Relations between sensory responsiveness and features of autism in children

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition defined by differences in social communication and by the presence of restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities (RRBs). Individuals with autism also commonly present with atypical patterns of sensory responsiveness (i.e., hyporesponsiveness, hyperresponsiveness, and sensory seeking), which are theorized to produce cascading effects across other domains of development. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in sensory responsiveness in children with and without autism (ages 8-18 years), as well as relations between patterns of sensory responsiveness and core and related features of autism. Participants were 50 children with autism and 50 non-autistic peers matched on age and sex. A comprehensive clinical battery included multiple measures of sensory responsiveness, core features of autism, adaptive behavior, internalizing behaviors, cognitive ability, and language ability. Groups significantly differed on all three patterns of sensory responsiveness. Some indices of core and related autism features were robustly associated with all three patterns of sensory responsiveness (e.g., RRBs), while others were more strongly associated with discrete patterns of sensory responsiveness (i.e., internalizing problem behaviors and hyperresponsiveness, language and sensory seeking). This study extends prior work to show that differences in sensory responsiveness that are linked with core and related features of autism persist in older children and adolescents on the spectrum

Temporal parameters of communication in typically-developed individuals and individuals with autism spectrum disorder

Functional interpersonal communication can be operationalized as interpersonal synchrony. This dissertation examines another level of synchronization, the level of intrapersonal synchrony. Intrapersonal synchrony is defined as the temporal coordination of multimodal communication within individuals in social interaction. It is postulated that the mechanisms of intrapersonal synchrony are important for the measurement and possibly also the emergence of interpersonal synchrony. Intrapersonal synchrony is therefore relevant to better understand and describe communicative characteristics in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The dissertation comprises one theoretical and three empirical studies. These studies demonstrate i) that intrapersonal synchrony is produced differently in individuals with ASD, ii) that these characteristics can be attributed to domain-specific synchronization strategies in ASD, and iii) that the characteristics in the temporal production of multimodal communication behavior have different effects on the perception and reciprocal response of observers with and without ASD

Interpersonal motor synchrony in autism: a systematic review and meta-analysis

IntroductionInterpersonal motor synchrony (IMS) is the spontaneous, voluntary, or instructed coordination of movements between interacting partners. Throughout the life cycle, it shapes social exchanges and interplays with intra- and inter-individual characteristics that may diverge in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Here we perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize the extant literature and quantify the evidence about reduced IMS in dyads including at least one participant with a diagnosis of ASD. MethodsEmpirical evidence from sixteen experimental studies was systematically reviewed, encompassing spontaneous and instructed paradigms as well as a paucity of measures used to assess IMS. Of these, thirteen studies (n = 512 dyads) contributed measures of IMS with an in situ neurotypical partner (TD) for ASD and control groups, which could be used for meta-analyses. ResultsReduced synchronization in ASD-TD dyads emerged from both the systematic review and meta-analyses, although both small and large effect sizes (i.e., Hedge’s g) in favor of the control group are consistent with the data (Hedge’s g = .85, p < 0.001, 95% CI[.35, 1.35], 95% PI[-.89, 2.60]). DiscussionUncertainty is discussed relative to the type of task, measures, and age range considered in each study. We further discuss that sharing similar experiences of the world might help to synchronize with one another. Future studies should not only assess whether reduced IMS is consistently observed in ASD-TD dyads and how this shapes social exchanges, but also explore whether and how ASD-ASD dyads synchronize during interpersonal exchanges

Interacting with others: the role of Temporal Contingency and Motor Interpersonal Synchrony in Autism Spectrum Disorder and in Typical Development

openInterpersonal synchrony (IS) is the spontaneous rhythmic and temporal coordination of actions, emotions, thoughts, behavioural, neurological, and physiological process that occurs between two or more people. All the levels of IS appear to have a great impact on facilitating social interaction in the typical population (TD). The synchronization seems to be decreased or absents in the Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), in which the social and communication difficulties are the main traits. The present work investigates Motor Interpersonal Synchrony throughout a meta-analysis of eleven dyadic studies on TD and ASD participants. The aim is to understand if ASD individuals display difficulties in synchronizing within a social context. Furthermore, an experimental paradigm tests if two aspects, the temporal contingency (the closeness between an action and the environmental answer) and presence of engaging and non-engaging social stimuli, interfere with the synchronization process and with the preference for social stimuli. This experimental paradigm involves TD and ASD children and adolescents. Finally, the clinical implications of the Interpersonal Synchrony, of Temporal contingency and Engagement are discussed

Different Pathways To Cognition: An Erp Investigation of Enhanced Perceptual Functioning And Autistic Traits in School-aged Children

Autistic individuals show enhanced perceptual functioning on a range of behavioral tasks. Neurophysiological evidence, from both fMRI and event related potential (ERP) studies, also supports the conclusion that autistic individuals utilize perceptual processes to a greater extent than neurotypical comparisons to support problem solving and reasoning. Despite substantial evidence supporting differential information processing streams in autism, the relationship between these processing streams and autistic traits is not well understood. One study has investigated the relationships between autistic traits, early perceptual ERPs, and subsequent cognitive ERPs in neurotypical adults; however, these relationships have yet to be explored in autistic and neurotypical children and adolescents. The goals of the current study were to test how the relationship between early perceptual and subsequent cognitive ERPs may differ between autistic and neurotypical individuals and to investigate how autistic traits may impact these relationships. 14 autistic and 10 neurotypical children and adolescents participated in a semantic violation ERP task. Path models were compared to test undirectional relationships among an early perceptual ERP (P1 component), a subsequent cognitive ERP (N400 effect), and the Attention to Detail subscale of the Autism Spectrum Quotient. Though conclusions are limited by the smaller than expected sample size (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), preliminary results indicate that autistic individuals\u27 level of attention to detail is related to early perceptual processing, as evidenced by the condition differences in their P1 components. Path analysis model comparisons are also preliminary but support the conclusion that the relationship between participants\u27 levels of attention to detail and the size of their N400 effect may be mediated by the size of condition differences in their P1 components. Such results replicate and extend previous findings regarding the nature of differential information processing pathways in autism and their relationship to autistic traits

Dance, Autism, and Communication: Exploring the Feasibility of a Dance-Based Exergame within the Home and School Environments to Enhance Autistic Children’s Social Communication Skills

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common neurodevelopmental condition, typically characterised by challenges in social communication and restricted or repetitive patterns of behaviours and interests. Autistic individuals are observed to also display a variety of differences and strengths in cognitive functioning, motor skills, and sensory processing, uniquely impacting individuals. Despite its heterogeneity, enhancing social communication skills and supporting physical well-being are two of the autistic community’s top research priorities. Therefore, the present thesis explores communication challenges observed within autism and the use of physical activity and dance movement therapy (DMT) to enhance autistic children’s social communication skills. Two systematic reviews were conducted. The first suggested the beneficial use of two fundamental DMT techniques, mirroring and rhythm, for enhancing autistic children’s social communication skills. The second highlighted the beneficial effects of exergaming for the autistic population. A subsequent study then investigated common styles of rhythm and music used by dance movement therapists in their sessions with autistic children, suggesting music and rhythms with a 4/4 time signature, moderato tempo, and age-appropriate lyrics were most popular. A mixed-methods approach was later employed to examine the feasibility and potential effectiveness of a dance-based exergame in the home and school environments to enhance autistic children’s social communication skills. Results suggest that the exergame can be implemented by parents and teachers in their respective environments, affords children ownership of their intervention, and is an enjoyable activity. Furthermore, limited-efficacy testing inferred the beneficial effects of the dance-based exergame, enhancing autistic children’s social communication skills. This work advocates that the chosen exergame is an engaging physical activity, which addresses some of the current limitations of traditional interventions for supporting autistic children’s social communication skills. Overall, the findings presented are promising and suggest additional research within this area will prove worthwhile and meaningful for the autistic population

From mind perception to mental connection: Synchrony as a mechanism for social understanding

Abstract Connecting deeply with another mind is as enigmatic as it is fulfilling. Why people ''click'' with some people but not others is one of the great unsolved mysteries of science. However, researchers from psychology and neuroscience are converging on a likely physiological basis for connection -neural synchrony (entrainment). Here, we review research on the necessary precursors for interpersonal synchrony: the ability to detect a mind and resonate with its outputs. Further, We describe potential mechanisms for the development of synchrony between two minds. We then consider recent neuroimaging and behavioral evidence for the adaptive benefits of synchrony, including neural efficiency and the release of a reward signal that promotes future social interaction. In nature, neural synchrony yields behavioral synchrony. Humans use behavioral synchrony to promote neural synchrony, and thus, social bonding. This reverse-engineering of social connection is an important innovation likely underlying this distinctively human capacity to create large-scale social coordination and cohesion. At different states in our lives, the signs of love may vary: dependence, attraction, contentment, worry, loyalty, grief, but at the heart, the source is always the same. Human beings have the rare capacity to connect with each other, against all odds. Michael Dorris People seek meaning in life through the company of others. Yet, as anyone who has ever felt lonely in a crowd can attest, company alone is not enough. What people really seek is connection, the pleasurable mutual engagement between oneself and another mind. However, despite its importance, the origin of mental connection is one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of science. Here we review studies from a diverse literature that, collectively, converge on an origin of mental connection. First, we review evidence that the perceptual systems in the human brain are tuned to seek other minds and predict their behavior. Second, we suggest that the ability to dynamically predict behavior affords synchrony. We highlight the importance of synchrony as an adaptive neural mechanism by which people entrain to others; an adaptation that blurs the self-other boundary and promotes social bonds through the pleasurable feeling of connection. Finally, we speculate that the human brain, in contrast to the brains of other species, is uniquely able to reverse engineer connectionby-synchrony, thereby creating mass social coordination and cohesion. How the Brain Finds a Mind As Piaget famously opined, cognitive development is about making models. As children develop, their models of the world become increasingly sophisticated via the shaping Social and Personality Psychology Compass 6/8 (2012): 589-606, 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2012 ª 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd processes of assimilation and accommodation From birth, humans are predisposed to attend to animate beings. Newborns look more at faces than any other objects The brain's Turing Tests Alan Turing, a mathematician and computer scientist, famously outlined a scenario that would define whether a computer could be said to ''think.'' In this scenario, a person asks a series of spontaneous questions, and a second person or a computer responds to these questions via text. A computer passes the ''Turing Test'' if a human judge confuses its text responses with that of a real person. Today, computer programs can pass the Turing Test, albeit briefly. Indeed, Artificial Conversational Entities, or ''chatterbots,'' initiate thousands of ''chats'' daily with unsuspecting Internet users who believe they are conversing with other human beings. By mimicking the behavioral characteristics of natural conversation, these chatterbots trigger the inference of another mind. It is one thing to fool someone into believing that computer-generated text originated from a live source. The brain, after all, did not evolve to process the veracity of text message authorship. Fooling the brain's perceptual systems is a taller order. The human brain employs several perceptual Turing Tests devoted to scrutinizing faces, movements, and voices for evidence of minds worth modeling. The facial Turing Test: it looks like it has a mind It is hard to overstate the importance of the face as a social stimulus. Faces identify people, display mental states, and are evaluated along a host of dimensions (e.g., attractiveness, maturity, trustworthiness). Faces are important for the very reason that their root word suggests: they serve as the façades of other minds. Commensurate with this importance, faces capture attention faster than other objects This ability was recently investigated by Wheatley, Weinberg, Looser, Moran, and Hajcak Participants were asked to simply split an ordered row of faces (e.g., Other researchers have investigated the characteristics of movement that evoke the perception of a mind, including ''non-Newtonian'' velocity changes The vocal Turing Test: it sounds like it has a mind The voice has been referred to as an ''auditory face Summary: mind detection Mind-imposters are easy to come by. Mannequins have faces and eyes, robots move, and automated messages speak. Yet we know that manufactured faces, mechanical motion, and programmed speech do not belong to another mind. These simple qualities are enough to catch our attention and initially fool our low-level detection processes. But the human mind has a more discerning model of what it means to have a mind, and these primitive copies are quickly discarded as non-minds. This allows us to study the clothes on a mannequin without engaging with it, to crash robotic toys together in mock-battle without remorse, and to hang up on the automated solicitor mid-sentence. Indeed, doing any of these things (conversing with a mannequin; apologizing to a toy; adhering to social niceties with a recording) would be considered aberrant behavior. The healthy human brain institutes multiple levels of perceptual scrutiny in order to discriminate true minds from mind imposters

Verbal and nonverbal communication in schizophrenia - New insights from uni- and multimodal brain imaging

Socio-cognitive symptoms represent prominent and often strongly impairing deficits in patients with schizophrenia and they are tightly intertwined with dysfunctional communicative representations or systems. In particular, deficient verbal and nonverbal social information processing is associated with decreased functional outcome and prominent difficulties in everyday social interactions. Some specific aspects of verbal and nonverbal communication in schizophrenia have been thoroughly assessed by previous studies, particularly semantic priming at word level (verbal-cognitive domain) as well as face and facial emotion recognition (nonverbal-affective domain) and rather broad sociocognitive functions including Theory of Mind (ToM). However, only very little is known about disease-related alterations in more complex language functions, such as pragmatic (e.g. non-literal) language comprehension, or emotion processing from social cues other than the face, such as human body language. To this end, the present dissertation intended to investigate neurophysiological correlates of verbal and nonverbal socio-communicative (dys)functions in schizophrenia that have so far been rarely investigated using functional imaging, namely pragmatic language (verbalcognitive domain, 2 studies) and emotional body language (nonverbal-affective domain, 2 studies) processing. Neurophysiological activity was assessed by means of functional nearinfrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measurements, either applied alone (unimodal imaging) or combined with electroencephalography (EEG; multimodal imaging). These specific neuroimaging methods have been chosen because they are characterised by high ecological validity and a relatively high flexibility regarding their applicability in varying contexts, implying a great potential of these techniques to assess social communicative functions in schizophrenia that are highly relevant for everyday social interactions. Taken together, the results obtained in the four studies revealed 1) that fNIRS measurements – either unimodally applied or combined with EEG – are useful to detect cortical activation associated with verbal-cognitive and nonverbal-affective information processing. 2) Patients with schizophrenia show significant alterations in these neurophysiological processes along with impaired recognition of pragmatic language (verbal-cognitive domain) and emotional body language (nonverbal-affective domain). The findings complement previous studies on more commonly assessed sociocommunicative dysfunctions in schizophrenia (altered semantic priming and facial expression perception). The present work provides a holistic overview over different social communication dysfunctions that may be apparent in patients suffering from schizophrenia and their accessibility via fNIRS and EEG-fNIRS measurements, respectively. Hereby, all project parts focused on an innovative implementation of neuroimaging methods that may be particularly promising for future directions in neuropsychiatric research. The findings are discussed in the light of contemporary models of pragmatic language comprehension as well as nonverbal social information processing. Moreover, they are integrated into current concepts of schizophrenia, particularly with respect to etiological models and neurocognitive frameworks as well as the endophenotype concept.Sozial-kognitive Symptome stellen ein markantes und häufig stark beeinträchtigendes Defizit von Patienten mit schizophrener Erkrankung dar, welches eng mit Dysfunktionen in Kommunikation und Interaktion verknüpft ist. Hierbei sind insbesondere Einschränkungen in der Verarbeitung verbal und nonverbal dargebotener sozialer Information mit einem verminderten generellen Funktionsniveau sowie deutlichen Schwierigkeiten bei alltäglichen sozialen Interaktionen assoziiert. Einige spezifische Teilbereiche verbaler und nonverbaler Kommunikation bei Schizophrenie wurden bereits in früheren Studien zum Teil ausführlich untersucht, wie beispielsweise semantische Bahnung (Priming) auf Wortebene (verbalkognitive Ebene), (emotionale) Gesichtsverarbeitung (nonverbal-affektive Ebene) sowie weniger scharf umgrenzte sozial-kognitive Funktionen einschließlich Theory of Mind (ToM). Bislang ist jedoch wenig bekannt über störungsbezogene Veränderungen komplexer Sprachverarbeitung, wie pragmatisches (z. B. nicht-wörtlich gemeintes) Sprachverstehen, oder der Verarbeitung von Emotionen auf Basis sozialer Reize, die nicht auf Gesichter beschränkt sind, wie beispielsweise menschliche Körpersprache. Die vorliegende Dissertation befasst sich daher mit der Untersuchung neurophysiologischer Korrelate solcher verbaler und nonverbaler kommunikativer (Dys-)Funktionen bei Schizophrenie, die bislang nur wenig mittels funktioneller Bildgebung untersucht worden sind. Hierbei werden zum einen pragmatische Sprache (verbal-kognitive Ebene) und zum anderen emotionale Körpersprache (nonverbal-affektive Ebene) fokussiert. Die Erfassung neurophysiologischer Aktivität erfolgt mithilfe der Methode der funktionellen Nahinfrarot-Spektroskopie (fNIRS), welche hierbei entweder allein (unimodale Messungen) oder in Kombination mit Elektroenzephalographie (EEG, multimodale Messungen) zum Einsatz kommt. Diese bildgebenden Verfahren wurden insbesondere aufgrund ihrer hohen ökologischen Validität und flexiblen Anwendbarkeit in verschiedensten Untersuchungs-Situationen ausgewählt, welche ein hohes Potential beider Methoden zur validen und ökonomischen Untersuchung alltagsrelevanter kommunikativer Funktionen bei Schizophrenie nahe legen. Zusammengefasst ergaben die in den vier Studien erbrachten Ergebnisse folgendes Bild: (1) fNIRS Messungen, sowohl uni- als auch multimodal (hier: in Kombination mit EEG) angewendet, bilden eine nützliche Methode zur realitätsnahen Erfassung kortikaler Aktivierung, die mit verbal-kognitiver und nonverbal-affektiver Informationsverarbeitung in Zusammenhang stehen. (2) Patienten mit Schizophrenie zeigen signifikante Veränderungen dieser neurophysiologischen Prozesse, welche behavioral mit einem verminderten pragmatischem Sprachverstehen (verbal-kognitive Ebene) sowie Einschränkungen im Erkennen emotionaler Körpersprache (nonverbal-affektive Ebene) einhergehen. Diese Befunde ergänzen frühere Studien zu weniger komplexen, aber bislang häufiger untersuchten sozio-kommunikativen Dysfunktionen bei Schizophrenie (z. B. verändertes semantisches Priming sowie beeinträchtigte Verarbeitung von Gesichtsausdrücken). Die Befunde werden vor dem Hintergrund theoretischer Modelle zum pragmatischen Sprachverstehen sowie der Verarbeitung nonverbaler sozialer Information diskutiert. Darüber hinaus werden die Ergebnisse in aktuelle Konzepte der Schizophrenie integriert, insbesondere im Hinblick auf äthiologische Modelle und neurokognitive Erklärungsansätze der Erkrankung. Zudem wird eine Einordnung der hier untersuchten kommunikativen Funktionen in das Endophänotypenkonzept versucht

Effects of Prenatal Administration of Valproic Acid on Circadian Organization and Clock-Gene Expression: Implication for Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a significant lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by alterations in social-emotional communication and the presence of restrictive and repetitive behaviours. Circadian rhythm disruption is one of the most common comorbidities in ASD, affecting up to 80% of individuals. However, despite the increasing prevalence of the disorder over the past decade, insights into the nature of circadian rhythm disruption in the disorder remain poorly investigated and understood. This objective of this thesis was to characterize the circadian system in a valproic acid (VPA)-induced rodent model of ASD. First, we examined wheel-running behaviour – the current gold standard for describing functional changes within the circadian system – in both male and female Wistar rats exposed to either saline or VPA in utero. We demonstrated the existence of a diminished and unstable master clock in VPA-exposed animals in which aberrant behaviour was driven by alterations in photic-entrainment capacity. Secondly, we investigated the daily expression profile of BMAL1, a core clock-gene necessary for circadian behaviour, in neural structures involved in the pathogenesis of ASD behaviours. Here, we showed altered temporal dynamics of BMAL1 in peripheral tissues involved in the regulation of social behaviours, motivation, reward and monoaminergic output and suggested a potential role for the clock in the emergence of maladaptive behaviours seen in ASD. Finally, we showed that the emergence of circadian disturbances post in utero exposure to VPA can be passed onto the second and third generations, opening the possibility that circadian rhythm disruption can be passed onto future generations through the germline. Collectively, this body of research emphasizes the urgent need for novel perspectives in the treatment of ASD-associated comorbidities and highlights the nature of circadian dysregulation in the disorder