Developing an assessment protocol to identify the characteristics of ASD using eye-tracking for educational purpose

The understanding of how written social information is processed by individuals with autism spectrum traits is important for the development and implementation of suitable educational interventions. The use of eye-tracking methodology offers us the possibility to analyze how information is being selected and has a great potential to inform our understanding of cognitive processing in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. Our main goal is to develop an assessment protocol, which could identify if there are differences in the way individuals with low autism spectrum traits and high autism spectrum traits process written social information. This information helps to specify the development of educational techniques for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. This study provides the necessary steps for the protocol implementation. We propose an experimental design that can clarify if there are some specific visual patterns when processing social information in the context of autism traits. The findings of our work could document future intervention techniques for social skills

Cutaneous Manifestations in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Inflammatory bowel diseases have a high frequency in Europe. They are chronic disorders that evolve with relapses and remissions. Clinical features include the signs of underlying inflammatory bowel disease and also signs of extraintestinal manifestations. Cutaneous disorders are the most common extraintestinal manifestations associated with inflammatory bowel diseases, which can be dependent on or independent of gastrointestinal disease activity. The main cutaneous disorders are erythema nodosum and pyodermagangrenosum. The pathogenic mechanisms are not fully understood but it seems that related mechanisms are involved in the development of inflammatory bowel diseases and extraintestinal manifestations. Treatment should be aimed at both the cutaneous manifestations and the bowel inflammation

Neurobiological Correlates of the Attitude Toward Human Empathy

Abstract: Over the last decade, integrated philosophical and neuroscientific studies of empathy have been steadily growing, because of the pivotal role that empathy plays in social cognition and ethics, as well as in the understanding of human behavior both under physiological conditions and in the presence of mental disorders. The umbrella concept of empathy embraces multi-faceted characteristics, including affective and cognitive processes, such as so-called emotional contagion and concern and perspective-taking. In this paper, we review the state-of-the-art of knowledge about the neurobiology of empathy. Specifically, we examine studies regarding empathy for pain, emotional imitation and expression and their alterations in psychopathological conditions. We also consider studies on the theory of mind (ToM) and the mirror neuron system (MNS). Finally, we propose measures of brain resting state activity as a potential neurobiological marker of proneness to be empathic.Keywords: Empathy; Mirror Neurons; Theory of Mind; Mental Disorders; Psychopathy Correlati neurobiologici della disposizione all’empatia umanaRiasssunto: Nell’ultimo decennio è cresciuto il numero delle indagini sull’empatia condotte integrando la prospettiva filosofica e quella neuroscientifica, in ragione del ruolo cardine svolto dall’empatia nella cognizione sociale e nell’etica, come pure nella comprensione del comportamento umano dal punto di vista delle condizioni fisiologiche e in presenza di disturbi mentali. La nozione di empatia funge da ombrello concettuale sotto cui ricadono caratteristiche multiformi, compresi i processi affettivi e cognitivi, come il cosiddetto contagio emotivo e l’assunzione di ruolo e di prospettiva. In questo lavoro intendiamo offrire una rassegna dello stato dell’arte delle conoscenze sulla neurobiologia dell’empatia. In particolare prenderemo in esame gli studi che vertono sull’empatia per il dolore, l’imitazione emotiva e dell’espressione e le loro alterazioni in condizioni psicopatologiche. Considereremo inoltre studi sulla teoria della mente (ToM) e sul sistema dei neuroni specchio (MNS). In sede conclusiva intendiamo proporre delle misure dell’attività cerebrale in condizioni di riposo come potenziale marcatore neurobiologico della propensione a empatizzare.Parole chiave: Empatia; Neuroni specchio; Teoria della mente; Disturbi mentali; Psicopati

Research and Science Today No. 1(5)/2013

Research and Science Today Journal is a publication founded in 2011 and it is dedicated to the students of all levels (license, master and doctoral) of faculties in the country and abroad. We want to offer the participants the opportunity to present their scientific works in the following areas: Social Sciences, Economic Sciences, Legal Sciences, Humanities, Education Sciences, Engineering, Medicine and Sport. This journal provides students the opportunity to create and/or to improve their abilities to write scientific papers. So each appearance (two appearances per year at which we can add supplements) contains a number of papers written by students, masters and doctoral from the faculties from the country or/and abroad. The journal promotes original studies contributing to the progress of knowledge and it is motivated by the need to address issues of theory and practice in the areas mentioned above

Research and Science Today No. 1(5)/2013

Research and Science Today Journal is a publication founded in 2011 and it is dedicated to the students of all levels (license, master and doctoral) of faculties in the country and abroad. We want to offer the participants the opportunity to present their scientific works in the following areas: Social Sciences, Economic Sciences, Legal Sciences, Humanities, Education Sciences, Engineering, Medicine and Sport. This journal provides students the opportunity to create and/or to improve their abilities to write scientific papers. So each appearance (two appearances per year at which we can add supplements) contains a number of papers written by students, masters and doctoral from the faculties from the country or/and abroad. The journal promotes original studies contributing to the progress of knowledge and it is motivated by the need to address issues of theory and practice in the areas mentioned above

Research and Science Today No. 1(5)/2013

Research and Science Today Journal is a publication founded in 2011 and it is dedicated to the students of all levels (license, master and doctoral) of faculties in the country and abroad. We want to offer the participants the opportunity to present their scientific works in the following areas: Social Sciences, Economic Sciences, Legal Sciences, Humanities, Education Sciences, Engineering, Medicine and Sport. This journal provides students the opportunity to create and/or to improve their abilities to write scientific papers. So each appearance (two appearances per year at which we can add supplements) contains a number of papers written by students, masters and doctoral from the faculties from the country or/and abroad. The journal promotes original studies contributing to the progress of knowledge and it is motivated by the need to address issues of theory and practice in the areas mentioned above

The DREAM Dataset: Supporting a data-driven study of autism spectrum disorder and robot enhanced therapy

We present a dataset of behavioral data recorded from 61 children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The data was collected during a large-scale evaluation of Robot Enhanced Therapy (RET). The dataset covers over 3000 therapy sessions and more than 300 hours of therapy. Half of the children interacted with the social robot NAO supervised by a therapist. The other half, constituting a control group, interacted directly with a therapist. Both groups followed the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) protocol. Each session was recorded with three RGB cameras and two RGBD (Kinect) cameras, providing detailed information of children’s behavior during therapy. This public release of the dataset comprises body motion, head position and orientation, and eye gaze variables, all specified as 3D data in a joint frame of reference. In addition, metadata including participant age, gender, and autism diagnosis (ADOS) variables are included. We release this data with the hope of supporting further data-driven studies towards improved therapy methods as well as a better understanding of ASD in general.CC BY 4.0DREAM - Development of robot-enhanced therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders

Emotional Dysregulation in Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder—A Sample of Romanian Children

Emotional dysregulation problems seem to affect more than 80% of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and may include irritability, aggressive behaviors, self-injury, and anxiety. Even though these types of problems are very common and affect the well-being of individuals with ASD, there are no objective assessment tools developed for this population and there are only a few intervention techniques meant to address these symptoms. This study investigates the feasibility of using off-the-shelf wearable devices to accurately measure heart rate, which has been associated with emotional dysregulation, and to test the effectiveness of functional communication training in reducing the emotional outburst in preschoolers with ASD. We used a single-case experiment design with three preschoolers with ASD to test if the duration of the emotional outburst and the elevated heart rate levels can be reduced by using functional communication training. Our results show that for two of the participants, the intervention was effective in reducing the duration of behaviors associated with emotional outburst, and that there were significant differences between baseline and intervention phase in terms of heart rate levels. However, our results are inconclusive regarding the association between elevated heart rates and the occurrence of the emotional outburst. Nevertheless, more research is needed to investigate the use of off-the-shelf wearable devices in predicting challenging behaviors in children with ASD

Cognitive Patterns and Coping Mechanisms in the Context of Internet Use

Recent research indicates there are different cognitive patterns and coping mechanisms related to increased levels of Internet use and emotional distress in adolescents. This study aims to investigate the relationship between coping mechanisms, dysfunctional negative emotions, and Internet use. A total of 54 participants aged between 14 and 19 years old completed a questionnaire containing several measures and demographics information. We measured participants’ coping strategies, emotional distress, social and emotional loneliness, and their online behavior and Internet addiction using self-report questionnaires. In order to identify the relation between the investigated variables, we used correlation analysis and regression, and we tested one mediation model. The results showed that maladaptive coping strategies and Internet use were significant predictors of dysfunctional negative emotions. Moreover, passive wishful thinking, as a pattern of thinking, was associated with anxious and depressed feelings. The relation between Internet use and dysfunctional negative emotions was mediated by participants’ coping mechanisms. Therefore, we can conclude that the level of negative feelings is associated with the coping strategies used while showing an increased level of Internet addiction. Future studies should also consider different and multiple types of measurement other than self-reports, especially related to Internet addiction