should be a major factor in consideration when studying ASD. As of 2016, 1 in 68 children in the USA is diagnosed with ASD, of those diagnosed young males are four times more likely to be diagnosed than their female peers. Although genetic and behavioral theories exist to explain these differences, the cause for the disparity is still unknown. This Dissertation presents a unique opportunity to understand the intersection of altered neurodevelopment and the alarming sex disparities in patients with ASD from a neuroimaging perspective. The hypothesis is that there exist differences due to development and sex in with ASD. Access to ABIDE (Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange), a open source large scale data sharing consortium of functional and anatomical MR data. Analyzing MR data for alterations due to ASD, developmental trajectory, and sex as well as the intersection of these factors. Theses modulations are observed in three Project Aims that employ various analytical approaches: (1) Structural Morphology, (2) Resting-state Functional Connectivity, and (3) Graph Theory. The major findings lie at the interaction of these three factors; developmental stage-by-diagnosis-by-sex. Structural Morphological Analyses of anatomical data show differences in cortical thickness, on the left rostral middle frontal gyrus and surface area in along the sensory motor strip, of the left paracentral gyrus and right precentral gyrus. Resting-state Functional Connectivity analyzed in multiple data driven approaches, and altered resting state connectivity patterns between the left frontal parietal network and the left parahippcampal gyrus are reported. The regions found in the Morphological Analyses are used as seeds for a priori connectivity analysis, connectivity between the left rostral middle frontal cortex and bilateral superior temporal gyrus as well as the right precentral gyrus and right middle frontal gyrus and left inferior frontal gyrus are described. Finally using Graph Theory analysis, which quantifies a whole brain connectivity matrix to calculate metrics such as path length, cluster coefficient, local efficiency, and betweeness centrality all of which are altered by the interaction of all three factors. The last investigation is an attempt to correlate the behavioral assessments, conducted by clinicians with theses neuroimaging findings to determine if there exist a relationship between them. Significant interaction effects of sex and development on ASD diagnosis are observed. The goal of the Study is to provide more information on the disorder that is by nature highly heterogeneous in symptomatology. Studying these interactions, may be key to better understand a disorder that was introduced into the medical literature 75 years ago

Gray matter abnormalities follow non-random patterns of co-alteration in autism: Meta-connectomic evidence

•We present an innovative connectomic approach based on voxel-based morphometry (VBM) meta-data.•We mapped the topological configuration of gray matter abnormalities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).•ASD co-alteration network tends to overlap with the pathways of structural brain connectivity.•Recognizable cerebral pathological hubs were captured by graph-analysis.•A core sub-network was identified, which provides insight into our understanding of ASD. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by atypical brain anatomy and connectivity. Graph-theoretical methods have mainly been applied to detect altered patterns of white matter tracts and functional brain activation in individuals with ASD. The network topology of gray matter (GM) abnormalities in ASD remains relatively unexplored. An innovative meta-connectomic analysis on voxel-based morphometry data (45 experiments, 1,786 subjects with ASD) was performed in order to investigate whether GM variations can develop in a distinct pattern of co-alteration across the brain. This pattern was then compared with normative profiles of structural and genetic co-expression maps. Graph measures of centrality and clustering were also applied to identify brain areas with the highest topological hierarchy and core sub-graph components within the co-alteration network observed in ASD. Individuals with ASD exhibit a distinctive and topologically defined pattern of GM co-alteration that moderately follows the structural connectivity constraints. This was not observed with respect to the pattern of genetic co-expression. Hub regions of the co-alteration network were mainly left-lateralized, encompassing the precuneus, ventral anterior cingulate, and middle occipital gyrus. Regions of the default mode network appear to be central in the topology of co-alterations. These findings shed new light on the pathobiology of ASD, suggesting a network-level dysfunction among spatially distributed GM regions. At the same time, this study supports pathoconnectomics as an insightful approach to better understand neuropsychiatric disorders