Using time perception to explore implicit sensitivity to emotional stimuli in autism spectrum disorder

Establishing whether implicit responses to emotional cues are intact in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is fundamental to ascertaining why their emotional understanding is compromised. We used a temporal bisection task to assess for responsiveness to face and wildlife images that varied in emotional salience. There were no significant differences between an adult ASD and comparison group, with both showing implicit overestimation of emotional stimuli. Further, there was no correlation between overestimation of emotional stimuli and autistic traits in undergraduate students. These data do not suggest a fundamental insensitivity to the arousing content of emotional images in ASD, or in individuals with a high degree of autistic traits. The findings have implications for understanding how emotional stimuli are processed in ASD

Brain and physiological markers of autonomic function are associated with treatment-related improvements in Self-Reported Autonomic Dysfunction in Veterans with Gulf War illness: An exploratory pilot study

Background Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a poorly understood condition characterized by a constellation of mood, cognitive, and physical symptoms. A growing body of evidence demonstrates autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction. Few published treatment studies exist for GWI. Method We recently completed a randomized controlled trial comparing a 10-week group yoga intervention to 10-week group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for veterans with GWI. Here, we present exploratory data on ANS biomarkers of treatment response from a small pilot exploratory neurophysiological add-on study (n = 13) within that larger study. Results Findings suggest that veterans with GWI receiving either yoga or CBT for pain improved following treatment and that changes in biological ANS—especially for the yoga group—moved in the direction of healthy profiles: lower heart rate, higher square root of the mean squared differences between successive R-R intervals (RMSSD), greater parasympathetic activation/dominance (increased high-frequency heart rate variability [HF-HRV], decreased low-frequency/high-frequency [LF/HF] ratio), reduced right amygdala volume, and stronger amygdala-default mode/amygdala-salience network connectivity, both immediately posttreatment and at 6-month follow-up. Biological mechanisms of CBT appeared to underlie improvements in more psychologically loaded symptoms such as self-reported fatigue and energy. Higher tonic arousal and/or more sympathetic dominance (higher skin conductance, lower RMSSD, lower HF-HRV, higher LF/HF ratio) pretreatment predicted greater treatment-related improvements in self-reported ANS for both the yoga and CBT group. Conclusion These exploratory pilot data provide preliminary support for the suggestion that treatment (yoga, CBT) is associated with improvements in both biological and self-reported ANS dysfunctions in GWI. The major limitation for these findings is the small sample size. Larger and more controlled studies are needed to replicate these findings and directly compare biomarkers of yoga versus CBT

Psychophysiological correlates of social judgement in high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder

Neural structures involved in social cognition (e.g., amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex) have been implicated in judgements of trustworthiness. These regions are also functionally atypical in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Studies investigating judgements of trustworthiness in ASDs have suggested possible disruptions in the allocation of significance to social stimuli. Concurrent measures of autonomic responses provide further insight into these deficits, given their role in the direction of attention and allocation of significance. Thirty high-functioning adults with ASDs and 31 non-clinical controls viewed neutral images piloted as most “positive” and “negative.” Skin conductance (SCR, SCL) and evoked cardiac deceleration (ECD) were recorded. Adults with ASDs did not differ from controls in ratings of trustworthiness. However, they displayed atypical SCRs, providing further support for a disruption in the allocation of emotional significance

Automatic facial responses to affective stimuli in high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate atypical behavioural responses to affective stimuli, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Investigating automatic responses to these stimuli may help elucidate these mechanisms. 18 high-functioning adults with ASDs and 18 typically developing controls viewed 54 extreme pleasant (erotica), extreme unpleasant (mutilations), and non-social neutral images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). Two-thirds of images received an acoustic startle probe 3 s post-picture onset. Facial electromyography (EMG) activity (orbicularis, zygomaticus, corrugator), skin conductance (SCR) and cardiac responses were recorded. The adults with ASDs demonstrated typical affective startle modulation and automatic facial EMG responses but atypical autonomic (SCRs and cardiac) responses, suggesting a failure to orient to, or a deliberate effort to disconnect from, socially relevant stimuli (erotica, mutilations). These results have implications for neural systems known to underlie affective processes, including the orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala

Understanding advanced theory of mind and empathy in high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder

It has been argued that higher functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have specific deficits in advanced but not simple theory of mind (ToM), yet the questionable ecological validity of some tasks reduces the strength of this assumption. The present study employed The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT), which uses video vignettes to assess comprehension of subtle conversational inferences (sarcasm, lies/deception). Given the proposed relationships between advanced ToM and cognitive and affective empathy, these associations were also investigated. As expected, the high-functioning adults with ASDs demonstrated specific deficits in comprehending the beliefs, intentions, and meaning of nonliteral expressions. They also had significantly lower cognitive and affective empathy. Cognitive empathy was related to ToM and group membership whereas affective empathy was only related to group membership

Autonomic arousal explains social cognitive abilities in high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder

Empirical research into behavioural profiles and autonomic responsivity in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is highly variable and inconsistent. Two preliminary studies of children with ASDs suggest that there may be subgroups of ASDs depending on their resting arousal levels, and that these subgroups show different profiles of autonomic responsivity. The aim of the present study was to determine whether (i) adults with high-functioning ASDs may be separated into subgroups according to variation in resting arousal; and (ii) these ASD arousal subgroups differ in their behavioural profiles for basic emotion recognition, judgements of trustworthiness, and cognitive and affective empathy. Thirty high-functioning adults with ASDs and 34 non-clinical controls participated. Resting arousal was determined as the average skin conductance (SCL) across a 2 min resting period. There was a subgroup of ASD adults with significantly lower resting SCL. These individuals demonstrated poorer emotion recognition, tended to judge faces more negatively, and had atypical relationships between SCL and affective empathy. In contrast, low cognitive empathy was a feature of all ASD adults. These findings have important implications for clinical interventions and future studies investigating autonomic functioning in ASDs

Automatic facial responses to briefly presented emotional stimuli in autism spectrum disorder

Emotion processing, including automatic facial mimicry, plays an important role in social reciprocity. Disruptions in these processes have implications for individuals with impaired social functioning, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Past research has demonstrated that ASDs are impaired in the recognition of briefly presented emotions and display atypical mimicry of emotions presented for protracted duration. Mimicry (electromyography; EMG) of briefly presented emotions was investigated in adults with ASDs. Concurrent measures of skin conductance and cardiac responses were used as markers of orientation and stimulus detection, respectively. A backward masking task was employed whereby the emotional face (happy, angry) was presented for 30 ms followed by a neutral face “mask”. An implicit comparison task required rapid gender identification. The ASD group failed to differentiate by valence in their EMG (zygomaticus, corrugator) and demonstrated atypical pre- and post-stimulus arousal. These findings may provide a potential mechanism for marked deficits in social reciprocity

Investigating models of affect: Relationships among EEG alpha asymmetry, depression, and anxiety

The approach-withdrawal and valence-arousal models both predict that depressive and anxious profiles will be associated with relatively reduced left frontal and increased right frontal activity respectively, while the valence-arousal model also proposes a dissociation by lower and higher right parietotemporal activity, respectively. Recent work further suggests that subtypes of anxiety disorders may be characterized by distinctive patterns of activity depending on their type of arousal (anxious arousal/apprehension). The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships among nonclinical depression/anxiety and lateralized frontal/parietotemporal activity by categorizing participants (N = 428) on the basis of both negative mood and alpha EEG. Key findings include: (i) greater right frontal lateralization in anxious participants, symmetrical frontal activity in depressed/comorbid, and left frontal lateralization in healthy controls; (ii) right frontal lateralization in anxious arousal participants, left frontal and right parietotemporal lateralization in anxious apprehension; (iii) bilateral increase in frontal and increased right parietotemporal activity in depressed/comorbid participants. Findings support predictions for frontal but not posterior regions. Grouping on the basis of EEG may not be reciprocally predictive of negative mood groupings, suggesting involvement of additional factors