EEG correlates of tactile perception abnormalities in children with autism spectrum disorder

The aim of the investigation was to study the changes in EEG power and behavioral responses to C-tactile stimulation in typically developing (TD) children and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Materials and Methods. EEG to manually delivered tactile stimuli was recorded for 79 children (ASD=39, TD=40) aged 5 to 10 years. CARS scores were obtained for each participant immediately before the recording session. The study involved recording resting EEG in eyes open condition within 1–2 min and collecting EEG response to tactile stimuli delivered pseudo-randomly for 3 experimental conditions (stroking with a soft brush, stroking with a harsh brush, and stimulation with a spiked roller delivered to the outer side of right forearm, stroking velocity was within 2–5 cm/s). Behavioral responses obtained by video recording during the experiment were assessed and coded. Behavioral responses were classified into 5 patterns: 1) signs of relaxation (facial gesture and body posture); 2) signs of resistance, attempts to withdraw the hand; 3) negative emotions, crying, shouting; 4) positive emotions, smile, laughter; 5) looking at the hand being stimulated. EEG power in 18 narrow frequency bands with a bandwidth of 1 Hz in a range of 2–20 Hz was analyzed. Results. The study revealed two types of response to tactile stimulation. The first type was not specific for particular tactile stimulation type, was accompanied by an increase in beta power (16–20 Hz) mainly in the left hemisphere and was more common in children with ASD. The second type of response was accompanied by an increase in frontal theta power (4–6 Hz) due to C-tactile system stimulation with a soft brush and was observed only in the TD children. The first type of response was accompanied by negative emotions and attempts to withdraw the hand, while the second type was characterized by relaxation. Conclusion. The response of children with ASD to all types of tactile stimulation accompanied by an increase in beta power can be associated with both hypersensitivity and stress reaction of these children to the experimental situation. Selective response to C-tactile stimulation accompanied by an increase in frontal theta power has been found in the control group (TD) only. The results of this study can be useful for better understanding of hypersensitivity in children with ASD and gaining insight into the mechanisms of the disease

Impact of resilience enhancing programs on youth surviving the Beslan school siege

The objective of this study was to evaluate a resilience-enhancing program for youth (mean age = 13.32 years) from Beslan, North Ossetia, in the Russian Federation. The program, offered in the summer of 2006, combined recreation, sport, and psychosocial rehabilitation activities for 94 participants, 46 of who were taken hostage in the 2004 school tragedy and experienced those events first hand. Self-reported resilience, as measured by the CD-RISC, was compared within subjects at the study baseline and at two follow-up assessments: immediately after the program and 6 months later. We also compared changes in resilience levels across groups that differed in their traumatic experiences. The results indicate a significant intra-participant mean increase in resilience at both follow-up assessments, and greater self-reported improvements in resilience processes for participants who experienced more trauma events

Evaluation of orthosis rapid prototyping during the design process: Analysis of verification models

hysical prototypes allow the testing of ideas quickly with models that look similar to the final product. Rapid Prototyping (RP) based on additive or subtractive technologies allow trial usability tests to avoid errors and failures in the final product production. These technologies are increasingly used in orthosis production. Design processes involving RP can facilitate usability tests to asses comfort, safety, and performance of the orthoses. The objective of this study was to review the use of RP for orthoses prototype production for user evaluation. The results show that FDM was the most common technique. Half of the studies involved user’s participation or evaluation in the design processes, although, only three out of thirty-eight studies used RP in proof of concept production