Migration and Autism Diagnosis

Clinicians in many countries are increasingly working with children from migrant families. Although autism is diagnosed at an approximately equal rate in children in developed countries internationally (estimated 1% of the population), many studies report that children in migrant communities are at relatively higher risk for autism. Risk factors as well as symptom rates appear to vary across cultures. This chapter reviews the current state of the science and outlines conceptual considerations for clinicians assessing foreign, migrant, and minority children for diagnosis of autism. Possible reasons for higher rates among migrant children are discussed and suggestions for clinical evaluation are made

Representing Human Cultural and Biological Diversity in Neuropsychiatry: Why and How

Over the past decade, findings from cultural neuroscience have demonstrated that functional neural processes vary significantly across populations. These findings add a new dimension to the well-established literature describing cultural differences in human behavior. Although these findings are informative for understanding complex relationships between social and neurobiological processes, they also have significant implications for psychiatric research. Neuropsychiatry already co-considers the relationship between brain and social world; however, its research findings notoriously underrepresent diverse cultural, ethnic, and gender groups. Considering that psychiatric patients across cultures exhibit different behavioral presentations and symptom distributions, they may exhibit equally different functional neural processes as well. Increasing representation of diverse patient groups in neuropsychiatric research would allow potential differences to be investigated and understood. Although cross-cultural comparisons may be the most direct means of accomplishing this goal, such studies must be carefully constructed to avoid reinforcing stigmas or stereotypes when working with sensitive patient populations. For example, hypotheses and inclusion criteria must avoid reliance on stereotypes or conflation of geographic boundaries with cultural boundaries. These pitfalls point to deeper problems with current approaches to culture-brain research, which lack operational definitions of ‘culture’ more generally. After outlining these issues, solutions to these methodological problems will be presented and an operational definition of culture for neuropsychiatry will be proposed

Social Values and Determinants of Cultural Fit in Quebec: The Roles of Ancestry, Linguistic Group, and Mental Health Status

Many quantitative cross-cultural research studies assume that cultural groups consist of anyone born and raised in the same country. Applying these criteria to the formation of study samples may produce cohorts that share a country but are heterogeneous in relevant domains of culture. For example, in Canada, Franco- and Anglo-Canadians are generally assumed to represent different linguistic groups but the same cultural group. However, speaking a different first language also can mean exposure to different media, information, and conventions, which are known to shape certain cultural domains, such as social values. Other factors may also produce cultural heterogeneity. For example, ancestral origins and recency of familial migration may influence endorsed social values after exposure to diverse cultures or norms. Mental health status or psychiatric conditions may also influence subscription of social values due to different lifestyle demands. Understanding the nuanced contributions of diverse backgrounds to cultural membership and fit (i.e., the degree to which an individual behaves like other cultural members) is useful when performing quantitative cross-cultural studies to minimize alternative explanations for statistical outcomes. This study used Cultural Consensus Analysis (CCA) to assess the cultural fit of social values for 222 Canadians, who had participated in cross-cultural neuropsychological experiments. CCA is an anthropological statistical method for evaluating cultural agreement of a sample. Participants were systematically evaluated by linguistic groups (French and English), migratory generation (1st–3rd+), and mental health status (healthy and patient). Group and individual variances were statistically interrogated. Results demonstrated that Franco- and Anglo-Canadians represent different cultural groups cohabitating in Quebec. Social values dividing Franco- and Anglo-Canadians were also identified. Second and third generation Canadians held more heterogeneous social values than Canadians, whose families had migrated earlier. Second generation Canadians with psychiatric disorders showed notably reduced cultural fit with other Canadians, which supports other literature reporting difficulties experienced by second generation migrants. However, third and later generations of Canadians with psychiatric disorders held a greater range of social values compared to healthy Canadians but still were good fits for Canadian culture. This study concluded that linguistic group and migratory generation partially determines cultural group for the social values domain while mental health status does not, contrary to theories proposed by previous literature

Social Withdrawal in Autism Across Cultures

Autistic disorder (AD) and social anxiety disorder (SANX) are both characterized by pathological social avoidance. Despite this similarity, AD is commonly characterized by social indifference, which precludes fear as a possible response to social interaction. Because of this distinction, the two diagnoses are assumed to be mutually exclusive. However, this assumption has never been scientifically tested. Recent research and clinical observations suggest that this assumption may be erroneous and that some individuals with AD may additionally experience social fear. Using the behavioral inhibition (BI) paradigm, studies of non-autistic, typically developing children have shown that a hesitation to engage in social interaction with strangers is common in some children and remains relatively stable across the lifespan. Results from the BI paradigm have been highly correlated with later development of SANX. In order to test whether some children with AD exhibit similar patterns of hesitation to engage in social interaction as these typical control children, the BI paradigm was applied for the first time to boys with AD. The results of this experiment show that, cumulatively, AD and typical boys exhibit similar patterns of inhibition. However, eye contact avoidance is the only single-behavior indicator of BI. Moreover, eye contact avoidance is greater in some children when meeting strangers, but greater in other children when encountering unfamiliar or ambiguous social situations. While in typical boys, there is some overlap in these responses, they appeared to be mutually exclusive in the AD boys tested. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that boys with AD may also experience social fear, that eye contact avoidance may be the most salient indicator of this fear, and that some AD boys are clearly capable of discrimination between socially normal and abnormal situations. These findings clarify much misunderstanding regarding the nature of AD, and are discussed in detail. Continuing experimentation across Europe and Asia, as well as a complimentary eye tracking experiment, are additionally discussed

The Social Transmission of Moral and Religious Beliefs

(Statement of Responsibility) by Daina Crafa(Thesis) Thesis (B.A.) -- New College of Florida, 2004(Electronic Access) RESTRICTED TO NCF STUDENTS, STAFF, FACULTY, AND ON-CAMPUS USE(Bibliography) Includes bibliographical references.(Source of Description) This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.(Local) Faculty Sponsor: Flakne, Apri

The state of interbrain synchrony research across 20 years: A hyperscanning retrospective

This systematic review article celebrates the 20th anniversary of hyperscanning research by examining the state of the scientific methodologies and findings. In 2002, Montague et al. proposed hyperscanning as a new method for studying human social cognition using fMRI. Ten years later, Cui et al. (2012) introduced fNIRS as a motion-tolerant device that was well- suited for hyperscanning research, especially interpersonal neural synchrony (INS). Though still in its infancy, INS research has gained notoriety, credibility, and momentum since these milestone publications. The best practices and frequent findings in INS research are still emerging. To capture the state of the science, original INS research articles (N=107) published between 2002-2022 were reviewed for study sample characteristics, experimental methods and cognitive domains, data processing and analysis approaches, as well as reported INS findings. A picture of INS hyperscanning research conventions and general findings emerge as outcome of this review

The adaptive self: Culture and social flexibility in feedback networks

Culture contextualizes the contents and intentionality of many mental statuses. Cognitive mediation of cultural information shapes these contents and intentionalities, as well as many of the false beliefs of pathology. Flexibility of cognitive mediation processes and resulting beliefs and pathologies may vary by individual, be a key mechanism of the feedback loop, and help characterize network connections

What kind of science for psychiatry?

Psychiatry has invested its hopes in neuroscience as a path to understanding mental disorders and developing more effective treatments and ultimately cures. Recently, the U.S. NIMH has elaborated this vision through a new framework for mental health research, the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC). This framework aims to orient mental health research toward the discovery of underlying neurobiological and biobehavioral mechanisms of mental disorders that will eventually lead to definitive treatments. In this article we consider the rationale of the RDoC and what it reveals about implicit models of mental disorders. As an overall framework for understanding mental disorders, RDoC is impoverished and conceptually flawed. These limitations are not accidental but stem from disciplinary commitments and interests that are at odds with the larger concerns of psychiatry. A multilevel, ecosocial approach to biobhavioral systems is needed both to guide relevant neuroscience research and insure the inclusion of social processes that may be fundamental contributors to psychopathology and recovery