Beyond group differences: Exploring the preliminary signals of target engagement of an executive function training for autistic children

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT The data that support the findings for this study are available within the National Database for Autism Research (NDAR) at nda.nih.gov.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors thank the staff and students who assisted with collecting and scoring these measures and who provided coaching. The authors specially thank the children and families who contributed their time to this study and joined in the effort to better understand the executive function of children on the autism spectrum. Additional protocol information is available at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02361762. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award no. R00HD071966. Additional funding to support intervention with the waitlist group was provided by the GoFAR Foundation. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.Understanding both for whom and how interventions work is a crucial next step in providing personalized care to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Autistic children present with heterogeneity both within core ASD criteria and with respect to co-occurring mental health challenges, which may affect their ability to benefit from intervention. In a secondary data analysis of a randomized control trial evaluating an executive function (EF) training with 70 7- to 11-year-old autistic children, we explored: (1) whether co-occurring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) features or anxiety features at baseline moderated the extent to which children benefited from the EF training. In other words, we asked, “For whom is training effective?” We also explored: (2) the extent to which changes in a brain-based measure of target engagement predicted the clinical outcomes of the EF training. This is a step towards asking, “How is training effective?” We found that EF training improved behavioral inhibition only for children with clinically significant cooccurring ADHD features. Anxiety features, while prevalent, did not moderate EF training efficacy. Finally, for the EF training group only, there was a significant correlation between pre-to-post change in an EEG-based measure of target engagement, N2 incongruent amplitude during a flanker task, and change in repetitive behaviors, a behavioral outcome that was reported in the parent RCT to have improved with training compared to waitlist control. This study provides preliminary evidence that EF training may differentially affect subgroups of autistic children and that changes at the neural level may precede changes in behavior.Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award no. R00HD071966GoFAR Foundatio

Early Behavioral Intervention Is Associated With Normalized Brain Activity in Young Children With Autism

A previously published randomized clinical trial indicated that a developmental behavioral intervention, the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), resulted in gains in IQ, language, and adaptive behavior of children with autism spectrum disorder. This report describes a secondary outcome measurement from this trial, EEG activity

The responsiveness of biological motion processing areas to selective attention towards goals

A growing literature indicates that visual cortex areas viewed as primarily responsive to exogenous stimuli are susceptible to top-down modulation by selective attention. The present study examines whether brain areas involved in biological motion perception are among these areas – particularly with respect to selective attention towards human movement goals. Fifteen participants completed a point-light biological motion study following a two-by-two factorial design, with one factor representing an exogenous manipulation of human movement goals (goal-directed versus random movement), and the other an endogenous manipulation (a goal identification task versus an ancillary color-change task). Both manipulations yielded increased activation in the human homologue of motion-sensitive area MT+ (hMT+) as well as the extrastriate body area (EBA). The endogenous manipulation was associated with increased right posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) activation, whereas the exogenous manipulation was associated with increased activation in left posterior STS. Selective attention towards goals activated portion of left hMT+/EBA only during the perception of purposeful movement consistent with emerging theories associating this area with the matching of visual motion input to known goal-directed actions. The overall pattern of results indicates that attention towards the goals of human movement activates biological motion areas. Ultimately, selective attention may explain why some studies examining biological motion show activation in hMT+ and EBA, even when using control stimuli with comparable motion properties

Factors Associated with Fissure Sealant Delegation: Dentist Characteristics and Office Staffing Patterns

The purpose of this research was to identify dentist characteristics and dental office staffing patterns related to delegation of sealant applications. Results from a 1989 ma/led survey were used to characterize Michigan general dentists (N =300) who did or did not delegate sealant applications to auxiliaries and to identify factors associated with delegation. Nearly 50 percent of respondents were applying all sealants themselves. In offices that delegated the procedure, the mean proportion of sealants being applied by dentists was 39.9 percent. Registered dental hygienists were applying 51 percent, while registered dental assistants were applying 6.5 percent. Delegating dentists were more knowledgeable about sealant procedures, held more favorable attitudes, treated more young patients, placed more sealants, and were better informed about the legality of delegation according to the state practice act. Logistic regression analysis found that employing a registered dental hygienist was the most significant factor associated with sealant delegation, followed by employing a registered dental assistant. Findings suggest that dental auxiliaries, and particularly registered dental assistants, are underutilized for applying sealants. Approaches to increasing delegation of sealants may include changing dentists' traditional hiring patterns, highlighting the skills of auxiliaries such as the registered dental hygienist (RDH) and the registered dental assistant (RDA), and increasing awareness of legally allowable procedures that RDHs and RDAs can perform.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66019/1/j.1752-7325.1993.tb02712.x.pd

Cadmium availability in soil and retention in oak roots: potential for phytostabilization

7 pages, 3 figures, 4 tables, 58 references.Afforestation of contaminated land by trees is considered as a feasible strategy for the extensive stabilization of contaminants. In this work, we studied the patterns of metal availability (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) in a contaminated and afforested area. Specifically, we observed the response of Holm oak (Quercus ilex subsp. ballota) leaves to changes in the availability of metals under field conditions, focusing on Cd. Under controlled conditions we studied the performance of oak seedlings exposed to high levels of Cd, with the aim of analyzing the patterns of translocation and tolerance of the seedlings. Cadmium was the most available metal, in relative terms; 15% of the total Cd in the soil was extracted with NH4NO3. The availabilities of Cd, Cu and Zn showed exponential relationships with soil pH (pH values ranged from 2.4 to 8.4). Cadmium accumulation in the leaves was not related to the changes in Cd availability. Greenhouse studies showed that seedlings had a high Cd retention capacity in fine roots (up to 7 g kg 1) and low rates of Cd translocation to the leaves (transfer coefficients below 0.03). Root biomass and thickness was altered by exposure to Cd. In spite of this, the chlorophyll fluorescence measurements (an indicator of plant stress) only differed slightly from the control treatment at a Cd dose of 200 mg L 1. Due to the relatively high tolerance to Cd and the capacity of roots to retain this metal, Holm oak may be useful for the phytostabilization of soils contaminated by Cd.We acknowledge the Regional Ministry of the Environment (Junta de Andalucía) for supporting this study within the SECOVER research program. We also thank the Spanish Ministry of Education for a FPU grant awarded to M.T. Domínguez and the project Interbos (CGL2008-04503-C03-01).Peer reviewe

Additional file 1: of Exploring the heterogeneity of neural social indices for genetically distinct etiologies of autism

Clinical characterization for children with ASD is provided. Abbreviations: M, male; F, female; LGD, likely gene-disrupting; +, present; -, absent; NC, not completed. (XLS 47 kb