Neurobehavioral abnormalities in first-degree relatives of individuals with autism

Sensorimotor Behavior in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Unaffected Biological Parents

Sensorimotor impairments are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and evident in unaffected first-degree relatives, suggesting that they may serve as endophenotypes associated with inherited autism likelihood. We tested the familiality of sensorimotor impairments in autism across multiple motor behaviors and effector systems and in relation to parental broader autism phenotypic (BAP) characteristics. Fifty-seven autistic individuals (probands), 109 parents, and 89 neurotypical control participants completed tests of manual motor and oculomotor control. Sensorimotor tests varied in their involvement of rapid, feedforward control and sustained, sensory feedback control processes. Subgroup analyses compared families with at least one parent showing BAP traits (BAP+) and those in which neither parent showed BAP traits (BAP-). Results show that probands with BAP- parents (BAP- probands) showed atypical control of rapid oculomotor behaviors, while BAP+ probands showed impairments of sustained manual motor and oculomotor behaviors compared to controls. BAP- parents showed impaired rapid oculomotor and sustained manual motor abilities relative to BAP+ parents and controls. Rapid oculomotor behaviors were highly intercorrelated among probands and their biological parents. These findings indicate that rapid oculomotor behaviors are selectively impacted in BAP- probands and their parents and may reflect a familial likelihood for autism independent of parental autistic traits. In contrast, sustained sensorimotor behaviors were affected in BAP+ probands and BAP- parents, suggesting separate familial pathways associated with autism. Finally, atypical saccade dynamics may serve as strong endophenotypes for autism. These findings provide new evidence that rapid and sustained sensorimotor alterations represent strong but separate familial pathways of inherited likelihood for autism.

Simple Executive Function as an endophenotype of autism-ADHD, and differing associations between simple versus complex Executive Functions and autism/ADHD traits

Autism and ADHD are associated with difficulties with Executive Functions (EFs), but the prevalence and nature of these difficulties in early development is not well understood. In this longitudinal study, 107 children with a family history of autism and/or ADHD (FH-autism/ADHD), and 24 children with No-FH-autism/ADHD completed multiple EF tasks (5 at age 2 years, 7 at age 3 years). Parents reported on their child's autism- (Q-CHAT at age 2, SRS-2 at age 3), and ADHD-related traits (CBCL DSM-ADHD scale, both ages). Compared to the No-FH-autism/ADHD group, the FH-autism/ADHD group showed lower scores on simple EFs (involving response inhibition, and holding in mind) at ages 2 and 3. Exploratory analysis linked FH-autism specifically with lower Executive Attention (top-down attentional control) at age 2, and the combination of FH-autism and FH-ADHD with lower Complex EF (involving selectively deploying responses, or updating information) at age 3. Three-year-olds' Simple EF scores were negatively associated with ADHD-related traits. Complex EF scores were negatively associated with autism traits (before correcting for multiple comparisons). Toddlers with a family history of autism and/or ADHD may benefit from interventions to support simple EF development, whilst those already showing autistic traits may benefit from support with more-complex EF skills.

Oculomotor Function in Children and Adolescents with Autism, ADHD or Co-occurring Autism and ADHD

Oculomotor characteristics, including accuracy, timing, and sensorimotor processing, are considered sensitive intermediate phenotypes for understanding the etiology of neurodevelopmental conditions, such as autism and ADHD. Oculomotor characteristics have predominantly been studied separately in autism and ADHD. Despite the high rates of co-occurrence between these conditions, only one study has investigated oculomotor processes among those with co-occurring autism + ADHD. Four hundred and five (n = 405; 226 males) Australian children and adolescents aged 4 to 18 years (M = 9.64 years; SD = 3.20 years) with ADHD (n = 64), autism (n = 66), autism + ADHD (n = 146), or neurotypical individuals (n = 129) were compared across four different oculomotor tasks: visually guided saccade, anti-saccade, sinusoidal pursuit and step-ramp pursuit. Confirmatory analyses were conducted using separate datasets acquired from the University of Nottingham UK (n = 17 autism, n = 22 ADHD, n = 32 autism + ADHD, n = 30 neurotypical) and University of Kansas USA (n = 29 autism, n = 41 neurotypical). Linear mixed effect models controlling for sex, age and family revealed that children and adolescents with autism + ADHD exhibited increased variability in the accuracy of the final saccadic eye position compared to neurotypical children and adolescents. Autistic children and adolescents demonstrated a greater number of catch-up saccades during step-ramp pursuit compared to neurotypical children and adolescents. These findings suggest that select differences in saccadic precision are unique to autistic individuals with co-occurring ADHD, indicating that measuring basic sensorimotor processes may be useful for parsing neurodevelopment and clinical heterogeneity in autism.

Endophenotype trait domains for advancing gene discovery in autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with a diverse range of etiological processes, including both genetic and non-genetic causes. For a plurality of individuals with ASD, it is likely that the primary causes involve multiple common inherited variants that individually account for only small levels of variation in phenotypic outcomes. This genetic landscape creates a major challenge for detecting small but important pathogenic effects associated with ASD. To address similar challenges, separate fields of medicine have identified endophenotypes, or discrete, quantitative traits that reflect genetic likelihood for a particular clinical condition and leveraged the study of these traits to map polygenic mechanisms and advance more personalized therapeutic strategies for complex diseases. Endophenotypes represent a distinct class of biomarkers useful for understanding genetic contributions to psychiatric and developmental disorders because they are embedded within the causal chain between genotype and clinical phenotype, and they are more proximal to the action of the gene(s) than behavioral traits. Despite their demonstrated power for guiding new understanding of complex genetic structures of clinical conditions, few endophenotypes associated with ASD have been identified and integrated into family genetic studies. In this review, we argue that advancing knowledge of the complex pathogenic processes that contribute to ASD can be accelerated by refocusing attention toward identifying endophenotypic traits reflective of inherited mechanisms. This pivot requires renewed emphasis on study designs with measurement of familial co-variation including infant sibling studies, family trio and quad designs, and analysis of monozygotic and dizygotic twin concordance for select trait dimensions. We also emphasize that clarification of endophenotypic traits necessarily will involve integration of transdiagnostic approaches as candidate traits likely reflect liability for multiple clinical conditions and often are agnostic to diagnostic boundaries. Multiple candidate endophenotypes associated with ASD likelihood are described, and we propose a new focus on the analysis of "endophenotype trait domains" (ETDs), or traits measured across multiple levels (e.g., molecular, cellular, neural system, neuropsychological) along the causal pathway from genes to behavior. To inform our central argument for research efforts toward ETD discovery, we first provide a brief review of the concept of endophenotypes and their application to psychiatry. Next, we highlight key criteria for determining the value of candidate endophenotypes, including unique considerations for the study of ASD. Descriptions of different study designs for assessing endophenotypes in ASD research then are offered, including analysis of how select patterns of results may help prioritize candidate traits in future research. We also present multiple candidate ETDs that collectively cover a breadth of clinical phenomena associated with ASD, including social, language/communication, cognitive control, and sensorimotor processes. These ETDs are described because they represent promising targets for gene discovery related to clinical autistic traits, and they serve as models for analysis of separate candidate domains that may inform understanding of inherited etiological processes associated with ASD as well as overlapping neurodevelopmental disorders.

Neurocognitive and self-reported psychosocial and behavioral functioning in siblings of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions: a study using remote self-administered testing

OBJECTIVE

This study compared and explored the neurocognitive profiles of siblings of persons with and without neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) and associations between objective test performance and self-reported psychosocial functioning.

METHODS

Siblings of persons with and without NDCs (64 NDC and 64 control siblings; mean age 19.88 years, range 11-27 years, 73.44% female, 75.78% White Caucasian) completed self-report questionnaires and self-administered computerized neurocognitive tests of executive functioning (EF). Using Bayesian analyses, we examined cross-sectional associations between self-reported psychosocial functioning and cognitive test performance, and predictors of EF over 15 months.

RESULTS

NDC siblings had poorer working memory, inhibition, attention, and shifting compared to controls, as measured by experimental paradigms on the backward Corsi span, N-Back 2-back task, Stop Signal Task, Sustained Attention to Response Task, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (effect size δ ranging 0.49 to 0.64). Bayesian cross-sectional networks revealed negative emotion reactivity and working memory difficulties were central to the NDC sibling network. Over 15 months, poorer EF (k low test scores) was predicted by negative emotion reactivity, sleep problems, and anxiety, over and above effects of age and subclinical autistic and ADHD traits. Siblings of autistic individuals and persons with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder had higher rates of neurocognitive and psychiatric difficulties than other NDCs and controls (Bayes factors >20).

CONCLUSIONS

Neurocognitive difficulties were associated with transdiagnostic vulnerability to poorer wellbeing in NDC siblings. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of remote online cognitive testing and highlight the importance of individualized prevention and intervention for NDC siblings.

Sensorimotor Behavior in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Unaffected Biological Parents

Background

Sensorimotor impairments are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and evident in unaffected first-degree relatives, suggesting that they may serve as important endophenotypes associated with inherited risk. We tested the familiality of sensorimotor impairments in ASD across multiple motor behaviors and effector systems and in relation to parental broader autism phenotypic (BAP) characteristics.

Methods

Fifty-eight autistic individuals (probands), 109 parents, and 89 control participants completed tests of manual motor and oculomotor control. Sensorimotor tests varied in their involvement of rapid, feedforward control and sustained, sensory feedback control processes. Subgroup analyses compared families with at least one parent showing BAP traits (BAP+) and those in which neither parent showed BAP traits (BAP-).

Results

Probands with BAP- parents (BAP- probands) showed rapid manual motor and oculomotor deficits, while BAP+ probands showed sustained motor impairments compared to controls. BAP- parents showed impaired rapid oculomotor and sustained manual motor abilities relative to BAP+ parents and controls. Atypical rapid oculomotor impairments also were familial.

Limitations

Larger samples of ASD families including greater samples of probands with BAP+ parents are needed. Genetic studies also are needed to link sensorimotor endophenotype findings directly to genes.

Conclusions

Results indicate rapid sensorimotor behaviors are selectively impacted in BAP- probands and their parents and may reflect familial liabilities for ASD that are independent of familial autistic traits. Sustained sensorimotor behaviors were affected in BAP+ probands and BAP- parents re ecting familial traits that may only confer risk when combined with parental autistic trait liabilities. These findings provide new evidence that rapid and sustained sensorimotor alterations represent strong but separate familial pathways of ASD risk that demonstrate unique interactions with mechanisms related to parental autistic traits.

Combined Gait and Grasping in Autistic and Non-Autistic Youths

This study was designed to extend research on motor skill development in autism spectrum disorder using a dual-task skill. Nine autistic and 18 non-autistic youths walked without grasping or while reaching to grasp a small or large object. Step extremity ratio, percent time in double support, and normalized speed were quantified. We hypothesized that gait would differ between autistic and non-autistic youth and that differences would be moderated by the phase (approach and grasp) and the complexity of the task (walking and grasping versus walking alone). Although gait parameters were similar during the walking-only trials, the combined task resulted in slower speed and shorter steps in autistic youth, particularly during the grasp phase. These findings, while in a small sample, offer preliminary evidence that autistic youth who show typical gait during simple assessments of motor ability may have difficulties in more complex tasks that require the coordination of movements.

Cerebellar Volumes and Sensorimotor Behavior in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Background

Sensorimotor issues are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), though their neural bases are not well understood. The cerebellum is vital to sensorimotor control and reduced cerebellar volumes in ASD have been documented. Our study examined the extent to which cerebellar volumes are associated with multiple sensorimotor behaviors in ASD.

Materials and Methods

Fifty-eight participants with ASD and 34 typically developing (TD) controls (8-30 years) completed a structural MRI scan and precision grip testing, oculomotor testing, or both. Force variability during precision gripping as well as absolute error and trial-to-trial error variability of visually guided saccades were examined. Volumes of cerebellar lobules, vermis, and white matter were quantified. The relationships between each cerebellar region of interest (ROI) and force variability, saccade error, and saccade error variability were examined.

Results

Relative to TD controls, individuals with ASD showed increased force variability. Individuals with ASD showed a reduced volume of cerebellar vermis VI-VII relative to TD controls. Relative to TD females, females with ASD showed a reduced volume of bilateral cerebellar Crus II/lobule VIIB. Increased volume of Crus I was associated with increased force variability. Increased volume of vermal lobules VI-VII was associated with reduced saccade error for TD controls but not individuals with ASD. Increased right lobule VIII and cerebellar white matter volumes as well as reduced right lobule VI and right lobule X volumes were associated with greater ASD symptom severity. Reduced volumes of right Crus II/lobule VIIB were associated with greater ASD symptom severity in only males, while reduced volumes of right Crus I were associated with more severe restricted and repetitive behaviors only in females.

Conclusion

Our finding that increased force variability in ASD is associated with greater cerebellar Crus I volumes indicates that disruption of sensory feedback processing supported by Crus I may contribute to skeletomotor differences in ASD. Results showing that volumes of vermal lobules VI-VII are associated with saccade precision in TD but not ASD implicates atypical organization of the brain systems supporting oculomotor control in ASD. Associations between volumes of cerebellar subregions and ASD symptom severity suggest cerebellar pathological processes may contribute to multiple developmental challenges in ASD.

Associations Among Daily Living Skills, Motor, and Sensory Difficulties in Autistic and Nonautistic Children

IMPORTANCE

Motor and sensory challenges are commonly reported among autistic individuals and have been linked to challenges with daily living skills (DLS). To best inform clinical intervention, greater specificity in how sensory and motor challenges relate to DLS is needed.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the relationship between combined sensory and motor scores and DLS performance among autistic and nonautistic children and to explore associations between motor scores and performance on specific DLS items.

DESIGN

Descriptive design.

SETTING

University research lab.

PARTICIPANTS

Autistic children, nonautistic children with no family history of or diagnosis related to autism, and nonautistic children with a family history of or diagnosis related to autism (ages 6-10 yr; N = 101). All participants communicated verbally.

INTERVENTION

None. Outcomes and Measures: Parent-report measures of DLS and sensory features and standardized assessments of motor performance.

RESULTS

Findings indicated a strong relationship between motor difficulties and all domains of DLS. At the item level, motor skills were associated with occupations of dressing, bathing, health management, cleaning up and organization, meal preparation and clean-up, education, and safety. Combined sensory and motor measures better predicted DLS than sensory or motor measures alone.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Children with motor and sensory challenges are likely to experience challenges with a diversity of occupations, which is important given the prevalence of motor and sensory challenges among autistic children and among children with other neurodevelopmental conditions. Therapeutic interventions that account for or address these motor challenges and associated sensory features are likely to further enhance DLS. What This Article Adds: A combination of motor challenges and sensory features better predict DLS than either motor or sensory challenges alone. In addition, motor challenges in children are most highly associated with DLS challenges in the domains of dressing, bathing, cleaning, education, safety, health, and meal preparation. Occupational therapists can use this information when considering how the results of sensory and motor assessment may guide clinical intervention in autistic and nonautistic children.

Visuomotor brain network activation and functional connectivity among individuals with autism spectrum disorder

Sensorimotor abnormalities are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and predictive of functional outcomes, though their neural underpinnings remain poorly understood. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined both brain activation and functional connectivity during visuomotor behavior in 27 individuals with ASD and 30 typically developing (TD) controls (ages 9–35 years). Participants maintained a constant grip force while receiving visual feedback at three different visual gain levels. Relative to controls, ASD participants showed increased force variability, especially at high gain, and reduced entropy. Brain activation was greater in individuals with ASD than controls in supplementary motor area, bilateral superior parietal lobules, and contralateral middle frontal gyrus at high gain. During motor action, functional connectivity was reduced between parietal‐premotor and parietal‐putamen in individuals with ASD compared to controls. Individuals with ASD also showed greater age‐associated increases in functional connectivity between cerebellum and visual, motor, and prefrontal cortical areas relative to controls. These results indicate that visuomotor deficits in ASD are associated with atypical activation and functional connectivity of posterior parietal, premotor, and striatal circuits involved in translating sensory feedback information into precision motor behaviors, and that functional connectivity of cerebellar–cortical sensorimotor and nonsensorimotor networks show delayed maturation.

Initial action output and feedback-guided motor behaviors in autism spectrum disorder

BACKGROUND

Sensorimotor issues are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), related to core symptoms, and predictive of worse functional outcomes. Deficits in rapid behaviors supported primarily by feedforward mechanisms, and continuous, feedback-guided motor behaviors each have been reported, but the degrees to which they are distinct or co-segregate within individuals and across development are not well understood.

METHODS

We characterized behaviors that varied in their involvement of feedforward control relative to feedback control across skeletomotor (precision grip force) and oculomotor (saccades) control systems in 109 individuals with ASD and 101 age-matched typically developing controls (range: 5-29 years) including 58 individuals with ASD and 57 controls who completed both grip and saccade tests. Grip force was examined across multiple force (15, 45, and 85% MVC) and visual gain levels (low, medium, high). Maximum grip force also was examined. During grip force tests, reaction time, initial force output accuracy, variability, and entropy were examined. For the saccade test, latency, accuracy, and trial-wise variability of latency and accuracy were examined.

RESULTS

Relative to controls, individuals with ASD showed similar accuracy of initial grip force but reduced accuracy of saccadic eye movements specific to older ages of our sample. Force variability was greater in ASD relative to controls, but saccade gain variability (across trials) was not different between groups. Force entropy was reduced in ASD, especially at older ages. We also find reduced grip strength in ASD that was more severe in dominant compared to non-dominant hands.

LIMITATIONS

Our age-related findings rely on cross-sectional data. Longitudinal studies of sensorimotor behaviors and their associations with ASD symptoms are needed.

CONCLUSIONS

We identify reduced accuracy of initial motor output in ASD that was specific to the oculomotor system implicating deficient feedforward control that may be mitigated during slower occurring behaviors executed in the periphery. Individuals with ASD showed increased continuous force variability but similar levels of trial-to-trial saccade accuracy variability suggesting that feedback-guided refinement of motor commands is deficient specifically when adjustments occur rapidly during continuous behavior. We also document reduced lateralization of grip strength in ASD implicating atypical hemispheric specialization.

Neurobiological and behavioural outcomes of biofeedback-based training in autism: a randomized controlled trial

The human brain has demonstrated the power to structurally change as a result of movement-based interventions. However, it is unclear whether these structural brain changes differ in autistic individuals compared to non-autistic individuals. The purpose of the present study was to pilot a randomized controlled trial to investigate brain, balance, autism symptom severity and daily living skill changes that result from a biofeedback-based balance intervention in autistic adolescents (13-17 years old). Thirty-four autistic participants and 28 age-matched non-autistic participants underwent diagnostic testing and pre-training assessment (neuroimaging, cognitive, autism symptom severity and motor assessments) and were then randomly assigned to 6 weeks of a balance-training intervention or a sedentary-control condition. After the 6 weeks, neuroimaging, symptom severity and motor assessments were repeated. Results found that both the autistic and non-autistic participants demonstrated similar and significant increases in balance times with training. Furthermore, individuals in the balance-training condition showed significantly greater improvements in postural sway and reductions in autism symptom severity compared to individuals in the control condition. Daily living scores did not change with training, nor did we observe hypothesized changes to the microstructural properties of the corticospinal tract. However, follow-up voxel-based analyses found a wide range of balance-related structures that showed changes across the brain. Many of these brain changes were specific to the autistic participants compared to the non-autistic participants, suggesting distinct structural neuroplasticity in response to balance training in autistic participants. Altogether, these findings suggest that biofeedback-based balance training may target postural stability challenges, reduce core autism symptoms and influence neurobiological change. Future research is encouraged to examine the superior cerebellar peduncle in response to balance training and symptom severity changes in autistic individuals, as the current study produced overlapping findings in this brain region.

Reduced Proactive Control Processes Associated With Behavioral Response Inhibition Deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Impairments in inhibitory control are common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and associated with multiple clinical issues. Proactive (i.e., delaying response onset) and reactive control mechanisms (i.e., stopping quickly) contribute to successful inhibitory control in typically developing individuals and may be compromised in ASD. We assessed inhibitory control in 58 individuals with ASD and 63 typically developing controls aged 5-29 years using an oculomotor stop-signal task during which participants made rapid eye movements (i.e., saccades) toward peripheral targets (i.e., GO trials) or inhibited saccades (i.e., STOP trials). Individuals with ASD exhibited reduced ability to inhibit saccades, reduced reaction time slowing (GO RT slowing), and faster stop-signal reaction times (SSRT) compared to controls. Across participants, stopping accuracy was positively related to GO RT slowing, and increased age was associated with higher stopping accuracy and GO RT slowing. Our results indicate that failures to proactively delay prepotent responses in ASD underpin deficits of inhibitory control and may contribute to difficulties modifying their behavior according to changes in contextual demands. These findings implicate frontostriatal brain networks in inhibitory control and core symptoms of ASD. LAY SUMMARY: Difficulties stopping actions are common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and are related to repetitive behaviors. This study compared the ability to stop eye movements in individuals with ASD and healthy peers. We found that individuals with ASD were less able to stop eye movements and that this difficulty was related to a reduced ability to delay their eye movements before seeing the cue to stop, not their ability to react quickly to this cue.

Individual Differences in Autistic Traits are Associated with Serotonin Transporter Gene Polymorphism Through Medial Prefrontal Function: A Study Using NIRS

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heritable neurodevelopmental disorder that can vary considerably in severity. Autistic traits are distributed continuously across populations, even in sub-clinical individuals. Serotonin transporter-gene polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) has been studied as a candidate genetic factor related to ASD, however results have been inconsistent. 5-HTTLPR is implicated in the function of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a region associated with the social abnormalities found in ASD. Here we hypothesize that autistic traits are affected by the 5-HTTLPR genotype indirectly through mPFC mediation. Using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), we first examined mPFC activation in people with ASD when they performed a facial affect-labeling task. Compared with a typical development group, the ASD group showed significantly lower mPFC activation during the task. Using the same task paradigm, we next investigated the relationship between autistic traits and 5-HTTLPR in sub-clinical participants, and whether associations were mediated by mPFC function. Correlation analyses indicated that participants with a large number of 5-HTTLPR L-alleles had high-level autistic traits related to social skills and low right mPFC activation. We also observed a significant negative correlation between autistic traits related to social skills and right mPFC activation. Structural equation analysis suggested a significant indirect effect of 5-HTTLPR on Autism-Spectrum Quotients, with right mPFC activation acting as a mediator. These results suggest that the diverse autistic traits related to social skills seen in the general population are associated with the 5-HTTLPR genotype, and that this association is mediated by right mPFC function.

IQ and Sensory Symptom Severity Best Predict Motor Ability in Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder

Motor challenges are commonly reported in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Yet, there is substantial heterogeneity in motor ability within ASD, and it is unknown what behavioral characteristics best explain individual differences in motor ability in ASD and related conditions. This observational study examined motor ability as a function of sensory features, attention deficit/hyperactivity symptoms, ASD symptoms, and IQ in 110 children with ASD, typical development, or an intermediate behavioral profile. While motor challenges were more prevalent in the ASD group compared to other groups, sensory symptom severity and IQ across all individuals best predicted motor performance above-and-beyond group status. Therefore, motor challenges may be best characterized by individual variation in sensory features and cognitive abilities rather than diagnostic group.

Autistic traits are associated with the functional connectivity of between-but not within-attention systems in the general population

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have demonstrated that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit dysfunction in the three attention systems (i.e., alerting, orienting, and executive control) as well as atypical relationships among these systems. Additionally, other studies have reported that individuals with subclinical but high levels of autistic traits show similar attentional tendencies to those observed in ASD. Based on these findings, it was hypothesized that autistic traits would affect the functions and relationships of the three attention systems in a general population. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed in 119 healthy adults to investigate relationships between autistic traits and within- and between-system functional connectivity (FC) among the three attention systems. Twenty-six regions of interest that were defined as components of the three attention systems by a previous task-based fMRI study were examined in terms of within- and between-system FC. We assessed autistic traits using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient.

RESULTS

Correlational analyses revealed that autistic traits were significantly correlated with between-system FC, but not with within-system FC.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results imply that a high autistic trait level, even when subclinical, is associated with the way the three attention systems interact.

Brief Report: Associations Between Cognitive Control Processes and Traits of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Anxiety in Children at Elevated and Typical Familial Likelihood for ASD

Shared difficulties with cognitive control may play a role in co-occurring mental health problems frequently observed in autistic children. We investigated how different cognitive control processes (inhibitory control, conflict resolution, cognitive flexibility) associated with traits of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety in 7-year-old children at elevated (n = 44) and typical (n = 37) familial likelihood for ASD. Poor inhibitory control was associated with higher ADHD traits. Better inhibitory control and poorer cognitive flexibility predicted higher anxiety traits. Cognitive control processes were not associated dimensionally with autistic traits, though better conflict resolution predicted greater likelihood of meeting diagnostic criteria for ASD in categorical analysis. These findings suggest that different cognitive control alterations are associated with ASD, ADHD and anxiety.

Motor functioning in developmental psychopathology: A review of autism as an example context

BACKGROUND

Motor development research has seen substantial recent growth. However, much remains to be understood about the nature and extent of motor impairments in neurodevelopmental disorders, including their potential as early markers and/or causal determinants of downstream functioning in other domains.

AIMS AND METHODS

In this narrative review, drawing primarily on the autism literature by way of example, we review current accounts of the nature and consequences of motor functioning. We consider conventional approaches to measurement and study design, and current limited approaches to tackling heterogeneity.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

We argue that ongoing adherence to traditional diagnostic outcome classification stands in the face of mounting evidence that characteristics of neurodevelopmental disorders lie on a continuum with variability in the general population, and that three broad research avenues stand to offer a better understanding of motor functioning: The use of technology and advanced statistical methods for a more nuanced understanding of motor abilities; exploiting the prospective longitudinal tracking of at-risk infants to understand developmental consequences of early motor difference; and employing randomized controlled trials to test the utility of motor therapies whilst also testing causal hypotheses about the role of motor functioning.

Familiality of behavioral flexibility and response inhibition deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Background

Diminished cognitive control, including reduced behavioral flexibility and behavioral response inhibition, has been repeatedly documented in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We evaluated behavioral flexibility and response inhibition in probands and their parents using a family trio design to determine the extent to which these cognitive control impairments represent familial traits associated with ASD.

Methods

We examined 66 individuals with ASD (probands), 135 unaffected biological parents, and 76 typically developing controls. Participants completed a probabilistic reversal learning task (PRL) and a stop-signal task (SST) to assess behavioral flexibility and response inhibition respectively. Rates of PRL and SST errors were examined across groups, within families, and in relation to clinical and subclinical traits of ASD. Based on prior findings that subclinical broader autism phenotypic (BAP) traits may co-segregate within families and reflect heritable risk factors, we also examined whether cognitive control deficits were more prominent in families in which parents showed BAP features (BAP+).

Results

Probands and parents each showed increased rates of PRL and SST errors relative to controls. Error rates across tasks were not related. SST error rates inter-correlated among probands and their parents. PRL errors were more severe in BAP+ parents and their children relative to BAP- parents and their children. For probands of BAP+ parents, PRL and SST error rates were associated with more severe social-communication abnormalities and repetitive behaviors, respectively.

Conclusion

Reduced behavioral flexibility and response inhibition are present among probands and their unaffected parents, but represent unique familial deficits associated with ASD that track with separate clinical issues. Specifically, behavioral response inhibition impairments are familial in ASD and manifest independently from parental subclinical features. In contrast, behavioral flexibility deficits are selectively present in families with BAP characteristics, suggesting they co-segregate in families with parental subclinical social, communication, and rigid personality traits. Together, these findings provide evidence that behavioral flexibility and response inhibition impairments track differentially with ASD risk mechanisms and related behavioral traits.

Resting-state Gamma-band EEG Abnormalities in Autism

Gamma-band rhythmic abnormalities have been of significant interests in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Most studies used magnetoencephalography (MEG) due to its advantage in measuring weak gamma signals as compared to electroencephalography (EEG). However, EEG is more accessible, portable, and importantly, more sensitive to cortical sources located at the crowns of gyri, than MEG. Therefore, it is extremely valuable if EEG can be used to detect gamma-band abnormalities in ASD, which could provide complementary insights on pathology of ASD. One challenge in detecting gamma-band neural activities is to remove muscular artifacts, which share the same frequency band. In the present study, we used a previously developed time-frequency independent component analysis (ICA)approach to probe EEG gamma-band abnormalities in ASD. We examined functional connectivity (FC) patterns on intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs), i.e., the ICs representing distributed neural activities obtained from ICA, using the metrics of spectral power of individual ICNs and coherence between different ICNs. Seven ICNs that reassembled ICNs obtained from EEG data in the band of 2-30 Hz, were successfully identified in the gamma-band (31-50 Hz) data by the approach. Local over-connectivity in the bilateral frontal and left parietal ICNs, as well as long-range under-connectivity between left and right motor ICNs, were observed in ASD. In addition, the age-related effect was identified in the left motor and left parietal ICNs in healthy control, but not in ASD. These findings demonstrated a mixed pattern of gamma-band FC changes in ASD. It further indicated that the developed approach is promising in reconstructing gamma-band patterns from resting-state EEG signals.

Motor Memory Deficits Contribute to Motor Impairments in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Sensorimotor abnormalities are common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, the processes underlying these deficits remain unclear. This study examined force production with and without visual feedback to determine if individuals with ASD can utilize internal representations to guide sustained force. Individuals with ASD showed a faster rate of force decay in the absence of visual feedback. Comparison of force output and tests of social and verbal abilities demonstrated a link between motor memory impairment and social and verbal deficits in individuals with ASD. This finding suggests that deficits in storage or retrieval of motor memories contribute to sensorimotor deficits and implicates frontoparietal networks involved in short-term consolidation of action dynamics used to optimize ongoing motor output.

Bimanual Reach to Grasp Movements in Youth With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder

Reaching and grasping (prehension) is one of the earliest developing motor skills in humans, but continued prehension development in childhood and adolescence enables the performance of increasingly complex manual tasks. In individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) atypical unimanual reaching and grasping has been reported, but to date, no studies have investigated discrete bimanual movements. We examined unimanual and bimanual reach to grasp tasks in youth with ASD to better understand how motor performance might change with increasing complexity. Twenty youth with ASD (10.1 ± 2.4 years) and 17 youth with typical development (TD) (9.6 ± 2.6 years) were instructed to reach and grasp cubes that became illuminated. Participants were asked to reach out with the right and/or left hands to grasp and lift targets located at near (18 cm) and/or far (28 cm) distances. For the unimanual (simplest) condition, participants grasped one illuminated cube (with either the left or right hand). For the bimanual conditions, participants grasped two illuminated cubes located at the same distance from the start position (bimanual symmetric condition) or two illuminated cubes located at different distances (bimanual asymmetric condition). Significant interactions among diagnostic group, task complexity, and age were found for initiation time (IT) and movement time (MT). Specifically, the older children in both groups initiated and performed their movements faster in the unimanual condition than in the bimanual conditions, although the older children with ASD produced slower ITs and MTs compared to typically developing peers across all three conditions. Surprisingly, the younger children with ASD had similar ITs and MTs as their peers for the unimanual condition but did not considerably slow these times to adjust for the complexity of the bimanual tasks. We hypothesize that they chose to re-use the motor plans that were generated for the unimanual trials rather than generate more appropriate motor plans for the bimanual tasks. An atypical spatiotemporal relationship between MT and peak aperture (PA) was also found in the ASD group. Together, our results suggest deficits in motor planning that result in subtle effects on performance in younger children with ASD that become more pronounced with age.

Standing Balance on Unsteady Surfaces in Children on the Autism Spectrum: The Effects of IQ

BACKGROUND

Postural stability difficulties are commonly reported in people on the autism spectrum. However, it is unclear whether unsteady surfaces may exacerbate postural stability difficulties in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Understanding balance on unsteady surfaces is important because uneven surfaces are commonly encountered in daily life.

METHODS

Twenty-one youth on the autism spectrum and 16 youth with typical development (ages 6-16 years, IQ ≥ 79) stood on both a fixed and unsteady (tiltable) platform, and center of pressure was measured.

RESULTS

The group with ASD exhibited differentially more postural sway on the unsteady surface compared to the group with typical development. However, there was substantial variability within the ASD group. Follow-up analyses suggested that much of the variability in postural sway in the ASD group was accounted for by IQ.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinically, these findings suggest that not all individuals with ASD struggle more with postural stability on unsteady surfaces. Instead children and adolescents with ASD and below-average IQ may have particular difficulty on unsteady surfaces and may require accommodations. Further, these findings lay the groundwork for future research to investigate the underlying mechanisms of poorer balance across the autism spectrum.

Cognitive mechanisms of inhibitory control deficits in autism spectrum disorder

BACKGROUND

Inhibitory control deficits are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and associated with more severe repetitive behaviors. Inhibitory control deficits may reflect slower execution of stopping processes, or a reduced ability to delay the onset of behavioral responses in contexts of uncertainty. Previous studies have documented relatively spared stopping processes in ASD, but whether inhibitory control deficits in ASD reflect failures to delay response onset has not been systematically assessed. Further, while improvements in stopping abilities and response slowing are seen through adolescence/early adulthood in health, their development in ASD is less clear.

METHODS

A stop-signal test (SST) was administered to 121 individuals with ASD and 76 age and IQ-matched healthy controls (ages 5-28). This test included 'GO trials' in which participants pressed a button when a peripheral target appeared and interleaved 'STOP trials' in which they were cued to inhibit button-presses when a stop-signal appeared at variable times following the GO cue. STOP trial accuracy, RT of the stopping process (SSRT), and reaction time (RT) slowing during GO trials were examined.

RESULTS

Relative to controls, individuals with ASD had reduced accuracy on STOP trials. SSRTs were similar across control and ASD participants, but RT slowing was reduced in patients compared to controls. Age-related increases in stopping ability and RT slowing were attenuated in ASD. Reduced stopping accuracy and RT slowing were associated with more severe repetitive behaviors in ASD.

DISCUSSION

Our findings show that inhibitory control deficits in ASD involve failures to strategically delay behavioral response onset. These results suggest that reduced preparatory behavioral control may underpin inhibitory control deficits as well as repetitive behaviors in ASD. Typical age-related improvements in inhibitory control during late childhood/early adolescence are reduced in ASD, highlighting an important developmental window during which treatments may mitigate cognitive alterations contributing to repetitive behaviors.

Autism Spectrum Symptoms in Children and Adolescents with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Their Mothers

Introduction

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects 1-3% of children and adolescents. Although a close relation between OCD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been pointed out, the relation between maternal ASD symptoms and subclinical ASD symptoms in OCD have not been evaluated adequately. In this study, children and adolescents with OCD diagnosis, and OSB indications in their mothers were investigated. The relationship between the clinical severity of these indications in children and adolescents with OCD, and maternal OSB indications will be examined.

Method

The study group consisted of 38 cases (8-18 years old) diagnosed with OCD. The control group (n=39) comprised patients of other clinics at hospital, and was matched for gender and age to the OCD patients. The Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children - Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) was used to diagnose OCD and accompanying comorbidities. Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) was used to evaluate children's ASD symptoms while Autism Spectrum Quotient (ASQ) was used to evaluate maternal broad autism phenotype. OCD symptoms in children were evaluated with Children Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale-(C-Y-BOCS), and OCD symptoms in mothers were evaluated with Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale-(Y-BOCS).

Results

There was no significant difference between sociodemographic data of two groups. When cases and controls were compared with SCQ; all subscales' scores and total score of SCQ were statistically significant higher in OCD group and also mothers of OCD group had statistically significant higher scores in total score of ASQ and subscales except "imagination". Also in comparing the groups with Y-BOCS and C-Y-BOCS; OCD group had statistically significant higher scores in these scales.

Conclusion

ASD symptoms are prevalent in cases diagnosed with OCD and ASD symptoms increases with OCD severity. Further studies are needed to examine genetic and environmental common risk factors between OCD and ASD.

Eye movements, sensorimotor adaptation and cerebellar-dependent learning in autism: toward potential biomarkers and subphenotypes

Because of the wide range of symptoms expressed in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their idiosyncratic severity, it is unlikely that a single remedial approach will be universally effective. Resolution of this dilemma requires identifying subgroups within the autism spectrum, based on symptom set and severity, on an underlying neuro-structural difference, and on specific behavioral dysfunction. This will provide critical insight into the disorder and may lead to better diagnoses, and more targeted remediation in these subphenotypes of people with ASD. In this review, we discuss findings that appear to link the structure of the cerebellar vermis and plasticity of the saccadic eye-movement system in people with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Differences in cerebellar vermis structure in ASD could critically impact visuo-sensorimotor development in early infancy, which may in turn manifest as the visual orienting, communication and social interaction differences often seen in this population. It may be possible to distinguish a subpopulation of children with vermal hypoplasia, to establish whether this group manifests more severe deficits in visual orienting and in adaptation to persistent visual errors, and to establish whether this putative subphenotype of ASD is associated with a specific and distinct clinical symptom profile.

Cross-Disorder Cognitive Impairments in Youth Referred for Neuropsychiatric Evaluation

OBJECTIVES

Studies suggest that impairments in some of the same domains of cognition occur in different neuropsychiatric conditions, including those known to share genetic liability. Yet, direct, multi-disorder cognitive comparisons are limited, and it remains unclear whether overlapping deficits are due to comorbidity. We aimed to extend the literature by examining cognition across different neuropsychiatric conditions and addressing comorbidity.

METHODS

Subjects were 486 youth consecutively referred for neuropsychiatric evaluation and enrolled in the Longitudinal Study of Genetic Influences on Cognition. First, we assessed general ability, reaction time variability (RTV), and aspects of executive functions (EFs) in youth with non-comorbid forms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), mood disorders and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as in youth with psychosis. Second, we determined the impact of comorbid ADHD on cognition in youth with ASD and mood disorders.

RESULTS

For EFs (working memory, inhibition, and shifting/ flexibility), we observed weaknesses in all diagnostic groups when participants' own ability was the referent. Decrements were subtle in relation to published normative data. For RTV, weaknesses emerged in youth with ADHD and mood disorders, but trend-level results could not rule out decrements in other conditions. Comorbidity with ADHD did not impact the pattern of weaknesses for youth with ASD or mood disorders but increased the magnitude of the decrement in those with mood disorders.

CONCLUSIONS

Youth with ADHD, mood disorders, ASD, and psychosis show EF weaknesses that are not due to comorbidity. Whether such cognitive difficulties reflect genetic liability shared among these conditions requires further study. (JINS, 2018, 24, 91-103).

Toward a conceptual framework for early brain and behavior development in autism

Studies of infant siblings of older autistic probands, who are at elevated risk for autism, have demonstrated that the defining features of autism are not present in the first year of life but emerge late in the first and into the second year. A recent longitudinal neuroimaging study of high-risk siblings revealed a specific pattern of brain development in infants later diagnosed with autism, characterized by cortical surface area hyper-expansion in the first year followed by brain volume overgrowth in the second year that is associated with the emergence of autistic social deficits. Together with new observations from genetically defined autism risk alleles and rodent model, these findings suggest a conceptual framework for the early, post-natal development of autism. This framework postulates that an increase in the proliferation of neural progenitor cells and hyper-expansion of cortical surface area in the first year, occurring during a pre-symptomatic period characterized by disrupted sensorimotor and attentional experience, leads to altered experience-dependent neuronal development and decreased elimination of neuronal processes. This process is linked to brain volume overgrowth and disruption of the refinement of neural circuit connections and is associated with the emergence of autistic social deficits in the second year of life. A better understanding of the timing of developmental brain and behavior mechanisms in autism during infancy, a period which precedes the emergence of the defining features of this disorder, will likely have important implications for designing rational approaches to early intervention.

Executive functioning and local-global visual processing: candidate endophenotypes for autism spectrum disorder?

BACKGROUND

Heterogeneity within autism spectrum disorder (ASD) hampers insight in the etiology and stimulates the search for endophenotypes. Endophenotypes should meet several criteria, the most important being the association with ASD and the higher occurrence rate in unaffected ASD relatives than in the general population. We evaluated these criteria for executive functioning (EF) and local-global (L-G) visual processing.

METHODS

By administering an extensive cognitive battery which increases the validity of the measures, we examined which of the cognitive anomalies shown by ASD probands also occur in their unaffected relatives (n = 113) compared to typically developing (TD) controls (n = 100). Microarrays were performed, so we could exclude relatives from probands with a de novo mutation in a known ASD susceptibility copy number variant, thus increasing the probability that genetic risk variants are shared by the ASD relatives. An overview of studies investigating EF and L-G processing in ASD relatives was also provided.

RESULTS

For EF, ASD relatives - like ASD probands - showed impairments in response inhibition, cognitive flexibility and generativity (specifically, ideational fluency), and EF impairments in daily life. For L-G visual processing, the ASD relatives showed no anomalies on the tasks, but they reported more attention to detail in daily life. Group differences were similar for siblings and for parents of ASD probands, and yielded larger effect sizes in a multiplex subsample. The group effect sizes for the comparison between ASD probands and TD individuals were generally larger than those of the ASD relatives compared to TD individuals.

CONCLUSIONS

Impaired cognitive flexibility, ideational fluency and response inhibition are strong candidate endophenotypes for ASD. They could help to delineate etiologically more homogeneous subgroups, which is clinically important to allow assigning ASD probands to different, more targeted, interventions.

Saccadic eye movements in adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder

In this study, we examined the accuracy and dynamics of visually guided saccades in 20 adults with autism spectrum disorder, as compared to 20 typically developed adults using the Step/Overlap/Gap paradigms. Performances in participants with autistic spectrum disorder were characterized by preserved Gap/Overlap effect, but reduced gain and peak velocity, as well as a greater trial-to-trial variability in task performance, as compared to the control group. While visual orienting and attentional engagement were relatively preserved in individuals with autistic spectrum disorder, overall these findings provide evidence that abnormal oculomotor behavior in autistic spectrum disorder reflects an altered sensorimotor control due to cerebellar abnormalities, rather than a deficit in the volitional control of eye movements. This study contributes to a growing body of evidence implicating this structure in the physiopathology of autism.

Distinguishing spinocerebellar ataxia with pure cerebellar manifestation from multiple system atrophy (MSA-C) through saccade profiles

OBJECTIVE

Patients with spinocerebellar ataxia with pure cerebellar presentation (SCD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA-C) show similar symptoms at early stages, although cerebellofugal pathology predominates in SCD, and cerebellopetal pathology in MSA-C. We studied whether saccade velocity profiles, which reflect the accelerating and braking functions of the cerebellum, can differentiate these two disorders.

METHODS

We recorded visually guided (VGS) and memory guided saccades (MGS) in 29 MSA-C patients, 12 SCD patients, and 92 age-matched normal subjects, and compared their amplitude, peak velocity and duration (accelerating and decelerating phases).

RESULTS

Hypometria predominated in VGS and MGS of MSA-C, whereas hypometria was less marked in SCD, with hypermetria frequently noted in MGS. Peak velocity was reduced, and deteriorated with advancing disease both in SCD and MSA-C groups at smaller target eccentricities. The deceleration phase was prolonged in SCD compared to MSA-C and normal groups at larger target eccentricities, which deteriorated with advancing disease.

CONCLUSION

Saccades in MSA-C were characterized by a more prominent acceleration deficit and those in SCD by a more prominent braking defect, possibly caused by the cerebellopetal and cerebellofugal pathologies, respectively.

SIGNIFICANCE

Saccade profiles provide important information regarding the accelerating and braking signals of the cerebellum in spinocerebellar ataxia.

So close yet so far: Motor anomalies impacting on social functioning in autism spectrum disorder

Difficulties in the social domain and motor anomalies have been widely investigated in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, they have been generally considered as independent, and therefore tackled separately. Recent advances in neuroscience have hypothesized that the cortical motor system can play a role not only as a controller of elementary physical features of movement, but also in a complex domain as social cognition. Here, going beyond previous studies on ASD that described difficulties in the motor and in the social domain separately, we focus on the impact of motor mechanisms anomalies on social functioning. We consider behavioral, electrophysiological and neuroimaging findings supporting the idea that motor cognition is a critical "intermediate phenotype" for ASD. Motor cognition anomalies in ASD affect the processes of extraction, codification and subsequent translation of "external" social information into the motor system. Intriguingly, this alternative "motor" approach to the social domain difficulties in ASD may be promising to bridge the gap between recent experimental findings and clinical practice, potentially leading to refined preventive approaches and successful treatments.

Sensorimotor dysfunctions as primary features of autism spectrum disorders

Motor impairments in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have received far less research attention than core social-communication and cognitive features. Yet, behavioral, neurophysiological, neuroimaging and histopathological studies have documented abnormal motor system development in the majority of individuals with ASD suggesting that these deficits may be primary to the disorder. There are several unique advantages to studying motor development in ASD. First, the neurophysiological substrates of motor skills have been well-characterized via animal and human lesion studies. Second, many of the single- gene disorders associated with ASD also are characterized by motor dysfunctions. Third, recent evidence suggests that the onset of motor dysfunctions may precede the emergence of social and communication deficits during the first year of life in ASD. Motor deficits documented in ASD indicate disruptions throughout the neuroaxis affecting cortex, striatum, the cerebellum and brainstem. Questions remain regarding the timing and development of motor system alterations in ASD, their association with defining clinical features, and their potential for parsing heterogeneity in ASD. Pursuing these questions through neurobiologically informed translational research holds great promise for identifying gene-brain pathways associated with ASD.

The role of cerebellar circuitry alterations in the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorders

The cerebellum has been repeatedly implicated in gene expression, rodent model and post-mortem studies of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). How cellular and molecular anomalies of the cerebellum relate to clinical manifestations of ASD remains unclear. Separate circuits of the cerebellum control different sensorimotor behaviors, such as maintaining balance, walking, making eye movements, reaching, and grasping. Each of these behaviors has been found to be impaired in ASD, suggesting that multiple distinct circuits of the cerebellum may be involved in the pathogenesis of patients' sensorimotor impairments. We will review evidence that the development of these circuits is disrupted in individuals with ASD and that their study may help elucidate the pathophysiology of sensorimotor deficits and core symptoms of the disorder. Preclinical studies of monogenetic conditions associated with ASD also have identified selective defects of the cerebellum and documented behavioral rescues when the cerebellum is targeted. Based on these findings, we propose that cerebellar circuits may prove to be promising targets for therapeutic development aimed at rescuing sensorimotor and other clinical symptoms of different forms of ASD.

Feedforward and feedback motor control abnormalities implicate cerebellar dysfunctions in autism spectrum disorder

Sensorimotor abnormalities are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and among the earliest manifestations of the disorder. They have been studied far less than the social-communication and cognitive deficits that define ASD, but a mechanistic understanding of sensorimotor abnormalities in ASD may provide key insights into the neural underpinnings of the disorder. In this human study, we examined rapid, precision grip force contractions to determine whether feedforward mechanisms supporting initial motor output before sensory feedback can be processed are disrupted in ASD. Sustained force contractions also were examined to determine whether reactive adjustments to ongoing motor behavior based on visual feedback are altered. Sustained force was studied across multiple force levels and visual gains to assess motor and visuomotor mechanisms, respectively. Primary force contractions of individuals with ASD showed greater peak rate of force increases and large transient overshoots. Individuals with ASD also showed increased sustained force variability that scaled with force level and was more severe when visual gain was highly amplified or highly degraded. When sustaining a constant force level, their reactive adjustments were more periodic than controls, and they showed increased reliance on slower feedback mechanisms. Feedforward and feedback mechanism alterations each were associated with more severe social-communication impairments in ASD. These findings implicate anterior cerebellar circuits involved in feedforward motor control and posterior cerebellar circuits involved in transforming visual feedback into precise motor adjustments in ASD.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder show abnormalities during initial and subsequent phases of precision gripping

Sensorimotor impairments are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but they are not well understood. Here we examined force control during initial pulses and the subsequent rise, sustained, and relaxation phases of precision gripping in 34 individuals with ASD and 25 healthy control subjects. Participants pressed on opposing load cells with their thumb and index finger while receiving visual feedback regarding their performance. They completed 2- and 8-s trials during which they pressed at 15%, 45%, or 85% of their maximum force. Initial pulses guided by feedforward control mechanisms, sustained force output controlled by visual feedback processes, and force relaxation rates all were examined. Control subjects favored an initial pulse strategy characterized by a rapid increase in and then relaxation of force when the target force was low (Type 1). When the target force level or duration of trials was increased, control subjects transitioned to a strategy in which they more gradually increased their force, paused, and then increased their force again. Individuals with ASD showed a more persistent bias toward the Type 1 strategy at higher force levels and during longer trials, and their initial force output was less accurate than that of control subjects. Patients showed increased force variability compared with control subjects when attempting to sustain a constant force level. During the relaxation phase, they showed reduced rates of force decrease. These findings suggest that both feedforward and feedback motor control mechanisms are compromised in ASD and these deficits may contribute to the dyspraxia and sensorimotor abnormalities often seen in this disorder.

Implicit learning in individuals with autism spectrum disorders: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are characterized by social communication difficulties and behavioural rigidity. Difficulties in learning from others are one of the most devastating features of this group of conditions. Nevertheless, the nature of learning difficulties in ASDs is still unclear. Given the relevance of implicit learning for social and communicative functioning, a link has been hypothesized between ASDs and implicit learning deficit. However, studies that have employed formal testing of implicit learning in ASDs provided mixed results.

METHOD

We undertook a systematic search of studies that examined implicit learning in ASDs using serial reaction time (SRT), alternating serial reaction time (ASRT), pursuit rotor (PR), and contextual cueing (CC) tasks, and synthesized the data using meta-analysis. A total of 11 studies were identified, representing data from 407 individuals with ASDs and typically developing comparison participants.

RESULTS

The results indicate that individuals with ASDs do not differ in any task considered [SRT and ASRT task: standardized mean difference (SMD) -0.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.71 to 0.36; PR task: SMD -0.34, 95% CI -1.04 to 0.36; CC task: SMD 0.27, 95% CI -0.07 to 0.60].

CONCLUSIONS

Based on our synthesis of the existing literature, we conclude that individuals with ASDs can learn implicitly, supporting the hypothesis that implicit learning deficits do not represent a core feature in ASDs.

Amygdala lesions do not compromise the cortical network for false-belief reasoning

The amygdala plays an integral role in human social cognition and behavior, with clear links to emotion recognition, trust judgments, anthropomorphization, and psychiatric disorders ranging from social phobia to autism. A central feature of human social cognition is a theory-of-mind (ToM) that enables the representation other people's mental states as distinct from one's own. Numerous neuroimaging studies of the best studied use of ToM--false-belief reasoning--suggest that it relies on a specific cortical network; moreover, the amygdala is structurally and functionally connected with many components of this cortical network. It remains unknown whether the cortical implementation of any form of ToM depends on amygdala function. Here we investigated this question directly by conducting functional MRI on two patients with rare bilateral amygdala lesions while they performed a neuroimaging protocol standardized for measuring cortical activity associated with false-belief reasoning. We compared patient responses with those of two healthy comparison groups that included 480 adults. Based on both univariate and multivariate comparisons, neither patient showed any evidence of atypical cortical activity or any evidence of atypical behavioral performance; moreover, this pattern of typical cortical and behavioral response was replicated for both patients in a follow-up session. These findings argue that the amygdala is not necessary for the cortical implementation of ToM in adulthood and suggest a reevaluation of the role of the amygdala and its cortical interactions in human social cognition.

γ-band abnormalities as markers of autism spectrum disorders

Autism is a behaviorally diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorder with no current biomarkers with high specificity and sensitivity. γ-band abnormalities have been reported in many studies of autism spectrum disorders. γ-band activity is associated with perceptual and cognitive functions that are compromised in autism. Some γ-band deficits have also been seen in unaffected first-degree relatives, suggesting heritability of these findings. This review covers the published literature on γ abnormalities in autism, the proposed mechanisms underlying the deficits and the potential for translation into new treatments. Although the utility of γ-band metrics as diagnostic biomarkers is currently limited, such changes in autism are also useful as endophenotypes, for evaluating potential neural mechanisms, and for use as surrogate markers of treatment response to interventions.

Saccadic eye movement abnormalities in autism spectrum disorder indicate dysfunctions in cerebellum and brainstem

Background

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show atypical scan paths during social interaction and when viewing faces, and recent evidence suggests that they also show abnormal saccadic eye movement dynamics and accuracy when viewing less complex and non-social stimuli. Eye movements are a uniquely promising target for studies of ASD as their spatial and temporal characteristics can be measured precisely and the brain circuits supporting them are well-defined. Control of saccade metrics is supported by discrete circuits within the cerebellum and brainstem - two brain regions implicated in magnetic resonance (MR) morphometry and histopathological studies of ASD. The functional integrity of these distinct brain systems can be examined by evaluating different parameters of visually-guided saccades.

Methods

A total of 65 participants with ASD and 43 healthy controls, matched on age (between 6 and 44-years-old), gender and nonverbal IQ made saccades to peripheral targets. To examine the influence of attentional processes, blocked gap and overlap trials were presented. We examined saccade latency, accuracy and dynamics, as well as the trial-to-trial variability of participants’ performance.

Results

Saccades of individuals with ASD were characterized by reduced accuracy, elevated variability in accuracy across trials, and reduced peak velocity and prolonged duration. In addition, their saccades took longer to accelerate to peak velocity, with no alteration in the duration of saccade deceleration. Gap/overlap effects on saccade latencies were similar across groups, suggesting that visual orienting and attention systems are relatively spared in ASD. Age-related changes did not differ across groups.

Conclusions

Deficits precisely and consistently directing eye movements suggest impairment in the error-reducing function of the cerebellum in ASD. Atypical increases in the duration of movement acceleration combined with lower peak saccade velocities implicate pontine nuclei, specifically suggesting reduced excitatory activity in burst cells that drive saccades relative to inhibitory activity in omnipause cells that maintain stable fixation. Thus, our findings suggest that both cerebellar and brainstem abnormalities contribute to altered sensorimotor control in ASD.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2040-2392-5-47) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Predicting the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder using gene pathway analysis

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) depends on a clinical interview with no biomarkers to aid diagnosis. The current investigation interrogated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of individuals with ASD from the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) database. SNPs were mapped to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG)-derived pathways to identify affected cellular processes and develop a diagnostic test. This test was then applied to two independent samples from the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) and Wellcome Trust 1958 normal birth cohort (WTBC) for validation. Using AGRE SNP data from a Central European (CEU) cohort, we created a genetic diagnostic classifier consisting of 237 SNPs in 146 genes that correctly predicted ASD diagnosis in 85.6% of CEU cases. This classifier also predicted 84.3% of cases in an ethnically related Tuscan cohort; however, prediction was less accurate (56.4%) in a genetically dissimilar Han Chinese cohort (HAN). Eight SNPs in three genes (KCNMB4, GNAO1, GRM5) had the largest effect in the classifier with some acting as vulnerability SNPs, whereas others were protective. Prediction accuracy diminished as the number of SNPs analyzed in the model was decreased. Our diagnostic classifier correctly predicted ASD diagnosis with an accuracy of 71.7% in CEU individuals from the SFARI (ASD) and WTBC (controls) validation data sets. In conclusion, we have developed an accurate diagnostic test for a genetically homogeneous group to aid in early detection of ASD. While SNPs differ across ethnic groups, our pathway approach identified cellular processes common to ASD across ethnicities. Our results have wide implications for detection, intervention and prevention of ASD.

Sources of variation in developmental language disorders: evidence from eye-tracking studies of sentence production

Skilled sentence production involves distinct stages of message conceptualization (deciding what to talk about) and message formulation (deciding how to talk about it). Eye-movement paradigms provide a mechanism for observing how speakers accomplish these aspects of production in real time. These methods have recently been applied to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and specific language impairment (LI) in an effort to reveal qualitative differences between groups in sentence production processes. Findings support a multiple-deficit account in which language production is influenced not only by lexical and syntactic constraints, but also by variation in attention control, inhibition and social competence. Thus, children with ASD are especially vulnerable to atypical patterns of visual inspection and verbal utterance. The potential to influence attentional focus and prime appropriate language structures are considered as a mechanism for facilitating language adaptation and learning.

Autism in flux: a history of the concept from Leo Kanner to DSM-5

In this paper, I argue that a new relation between past and present - a supposed historical continuity in the meaning of autism - is created by the histories written by the discipline itself. In histories of autism written by 'practitioner-historians', a sense of scientific progress and an essentialist understanding of autism legitimize and reinforce current understandings and research directions in the field of autism. Conceptual discontinuities and earlier complexities and disputes concerning classifying and delineating autism are usually left out of the positivist narrative of autism. In an alternative history of the concept of autism, I demonstrate that there have been major shifts in the type of symptoms, signs and impairments that were - and are - thought to be essential and specific for autism.

Prospective examination of visual attention during play in infants at high-risk for autism spectrum disorder: a longitudinal study from 6 to 36 months of age

Regulation of visual attention is essential to learning about one's environment. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit impairments in regulating their visual attention, but little is known about how such impairments develop over time. This prospective longitudinal study is the first to describe the development of components of visual attention, including engaging, sustaining, and disengaging attention, in infants at high-risk of developing ASD (each with an older sibling with ASD). Non-sibling controls and high-risk infant siblings were filmed at 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 24, and 36 months of age as they engaged in play with small, easily graspable toys. Duration of time spent looking at toy targets before moving the hand toward the target and the duration of time spent looking at the target after grasp were measured. At 36 months of age, an independent, gold standard diagnostic assessment for ASD was conducted for all participants. As predicted, infant siblings subsequently diagnosed with ASD were distinguished by prolonged latency to disengage ('sticky attention') by 12 months of age, and continued to show this characteristic at 15, 18, and 24 months of age. The results are discussed in relation to how the development of visual attention may impact later cognitive outcomes of children diagnosed with ASD.

Neural correlate of autistic-like traits and a common allele in the oxytocin receptor gene

Sub-clinical autistic-like traits (ALTs) are continuously distributed in the general population and genetically linked to autism. Although identifying the neurogenetic backgrounds of ALTs might enhance our ability to identify those of autism, they are largely unstudied. Here, we have examined the neuroanatomical basis of ALTs and their association with the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) rs2254298A, a known risk allele for autism in Asian populations which has also been implicated in limbic-paralimbic brain structures. First, we extracted a four-factor structure of ALTs, as measured using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, including 'prosociality', 'communication', 'details/patterns' and 'imagination' in 135 neurotypical adults (79 men, 56 women) to reduce the genetic heterogeneity of ALTs. Then, in the same population, voxel-based morphometry revealed that lower 'prosociality', which indicates strong ALTs, was significantly correlated to smaller regional grey matter volume in the right insula in males. Males with lower 'prosociality' also had less interregional structural coupling between the right insula and the ventral anterior cingulate cortex. Furthermore, males with OXTR rs2254298A had significantly smaller grey matter volume in the right insula. These results show that decreased volume of the insula is a neuroanatomical correlate of ALTs and a potential intermediate phenotype linking ALTs with OXTR in male subjects.