The role of the broader autism phenotype in anxiety and depression in college-aged adults

The current study examines the relationship between the presence of autistic traits and anxiety and mood disorders in young adults from different racial groups. A representative sample from a predominately white university (2,791 non-Hispanic White (NHW) and 185 Black students) completed the broad autism phenotype questionnaire (BAPQ), a measure of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-9), and anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder, GAD-7). Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to perform two multiple regression analyses to determine the association between race, BAPQ score and anxiety and depression symptoms. The current study found a stronger association between autistic traits had depression and anxiety symptoms in Black participants than did NHW participants. These findings underscore the association between autistic traits and anxiety and depression in Black communities, and the need for further studies on this topic area. Additionally, it highlights the importance of improving access to mental health care for this population

The Timecourse of Activation Within the Cortical Network Associated with Visual Imagery

The current study examined the hemodynamic timecourse of activation within a network of regions that is thought to be associated with visual imagery. Two experimental conditions were examined that were designed to place differential demands on specific nodes within the visual imagery network. The two tasks were an object inspection task and a mental rotation task. The two conditions recruited overlapping cortical regions; however several regions revealed a differential response to object inspection and mental rotation. The mental rotation condition elicited greater activation in parietal cortex, lateral occipital/temporal regions, and bilateral prefrontal cortex. Conversely, the object inspection condition elicited greater activation in inferior extrastriate cortex, the inferior frontal gyrus, and the right cerebellum. When examining the timecourse of activation three different timecourse patterns were observed across cortical regions and conditions. The shape of the hemodynamic timecourse appears to correspond strongly with the cognitive processing taking place within the region, not the stimulus paradigm. The paper discusses the significance of those varying timecourse shapes and has implications for the appropriateness of using the canonical hrf during fMRI data analysis

Analyzing Complex Problem Solving by Dynamic Brain Networks

Complex problem solving is a high level cognitive task of the human brain, which has been studied over the last decade. Tower of London (TOL) is a game that has been widely used to study complex problem solving. In this paper, we aim to explore the underlying cognitive network structure among anatomical regions of complex problem solving and its subtasks, namely planning and execution. A new computational model for estimating a brain network at each time instant of fMRI recordings is proposed. The suggested method models the brain network as an Artificial Neural Network, where the weights correspond to the relationships among the brain anatomic regions. The first step of the model is preprocessing that manages to decrease the spatial redundancy while increasing the temporal resolution of the fMRI recordings. Then, dynamic brain networks are estimated using the preprocessed fMRI signal to train the Artificial Neural Network. The properties of the estimated brain networks are studied in order to identify regions of interest, such as hubs and subgroups of densely connected brain regions. The representation power of the suggested brain network is shown by decoding the planning and execution subtasks of complex problem solving. Our findings are consistent with the previous results of experimental psychology. Furthermore, it is observed that there are more hubs during the planning phase compared to the execution phase, and the clusters are more strongly connected during planning compared to execution

The health of rural Black communities during COVID: Some affirmations, some surprises

Background and objectiveThere are overwhelming health disparities in the Deep South. It is important to include the voice of communities affected by these disparities when developing interventions. The goal of the current study was to develop an academic community engaged partnership to strengthen the ability to address priority health concerns of rural African American communities with a focus on health literacy and health advocacy.MethodsA community-based participatory research approach was used to administer a 15-item community health survey in five rural communities led by African American mayors in Alabama (N = 752). The survey assessed the health concerns and the potential behaviors that may be associated with those health concerns.ResultsThe five communities demonstrated similarities as well as differences in both the health concerns endorsed and the potential health behaviors that may contribute to those concerns. All five communities identified cardiovascular disease as a health concern with three endorsing mental health issues and 2 dental health. With respect to behaviors, all five communities identified either unhealthy eating/exercise and substance use as concerns with one community identifying racism as a risky behavior affecting health.ConclusionThe results presented replicate CBPR studies demonstrating that communities are important sources of information about local health priorities and concerns

Disturbances of postural sway components in cannabis users

Introduction A prominent effect of acute cannabis use is impaired motor coordination and driving performance. However, few studies have evaluated balance in chronic cannabis users, even though density of the CB1 receptor, which mediates the psychoactive effects of cannabis, is extremely high in brain regions critically involved in this fundamental behavior. The present study measured postural sway in regular cannabis users and used rambling and trembling analysis to quantify the integrity of central and peripheral nervous system contributions to the sway signal. Methods Postural sway was measured in 42 regular cannabis users (CB group) and 36 non-cannabis users (N-CB group) by asking participants to stand as still as possible on a force platform in the presence and absence of motor and sensory challenges. Center of pressure (COP) path length was measured, and the COP signal was decomposed into rambling and trembling components. Exploratory correlational analyses were conducted between sway variables, cannabis use history, and neurocognitive function. Results The CB group had significantly increased path length and increased trembling in the anterior-posterior (AP) direction. Exploratory correlational analyses suggested that AP rambling was significantly inversely associated with visuo-motor processing speed. Discussion Regular cannabis use is associated with increased postural sway, and this appears to be predominantly due to the trembling component, which is believed to reflect the peripheral nervous system’s contribution to the sway signal

Impaired Effective Connectivity During a Cerebellar-Mediated Sensorimotor Synchronization Task in Schizophrenia

Prominent conceptual models characterize schizophrenia as a dysconnectivity syndrome, with recent research focusing on the contributions of the cerebellum in this framework. The present study examined the role of the cerebellum and its effective connectivity to the cerebrum during sensorimotor synchronization in schizophrenia. Specifically, the role of the cerebellum in temporally coordinating cerebral motor activity was examined through path analysis. Thirty-one individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and 40 healthy controls completed a finger-tapping fMRI task including tone-paced synchronization and self-paced continuation tapping at a 500 ms intertap interval (ITI). Behavioral data revealed shorter and more variable ITIs during self-paced continuation, greater clock (vs motor) variance, and greater force of tapping in the schizophrenia group. In a whole-brain analysis, groups showed robust activation of the cerebellum during self-paced continuation but not during tone-paced synchronization. However, effective connectivity analysis revealed decreased connectivity in individuals with schizophrenia between the cerebellum and primary motor cortex but increased connectivity between cerebellum and thalamus during self-paced continuation compared with healthy controls. These findings in schizophrenia indicate diminished temporal coordination of cerebral motor activity by cerebellum during the continuation tapping portion of sensorimotor synchronization. Taken together with the behavioral finding of greater temporal variability in schizophrenia, these effective connectivity results are consistent with structural and temporal models of dysconnectivity in the disorder

Neuro-ophthalmologic and blood biomarker responses in ADHD following subconcussive head impacts: a case–control trial

IntroductionThis clinical trial aimed to determine the influence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on neuro-ophthalmologic function and brain-derived blood biomarkers following acute subconcussive head impacts.MethodsThe present trial consisted of age- and sex-matched samples with a ratio of 1:1 between two groups with a total sample size of 60 adults (age ± SD; 20.0 ± 1.8 years). Soccer players diagnosed with and medicated daily for ADHD were assigned into an ADHD group (n = 30). Soccer players without ADHD were assigned into a non-ADHD group (n = 30). Participants performed 10 soccer headers with a soccer ball projected at a velocity of 25mph. King-Devick test (KDT), near point of convergence (NPC), and serum levels of NF-L, tau, GFAP, and UCH-L1 were assessed at baseline (pre-heading) and at 2 h and 24 h post-heading.ResultsThere were no statistically significant group-by-time interactions in outcome measures. However, at baseline, the ADHD group exhibited lower neuro-ophthalmologic functions compared to the non-ADHD group (NPC: p = 0.019; KDT: p = 0.018), and persisted at 2 h-post (NPC: p = 0.007; KDT: p = 0.014) and 24 h-post heading (NPC: p = 0.001). NPC significantly worsened over time in both groups compared to baseline [ADHD: 2 h-post, 1.23 cm, 95%CI:(0.77, 1.69), p < 0.001; 24 h-post, 1.68 cm, 95%CI:(1.22, 2.13), p = 0.001; Non-ADHD: 2 h-post, 0.96 cm, 95%CI:(0.50, 1.42), p < 0.001; 24 h-post, 1.09 cm, 95%CI:(0.63, 1.55), p < 0.001]. Conversely, improvements in KDT time compared to baseline occurred at 2 h-post in the non-ADHD group [−1.32 s, 95%CI:(−2.55, −0.09), p = 0.04] and at 24 h-post in both groups [ADHD: −4.66 s, 95%CI:(−5.89, −3.43), p < 0.001; Non-ADHD: −3.46 s, 95%CI:(−4.69, −2.23), p < 0.001)]. There were no group-by-time interactions for GFAP as both groups exhibited increased levels at 2 h-post [ADHD: 7.75 pg./mL, 95%CI:(1.41, 14.10), p = 0.019; Non-ADHD: 7.91 pg./mL, 95%CI:(1.71, 14.14), p = 0.015)] that returned to baseline at 24 h-post. NF-L levels increased at 2 h-post heading in the ADHD group [0.45 pg./mL, 95%CI:(0.05, 0.86), p = 0.032], but no significant NF-L changes were observed in the non-ADHD group over time.DiscussionTen soccer headers elevated GFAP levels and NPC impairment in both groups. However, persisting group difference in NPC, blunted KDT performance, and increased NF-L levels in the ADHD group suggest that ADHD may reduce neuro-ophthalmologic function and heighten axonal response to soccer headers.Clinical trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, identifier ID: (NCT04880304)

Modality-Independent Effects of Phonological Neighborhood Structure on Initial L2 Sign Language Learning

The goal of the present study was to characterize how neighborhood structure in sign language influences lexical sign acquisition in order to extend our understanding of how the lexicon influences lexical acquisition in both sign and spoken languages. A referent-matching lexical sign learning paradigm was administered to a group of 29 hearing sign language learners in order to create a sign lexicon. The lexicon was constructed based on exposures to signs that resided in either sparse or dense handshape and location neighborhoods. The results of the current study indicated that during the creation of the lexicon signs that resided in sparse neighborhoods were learned better than signs that resided in dense neighborhoods. This pattern of results is similar to what is seen in child first language acquisition of spoken language. Therefore, despite differences in child first language and adult second language acquisition, these results contribute to a growing body of literature that implicates the phonological features that structure of the lexicon is influential in initial stages of lexical acquisition for both spoken and sign languages. This is the first study that uses an innovated lexicon-construction methodology to explore interactions between phonology and the lexicon in L2 acquisition of sign language