1. Demopoulos C, Hopkins J, Kopald BE, Paulson K, Doyle L, Andrews WE, Lewine JD. {{Deficits in Auditory Processing Contribute to Impairments in Vocal Affect Recognition in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A MEG Study}}. {Neuropsychology};2015 (May 25)
OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study was to examine whether there is an association between magnetoencephalography-based (MEG) indices of basic cortical auditory processing and vocal affect recognition (VAR) ability in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHOD: MEG data were collected from 25 children/adolescents with ASD and 12 control participants using a paired-tone paradigm to measure quality of auditory physiology, sensory gating, and rapid auditory processing. Group differences were examined in auditory processing and vocal affect recognition ability. The relationship between differences in auditory processing and vocal affect recognition deficits was examined in the ASD group. RESULTS: Replicating prior studies, participants with ASD showed longer M1n latencies and impaired rapid processing compared with control participants. These variables were significantly related to VAR, with the linear combination of auditory processing variables accounting for approximately 30% of the variability after controlling for age and language skills in participants with ASD. CONCLUSIONS: VAR deficits in ASD are typically interpreted as part of a core, higher order dysfunction of the « social brain »; however, these results suggest they also may reflect basic deficits in auditory processing that compromise the extraction of socially relevant cues from the auditory environment. As such, they also suggest that therapeutic targeting of sensory dysfunction in ASD may have additional positive implications for other functional deficits. (PsycINFO Database Record
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2. D’Souza D, Booth R, Connolly M, Happe F, Karmiloff-Smith A. {{Rethinking the concepts of ‘local or global processors’: evidence from Williams syndrome, Down syndrome, and Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {Dev Sci};2015 (May 25)
Both Williams syndrome (WS) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been characterized as preferentially processing local information, whereas in Down syndrome (DS) the reported tendency is to process stimuli globally. We designed a cross-syndrome, cross-task comparison to reveal similarities and differences in local/global processing in these disorders. Our in-depth study compared local/global processing across modalities (auditory-verbal/visuo-spatial) and levels of processing (high/low) in the three syndromes. Despite claims in the literature, participants with ASD or WS failed to show a consistent local processing bias, while those with DS failed to show a reliable global processing bias. Depending on the nature of the stimuli and the task, both local and global processing biases were evident in all three neurodevelopmental disorders. These findings indicate that individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders cannot simply be characterized as local or global processors.
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3. Haigh SM, Minshew N, Heeger DJ, Dinstein I, Behrmann M. {{Over-Responsiveness and Greater Variability in Roughness Perception in Autism}}. {Autism Res};2015 (May 25)
Although sensory problems, including tactile hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity (DSM-5) are commonly associated with autism, there is a dearth of systematic and rigorous research in this domain. Here, we report findings from a psychophysical experiment that explored differences in tactile perception between individuals with autism and typically developing control participants, who, using their index finger, rated a series of surfaces on the extent of their roughness. Each surface was rated multiple times and we calculated both the average rating and the variability across trials. Relative to controls, the individuals with autism perceived the surfaces as rougher overall and exhibited greater variability in their ratings across trials. These findings characterize altered tactile perception in autism and suggest that sensory problems in autism may be the product of overly responsive and variable sensory processing. Autism Res 2014. (c) 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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4. Meera SS, Girimaji SC, Seshadri SP, Philip M, Shivashankar N, Morgan P, Piven J. {{Translation of the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire to an Indian language: A description of the process}}. {Asian J Psychiatr};2015 (May 4)
The Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ) which is a reliable, efficient and easy to administer instrument is used to assess the Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP). In order to understand cross cultural perspectives using this instrument, a key process is translation of the instrument. The process of translation is often overlooked and hence the quality of the translated instrument may suffer. This paper highlights the robust process adopted for translating the BAPQ into one of the Indian languages – Kannada, using the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) and World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. The translated instrument was tested on a pilot sample of parents of 10 children with ASD and parents of 11 typically developing children. The results are in congruence with the published literature.
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5. Murdaugh DL, Deshpande HD, Kana RK. {{The Impact of Reading Intervention on Brain Responses Underlying Language in Children With Autism}}. {Autism Res};2015 (May 25)
Deficits in language comprehension have been widely reported in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), with behavioral and neuroimaging studies finding increased reliance on visuospatial processing to aid in language comprehension. However, no study to date, has taken advantage of this strength in visuospatial processing to improve language comprehension difficulties in ASD. This study used a translational neuroimaging approach to test the role of a visual imagery-based reading intervention in improving the brain circuitry underlying language processing in children with ASD. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in a longitudinal study design, was used to investigate intervention-related change in sentence comprehension, brain activation, and functional connectivity in three groups of participants (age 8-13 years): an experimental group of ASD children (ASD-EXP), a wait-list control group of ASD children (ASD-WLC), and a group of typically developing control children. After intervention, the ASD-EXP group showed significant increase in activity in visual and language areas and right-hemisphere language area homologues, putamen, and thalamus, suggestive of compensatory routes to increase proficiency in reading comprehension. Additionally, ASD children who had the most improvement in reading comprehension after intervention showed greater functional connectivity between left-hemisphere language areas, the middle temporal gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus while reading high imagery sentences. Thus, the findings of this study, which support the principles of dual coding theory [Paivio 2007], suggest the potential of a strength-based reading intervention in changing brain responses and facilitating better reading comprehension in ASD children. Autism Res 2015. (c) 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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6. Ohashi K, Mizuno Y, Miyachi T, Asai T, Imaeda M, Saitoh S. {{Concordance of classifications using DSM-5 and DSM-IV-TR criteria for autism spectrum disorder}}. {Pediatr Int};2015 (May 25)
INTRODUCTION: The fifth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) was published in May of 2013. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been structured for the three subtypes of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), but the numbers of social and communication dimensions are not mentioned. METHOD: The subjects were 68 children who visited the department of psychology and development for the first time during ages 6-15 years old. We retrospectively re-examined the subjects using DSM-IV-TR criteria and DSM-5 criteria on two rules (two out of three and one out of three on the social and communication dimension) and examined the concordance rate. RESULT: Forty cases were diagnosed for PDD, and 28 cases were not diagnosed for PDD. The mean age of cases with PDD was 9.4 years, and their mean IQ were 84.0 on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – III or 62.7 on the Tanaka-Binet test, respectively. Twenty-seven (68%) out of cases with PDD were classified as ASD using DSM-5 criteria when two of the three rule was applied, while 32 (80%) of cases with PDD were classified as ASD using DSM-5 criteria when one of the three rule was applied. All cases without PDD were not diagnosed for ASD using DSM-5 criteria. DISCUSSION: DSM-5 criteria may exclude high functioning and high aged cases from ASD because they tend to be atypical. The diagnostic procedure for DSM-5 criteria is ambiguous especially in cases with high functioning and diagnosed in high age. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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7. Symons FJ, Byiers B, Hoch J, Dimian A, Barney C, Feyma T, Beisang A. {{Infrared Thermal Analysis and Individual Differences in Skin Temperature Asymmetry in Rett Syndrome}}. {Pediatr Neurol};2015 (Mar 25)
PURPOSE: We evaluated the feasibility of using a portable infrared thermal camera to quantify the degree of thermal dysregulation (cold hands/feet) and test for naturally occurring within-patient skin temperature asymmetry in Rett syndrome. PROCEDURES: Infrared thermal images were acquired passively from 15 patients (mean age = 13.7 years, range 4-47) with clinical diagnoses of Rett. Images were acquired using a FLIR T400 infrared thermal camera (still images recorded at 5 Hz, resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, thermal sensitivity = 0.05 degrees C; capture session lasted approximately 3 minutes). The infrared thermal camera was orthogonal to the body part (hands, feet) and positioned approximately 1 meter from the skin’s surface. RESULTS: There were large intraindividual left/right differences in temperature. Seven (47%) and eight (53%) patients had statistically significant (P <0.05) left/right asymmetries between hands (mean difference = 0.87 degrees C, standard deviation = 1.21) and feet (mean difference = 1.73 degrees C, standard deviation = 3.03), respectively. Coders were reliable (intraclass correlations 0.97-0.99) on temperatures and selection of anatomical regions of interest. CONCLUSIONS: The degree of thermal asymmetry may reflect prolonged activity of the sympathetic nervous system and individual differences in sympathetic regulation. As clinical trials emerge and endpoints are considered, portable infrared thermal camera may provide one noninvasive means of evaluating changes in sympathetic regulation.
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8. Thomas S, Sciberras E, Lycett K, Papadopoulos N, Rinehart N. {{Physical Functioning, Emotional, and Behavioral Problems in Children With ADHD and Comorbid ASD: A Cross-Sectional Study}}. {J Atten Disord};2015 (May 25)
OBJECTIVE: To examine (a) physical and daily functioning in children with ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared with ADHD alone and (b) whether decreased physical quality of life (QoL) is associated with increased emotional and behavioral problems in children with ADHD-ASD. METHOD: Cross-sectional study comprising 392 children with confirmed ADHD (ADHD-ASD, n = 93; ADHD alone, n = 299) recruited from 21 pediatric practices in Victoria, Australia. Data were collected via parent and teacher surveys. Key measures included the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). RESULTS: Children with ADHD-ASD had poorer QoL across both psychosocial and physical health domains, and also had greater parent-reported behavioral, emotional, and peer problems, compared with children with ADHD alone. Poorer physical QoL partially mediated the relationship between comorbid ASD status and poorer emotional and behavioral functioning. CONCLUSION: The comorbid overlay of ASD in ADHD appears to influence not only problems in physical functioning but also the severity of problems relating to areas of emotional and behavioral functioning.
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9. Truedsson E, Bohlin G, Wahlstedt C. {{The Specificity and Independent Contribution of Inhibition, Working Memory, and Reaction Time Variability in Relation to Symptoms of ADHD and ASD}}. {J Atten Disord};2015 (May 25)
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to investigate the specificity of inhibition, working memory (WM), and reaction time variability (RTV) in relation to symptoms of ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHOD: A community-based sample of schoolchildren aged 7 to 9 years (N = 200) completed tasks designed to measure inhibition, WM, and RTV. RESULTS: All neuropsychological functions were related to symptoms of both ADHD and ASD. The results from regression analyses showed that inhibition and RTV were related specifically to ADHD symptoms when controlling for symptoms of ASD. Regarding WM, no specific association with either symptom domain was evident after controlling for the other. Furthermore, independent contributions of inhibition and RTV were found in relation to ADHD symptoms after controlling for ASD symptoms. CONCLUSION: The present study underscores the relevance of controlling for ADHD symptoms when examining ASD symptoms in relation to neuropsychological functions.
