The role of Executive Functions in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Executive functions involve a set of complex cognitive abilities that have the task of programming and controlling other cognitive functions and modifying them according to circumstances in order to achieve a goal. They thus regulate cognitive processes, behaviour, and the management of emotions. It is now known that all mechanisms managed by executive functions are affected in numerous neurodevelopmental disorders, including Autism Spectrum Disorder. In fact, it presents a variable symptomatology, affecting various cognitive, behavioural, motor and sensory aspects. The aim of this work was to delve into the subject of executive functions, and above all to analyse and explain the close link between executive functions and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Based on previous studies, this work shows a clear link between them. In particular, it appears that Autism Spectrum Disorder presents moderate deficits in all sub-domains of Executive Functions, and in particular visuospatial and inhibition-related Working Memory, and interference control. However, the literature still shows conflicting results, and further studies are needed to thoroughly evaluate the different subdomains of Executive Functions and the different forms of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Il ruolo delle Funzioni Esecutive in persone con Disturbo dello Spettro Autistico Le funzioni esecutive riguardano un insieme di abilità cognitive complesse il cui compito è quello di programmare e controllare altre funzioni cognitive e modificarle in base alle circostanze, al fine di raggiungere uno scopo. Esse regolano i processi cognitivi, il comportamento, e la gestione delle emozioni. È ormai noto che i meccanismi gestiti dalle funzioni esecutive, sono coinvolte nei disturbi del Neurosviluppo, tra cui il Disturbo dello Spettro Autistico. Infatti esso presenta una sintomatologia che riguarda diversi aspetti cognitivi, comportamentali, motori e sensoriali. L'obiettivo di questo lavoro è stato quello di approfondire l'argomento delle funzioni esecutive, e soprattutto quello di analizzare lo stretto legame che intercorre tra Funzioni Esecutive e Disturbo dello Spettro Autistico. Sulla base di studi precedenti, questo lavora evidenza un chiaro legame tra di essi. In particolare, il Disturbo dello Spettro Autistico presenta dei deficit moderati in tutti i sottodomini delle Funzioni Esecutive, ed in particolare della Memoria di Lavoro Visuo-Spaziale e quella legata al Controllo delle Interferenze. Tuttavia la letteratura mostra ancora risultati contrastanti, e necessita di ulteriori approfondimenti che vadano ad indagare i diversi sottodomini delle funzioni esecutive e le diverse forme di Disturbo dello Spettro Autistico

Sensitivity to gait improvement after levodopa intake in Parkinson’s disease: A comparison study among synthetic kinematic indices

The synthetic indices are widely used to describe balance and stability during gait. Some of these are employed to describe the gait features in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the results are sometimes inconsistent, and the same indices are rarely used to compare the individuals affected by PD before and after levodopa intake (OFF and ON condition, respectively). Our aim was to investigate which synthetic measure among Harmonic Ratio, Jerk Ratio, Golden Ratio and Trunk Displacement Index is representative of gait stability and harmony, and which of these are more sensitive to the variations between OFF and ON condition. We found that all indices, except the Jerk Ratio, significantly improve after levodopa. Only the improvement of the Trunk Displacement Index showed a direct correlation with the motor improvement measured through the clinical scale UPDRS-III (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale-part III). In conclusion, we suggest that the synthetic indices can be useful to detect motor changes induced by, but not all of them clearly correlate with the clinical changes achieved with the levodopa administration. In our analysis, only the Trunk Displacement Index was able to show a clear relationship with the PD clinical motor improvement

The kinectome: A comprehensive kinematic map of human motion in health and disease

Human voluntary movement stems from the coordinated activations in space and time of many musculoskeletal segments. However, the current methodological approaches to study human movement are still limited to the evaluation of the synergies among a few body elements. Network science can be a useful approach to describe movement as a whole and to extract features that are relevant to understanding both its complex physiology and the pathophysiology of movement disorders. Here, we propose to represent human movement as a network (that we named the kinectome), where nodes represent body points, and edges are defined as the correlations of the accelerations between each pair of them. We applied this framework to healthy individuals and patients with Parkinson’s disease, observing that the patients’ kinectomes display less symmetrical patterns as compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, we used the kinectomes to successfully identify both healthy and diseased subjects using short gait recordings. Finally, we highlighted topological features that predict the individual clinical impairment in patients. Our results define a novel approach to study human movement. While deceptively simple, this approach is well-grounded, and represents a powerful tool that may be applied to a wide spectrum of framework

Topological changes of brain network during mindfulness meditation: an exploratory source level magnetoencephalographic study

We have previously evidenced that Mindfulness Meditation (MM) in experienced meditators (EMs) is associated with long-lasting topological changes in resting state condition. However, what occurs during the meditative phase is still debated. Utilizing magnetoencephalography (MEG), the present study is aimed at comparing the topological features of the brain network in a group of EMs (n = 26) during the meditative phase with those of individuals who had no previous experience of any type of meditation (NM group, n = 29). A wide range of topological changes in the EM group as compared to the NM group has been shown. Specifically, in EMs, we have observed increased betweenness centrality in delta, alpha, and beta bands in both cortical (left medial orbital cortex, left postcentral area, and right visual primary cortex) and subcortical (left caudate nucleus and thalamus) areas. Furthermore, the degree of beta band in parietal and occipital areas of EMs was increased too. Our exploratory study suggests that the MM can change the functional brain network and provides an explanatory hypothesis on the brain circuits characterizing the meditative process

The progressive loss of brain network fingerprints in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis predicts clinical impairment

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterised by functional connectivity alterations in both motor and extra-motor brain regions. Within the framework of network analysis, fingerprinting represents a reliable approach to assess subject-specific connectivity features within a given population (healthy or diseased). Here, we applied the Clinical Connectome Fingerprint (CCF) analysis to source-reconstructed magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals in a cohort of seventy-eight subjects: thirty-nine ALS patients and thirty-nine healthy controls. We set out to develop an identifiability matrix to assess the extent to which each patient was recognisable based on his/her connectome, as compared to healthy controls. The analysis was performed in the five canonical frequency bands. Then, we built a multilinear regression model to test the ability of the “clinical fingerprint” to predict the clinical evolution of the disease, as assessed by the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-r), the King’s disease staging system, and the Milano-Torino Staging (MiToS) disease staging system. We found a drop in the identifiability of patients in the alpha band compared to the healthy controls. Furthermore, the “clinical fingerprint” was predictive of the ALSFRS-r (p = 0.0397; β = 32.8), the King’s (p = 0.0001; β = − 7.40), and the MiToS (p = 0.0025; β = − 4.9) scores. Accordingly, it negatively correlated with the King’s (Spearman’s rho = -0.6041, p = 0.0003) and MiToS scales (Spearman’s rho = − 0.4953, p = 0.0040). Our results demonstrated the ability of the CCF approach to predict the individual motor impairment in patients affected by ALS. Given the subject-specificity of our approach, we hope to further exploit it to improve disease management

A night of sleep deprivation alters brain connectivity and affects specific executive functions

: Sleep is a fundamental physiological process necessary for efficient cognitive functioning especially in relation to memory consolidation and executive functions, such as attentional and switching abilities. The lack of sleep strongly alters the connectivity of some resting-state networks, such as default mode network and attentional network. In this study, by means of magnetoencephalography (MEG) and specific cognitive tasks, we investigated how brain topology and cognitive functioning are affected by 24 h of sleep deprivation (SD). Thirty-two young men underwent resting-state MEG recording and evaluated in letter cancellation task (LCT) and task switching (TS) before and after SD. Results showed a worsening in the accuracy and speed of execution in the LCT and a reduction of reaction times in the TS, evidencing thus a worsening of attentional but not of switching abilities. Moreover, we observed that 24 h of SD induced large-scale rearrangements in the functional network. These findings evidence that 24 h of SD is able to alter brain connectivity and selectively affects cognitive domains which are under the control of different brain networks

Rhythm and movement in developmental age

Coordination is the neurophysiological activity of regulating the synchronism and extent of contraction and relaxation of the various muscles in order to achieve more or less complex movements in pursuit of set goals. Coordinated gestures are characterised by a correct rhythm of movement. The relationship between Movement and Rhythm, is of extreme importance for several reasons. On a biological level, rhythmic capacity leads to a reduction in muscular fatigue, frees us from unnecessary effort, and optimises movement by reducing energy expenditure. Furthermore, rhythmicity develops a series of motor and cognitive skills, which are fundamental for improving the activities of daily life of everyone. The purpose of this work was to investigate articles in the literature that explore the relationship between rhythmicity and motor and cognitive development in school-aged children, and the benefits of improving this motor skill. It has been widely demonstrated that rhythmic training improves coordination, sense of direction, laterality and organisation of space and time, reading, language, logical and mathematical thought structure and socialisation. The development of this special coordinative ability has also been shown to be crucial in children with learning disabilities and in neurodevelopmental disorders. Therefore, education and training in Rhythm is fundamental for learning motor and cognitive development throughout each child's developmental years

THE POSITIVE EFFECT OF MODERATE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON BALANCE IN A HEALTHY POPULATION

Physical activity plays a key role in the well-being and health of people at all ages. It brings several benefits, by reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease in the elderly and the risk of injury caused by falls due to reduced stability. One of the benefits of physical activity, observable at all ages, is the improvement of static and dynamic balance. The aim of this preliminary study was to evaluate the balance condition in a population with a moderate level of physical activity compared to a sedentary group. Ten subjects practising moderate physical activity and 10 controls were recruited, and their balance was analysed, both with open and with closed eyes. The results showed that the group of those performing moderate physical activity had a reduction in the Centre of Pressure displacement, compared to the sedentary group. These data show that even when performing moderate physical activity there is a reduction in postural sways and thus an improvement in balanc

EXPLORING LEARNING WITH OUTDOOR DANCE: WHERE EMBODIMENT AND ENVIRONMENT UNITE

The article explores the educational potential of Outdoor Dance, a practice that combines bodily movement with the natural environment. The aim of this paper is to illustrate how this fusion enriches learning, promotes physical and mental well-being, and fosters personal and social connections. This practice should be integrated into educational programmes to foster greater individual awareness and deeper connection with the world around u