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Mosconi MW, Stevens CJ, Unruh KE, Shafer R, Elison JT. Endophenotype trait domains for advancing gene discovery in autism spectrum disorder. J Neurodev Disord 2023; 15:41. [PMID: 37993779 PMCID: PMC10664534 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-023-09511-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew W Mosconi
- Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies and Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (K-CART), University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
- Clinical Child Psychology Program, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
| | - Cassandra J Stevens
- Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies and Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (K-CART), University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
- Clinical Child Psychology Program, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Kathryn E Unruh
- Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies and Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (K-CART), University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Robin Shafer
- Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies and Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (K-CART), University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Jed T Elison
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Hilviu D, Frau F, Bosco FM, Marini A, Gabbatore I. Can Narrative Skills Improve in Autism Spectrum Disorder? A Preliminary Study with Verbally Fluent Adolescents Receiving the Cognitive Pragmatic Treatment. J Psycholinguist Res 2023; 52:1605-1632. [PMID: 37155128 PMCID: PMC10520104 DOI: 10.1007/s10936-023-09945-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting social and communicative skills, including narrative ability, namely the description of real-life or fictive accounts of temporally and causally related events. With this study, we aimed to determine whether a communicative-pragmatic training, i.e., the version for adolescents of the Cognitive-Pragmatic Treatment, is effective in improving the narrative skills of 16 verbally fluent adolescents with ASD. We used a multilevel approach to assess pre- and post-training narrative production skills. Discourse analysis focused on micro- (i.e., mean length of utterance, complete sentences, omissions of morphosyntactic information) and macrolinguistic measures (i.e., cohesion, coherence errors, lexical informativeness). Results revealed a significant improvement in mean length of utterance and complete sentences and a decrease in cohesion errors. No significant change was found in the other narrative measures investigated. Our findings suggest that a pragmatically oriented training may be useful in improving grammatical efficiency in narrative production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dize Hilviu
- Department of Psychology, GIPSI Research Group, University of Turin, Via Verdi, 10, 10124 Turin, Italy
| | - Federico Frau
- Laboratory of Neurolinguistics and Experimental Pragmatics (NEP), University School for Advanced Studies IUSS, Pavia, Italy
| | - Francesca M. Bosco
- Department of Psychology, GIPSI Research Group, University of Turin, Via Verdi, 10, 10124 Turin, Italy
- Neuroscience Institute of Turin, University of Turin, 10043 Turin, Italy
| | - Andrea Marini
- Department of Languages, Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, Cognitive neuroscience lab, University of Udine, Via Margreth, 3, 33100 Udine, Italy
- Claudiana-Landesfachhochschule Für Gesundheitsberufe, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| | - Ilaria Gabbatore
- Department of Psychology, GIPSI Research Group, University of Turin, Via Verdi, 10, 10124 Turin, Italy
- Research Unit of Logopedics, Faculty of Humanities, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, Finland
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Patel SP, Winston M, Guilfoyle J, Nicol T, Martin GE, Nayar K, Kraus N, Losh M. Neural Processing of Speech Sounds in ASD and First-Degree Relatives. J Autism Dev Disord 2023; 53:3257-3271. [PMID: 35672616 PMCID: PMC10019095 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05562-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Efficient neural encoding of sound plays a critical role in speech and language, and when impaired, may have reverberating effects on communication skills. This study investigated disruptions to neural processing of temporal and spectral properties of speech in individuals with ASD and their parents and found evidence of inefficient temporal encoding of speech sounds in both groups. The ASD group further demonstrated less robust neural representation of spectral properties of speech sounds. Associations between neural processing of speech sounds and language-related abilities were evident in both groups. Parent-child associations were also detected in neural pitch processing. Together, results suggest that atypical neural processing of speech sounds is a heritable ingredient contributing to the ASD language phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shivani P Patel
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Molly Winston
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Janna Guilfoyle
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Trent Nicol
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Gary E Martin
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, St. John's University, Staten Island, NY, USA
| | - Kritika Nayar
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Nina Kraus
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Molly Losh
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
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Guilfoyle J, Winston M, Sideris J, Martin GE, Nayar K, Bush L, Wassink T, Losh M. Childhood Academic Performance: A Potential Marker of Genetic Liability to Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 2023; 53:1989-2005. [PMID: 35194728 PMCID: PMC9932999 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05459-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a heritable neurodevelopmental disorder, confers genetic liability that is often expressed among relatives through subclinical, genetically-meaningful traits, or endophenotypes. For instance, relative to controls, parents of individuals with ASD differ in language-related skills, with differences emerging in childhood. To examine ASD-related endophenotypes, this study investigated developmental academic profiles among clinically unaffected siblings of individuals with ASD (n = 29). Lower performance in language-related skills among siblings mirrored previously-reported patterns among parents, which were also associated with greater subclinical ASD-related traits in themselves and their parents, and with greater symptom severity in their sibling with ASD. Findings demonstrated specific phenotypes, derived from standardized academic testing, that may represent childhood indicators of genetic liability to ASD in first-degree relatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janna Guilfoyle
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Molly Winston
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - John Sideris
- University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | | | - Kritika Nayar
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Lauren Bush
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | | | - Molly Losh
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
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Anbar J, Matthews N, James S, Ariff A, Pierce K, Smith CJ. Examination of Clinical and Assessment Type Differences Between Toddlers with ASD from Multiplex and Simplex Families. J Autism Dev Disord 2023:10.1007/s10803-022-05890-8. [PMID: 37036578 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05890-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/26/2022] [Indexed: 04/11/2023]
Abstract
Few studies have examined differences in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) phenotype between children from multiplex and simplex families at the time of diagnosis. The present study used an age- and gender-matched, community-based sample (n = 105) from the southwestern United States to examine differences in ASD symptom severity, cognitive development, and adaptive functioning. No significant differences between children from multiplex and simplex families were observed. Exploratory analysis revealed that parents underreported receptive and expressive language and fine motor skills compared to professional observation, especially among children from multiplex families. These findings suggest that diagnosticians may need to consider family structure when choosing and interpreting assessments of receptive language, expressive language, and fine motor skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Anbar
- Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center, 2225 N 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85006, USA
| | - Nicole Matthews
- Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center, 2225 N 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85006, USA.
| | - Stephen James
- Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center, 2225 N 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85006, USA
| | - Afzal Ariff
- Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center, 2225 N 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85006, USA
| | - Karen Pierce
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Christopher J Smith
- Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center, 2225 N 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85006, USA
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Nayar K, Kang X, Winston M, Wong P, Losh M. [Formula: see text] A cross-cultural study of visual attention in autism spectrum disorder. Child Neuropsychol 2023; 29:413-444. [PMID: 35904098 PMCID: PMC9884317 DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2022.2094904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Differences in visual attention have been documented in ASD, and appear linked to clinical symptoms. However, most research has been conducted in Western cultures. Because striking differences in visual attention patterns have been documented in other cultures, it is important to understand how culture may influence attentional patterns in ASD. This study compared differences in visual attention in ASD across Western and East Asian cultures, where differences in attention to contextual and global information have been repeatedly demonstrated, to investigate potential culturally-specific ASD phenotypes. One hundred thirty-two total participants included individuals with ASD (n = 24) and controls (n = 47) from Hong Kong (HK), along with a previously studied group of age- and IQ-comparable participants from the United States (n = 26 ASD; n = 35 control). Gaze was tracked while participants completed two narrative tasks that differed in social-emotional complexity. Proportions of fixations to face, bodies, and setting were examined across groups using linear mixed-effect models and a series of growth curve models. Cultural differences were found across tasks and groups. Both the ASD and control HK groups attended more to global contextual setting information, more to the body regions, and less toward faces of characters compared to US groups. Growth curve models indicated that these differences attenuated over time in certain stimuli. ASD-related effects were only observed in the more complex stimuli depicting characters with ambiguous facial expressions. Findings indicate a notable cultural influence on visual attention patterns in ASD, and underscore the importance of stimuli complexity in differentiating cultural versus diagnostic effects on attentional styles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kritika Nayar
- Northwestern University, Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Xin Kang
- Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
- Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
- Research Centre for Language, Cognition and Language Application, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
- School of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
| | - Molly Winston
- Northwestern University, Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Patrick Wong
- Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
- Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Molly Losh
- Northwestern University, Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Evanston, IL, USA
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Wang H, Liu F, Yu D. Complex network of eye movements during rapid automatized naming. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1024881. [PMID: 37065911 PMCID: PMC10102513 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1024881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
IntroductionAlthough the method of visualizing eye-tracking data as a time-series might enhance performance in the understanding of gaze behavior, it has not yet been thoroughly examined in the context of rapid automated naming (RAN).MethodsThis study attempted, for the first time, to measure gaze behavior during RAN from the perspective of network-domain, which constructed a complex network [referred to as gaze-time-series-based complex network (GCN)] from gaze time-series. Hence, without designating regions of interest, the features of gaze behavior during RAN were extracted by computing topological parameters of GCN. A sample of 98 children (52 males, aged 11.50 ± 0.28 years) was studied. Nine topological parameters (i.e., average degree, network diameter, characteristic path length, clustering coefficient, global efficiency, assortativity coefficient, modularity, community number, and small-worldness) were computed.ResultsFindings showed that GCN in each RAN task was assortative and possessed “small-world” and community architecture. Additionally, observations regarding the influence of RAN task types included that: (i) five topological parameters (i.e., average degree, clustering coefficient, assortativity coefficient, modularity, and community number) could reflect the difference between tasks N-num (i.e., naming of numbers) and N-cha (i.e., naming of Chinese characters); (ii) there was only one topological parameter (i.e., network diameter) which could reflect the difference between tasks N-obj (i.e., naming of objects) and N-col (i.e., naming of colors); and (iii) when compared to GCN in alphanumeric RAN, GCN in non-alphanumeric RAN may have higher average degree, global efficiency, and small-worldness, but lower network diameter, characteristic path length, clustering coefficient, and modularity. Findings also illustrated that most of these topological parameters were largely independent of traditional eye-movement metrics.DiscussionThis article revealed the architecture and topological parameters of GCN as well as the influence of task types on them, and thus brought some new insights into the understanding of RAN from the perspective of complex network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Fulin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Dongchuan Yu
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- Henan Provincial Medical Key Lab of Child Developmental Behavior and Learning, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
- *Correspondence: Dongchuan Yu
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Patel SP, Landau E, Martin GE, Rayburn C, Elahi S, Fragnito G, Losh M. A profile of prosodic speech differences in individuals with autism spectrum disorder and first-degree relatives. J Commun Disord 2023; 102:106313. [PMID: 36804204 PMCID: PMC10395513 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2023.106313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Revised: 02/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Impairments in prosody (e.g., intonation, stress) are among the most notable communication characteristics of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and can significantly impact communicative interactions. Evidence suggests that differences in prosody may be evident among first-degree relatives of autistic individuals, indicating that genetic liability to ASD is expressed through prosodic variation, along with subclinical traits referred to as the broad autism phenotype (BAP). This study aimed to further characterize prosodic profiles associated with ASD and the BAP to better understand the clinical and etiologic significance of prosodic differences. METHOD Autistic individuals, their parents, and respective control groups completed the Profiling Elements of Prosody in Speech-Communication (PEPS-C), an assessment of receptive and expressive prosody. Responses to expressive subtests were further examined using acoustic analyses. Relationships between PEPS-C performance, acoustic measurements, and pragmatic language ability in conversation were assessed to understand how differences in prosody might contribute to broader ASD-related pragmatic profiles. RESULTS In ASD, receptive prosody deficits were observed in contrastive stress. With regard to expressive prosody, both the ASD and ASD Parent groups exhibited reduced accuracy in imitation, lexical stress, and contrastive stress expression compared to respective control groups, though no acoustic differences were noted. In ASD and Control groups, lower accuracy across several PEPS-C subtests and acoustic measurements related to increased pragmatic language violations. In parents, acoustic measurements were tied to broader pragmatic language and personality traits of the BAP. CONCLUSION Overlapping areas of expressive prosody differences were identified in ASD and parents, providing evidence that prosody is an important language-related ability that may be impacted by genetic risk of ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shivani P Patel
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Emily Landau
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Gary E Martin
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, St. John's University, Staten Island, New York, USA
| | - Claire Rayburn
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Saadia Elahi
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Gabrielle Fragnito
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Molly Losh
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
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Hogan AL, Winston M, Barstein J, Losh M. Slower Peak Pupillary Response to Emotional Faces in Parents of Autistic Individuals. Front Psychol 2022; 13:836719. [PMID: 36304881 PMCID: PMC9595282 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.836719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Atypical autonomic arousal has been consistently documented in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is thought to contribute to the social-communication phenotype of ASD. Some evidence suggests that clinically unaffected first-degree relatives of autistic individuals may also show subtle differences in indices of autonomic arousal, potentially implicating heritable pathophysiological mechanisms in ASD. This study examined pupillary responses in parents of autistic individuals to investigate evidence that atypical autonomic arousal might constitute a subclinical physiological marker of ASD heritability within families of autistic individuals. Methods Pupillary responses to emotional faces were measured in 47 ASD parents and 20 age-matched parent controls. Macro-level pupillary responses (e.g., mean, peak, latency to peak) and dynamic pupillary responses over the course of the stimulus presentation were compared between groups, and in relationship to subclinical ASD-related features in ASD parents. A small ASD group (n = 20) and controls (n = 17) were also included for exploratory analyses of parent–child correlations in pupillary response. Results Parents of autistic individuals differed in the time course of pupillary response, exhibiting a later primary peak response than controls. In ASD parents, slower peak response was associated with poorer pragmatic language and larger peak response was associated with poorer social cognition. Exploratory analyses revealed correlations between peak pupillary responses in ASD parents and mean and peak pupillary responses in their autistic children. Conclusion Differences in pupillary responses in clinically unaffected parents, together with significant correlations with ASD-related features and significant parent–child associations, suggest that pupillary responses to emotional faces may constitute an objective physiological marker of ASD genetic liability, with potential to inform the mechanistic underpinnings of ASD symptomatology.
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Nayar K, Shic F, Winston M, Losh M. A constellation of eye-tracking measures reveals social attention differences in ASD and the broad autism phenotype. Mol Autism 2022; 13:18. [PMID: 35509089 PMCID: PMC9069739 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-022-00490-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Social attention differences, expressed through gaze patterns, have been documented in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with subtle differences also reported among first-degree relatives, suggesting a shared genetic link. Findings have mostly been derived from standard eye-tracking methods (total fixation count or total fixation duration). Given the dynamics of visual attention, these standard methods may obscure subtle, yet core, differences in visual attention mechanisms, particularly those presenting sub-clinically. This study applied a constellation of eye-tracking analyses to gaze data from individuals with ASD and their parents. Methods This study included n = 156 participants across groups, including ASD (n = 24) and control (n = 32) groups, and parents of individuals with ASD (n = 61) and control parents (n = 39). A complex scene with social/non-social elements was displayed and gaze tracked via an eye tracker. Eleven analytic methods from the following categories were analyzed: (1) standard variables, (2) temporal dynamics (e.g., gaze over time), (3) fixation patterns (e.g., perseverative or regressive fixations), (4) first fixations, and (5) distribution patterns. MANOVAs, growth curve analyses, and Chi-squared tests were applied to examine group differences. Finally, group differences were examined on component scores derived from a principal component analysis (PCA) that reduced variables to distinct dimensions. Results No group differences emerged among standard, first fixation, and distribution pattern variables. Both the ASD and ASD parent groups demonstrated on average reduced social attention over time and atypical perseverative fixations. Lower social attention factor scores derived from PCA strongly differentiated the ASD and ASD parent groups from controls, with parent findings driven by the subset of parents demonstrating the broad autism phenotype. Limitations To generalize these findings, larger sample sizes, extended viewing contexts (e.g., dynamic stimuli), and even more eye-tracking analytical methods are needed. Conclusions Fixations over time and perseverative fixations differentiated ASD and the ASD parent groups from controls, with the PCA most robustly capturing social attention differences. Findings highlight their methodological utility in studies of the (broad) autism spectrum to capture nuanced visual attention differences that may relate to clinical symptoms in ASD, and reflect genetic liability in clinically unaffected relatives. This proof-of-concept study may inform future studies using eye tracking across populations where social attention is impacted. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13229-022-00490-w.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kritika Nayar
- Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Lab, Roxelyn and Richard Pepper, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Frederick Shic
- Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Molly Winston
- Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Lab, Roxelyn and Richard Pepper, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Molly Losh
- Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Lab, Roxelyn and Richard Pepper, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
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Norton ES, Manning BL, Harriott EM, Nikolaeva JI, Nyabingi OS, Fredian KM, Page JM, McWeeny S, Krogh-Jespersen S, MacNeill LA, Roberts MY, Wakschlag LS. Social EEG: A novel neurodevelopmental approach to studying brain-behavior links and brain-to-brain synchrony during naturalistic toddler-parent interactions. Dev Psychobiol 2022; 64:e22240. [PMID: 35312062 PMCID: PMC9867891 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Despite increasing emphasis on emergent brain-behavior patterns supporting language, cognitive, and socioemotional development in toddlerhood, methodologic challenges impede their characterization. Toddlers are notoriously difficult to engage in brain research, leaving a developmental window in which neural processes are understudied. Further, electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related potential paradigms at this age typically employ structured, experimental tasks that rarely reflect formative naturalistic interactions with caregivers. Here, we introduce and provide proof of concept for a new "Social EEG" paradigm, in which parent-toddler dyads interact naturally during EEG recording. Parents and toddlers sit at a table together and engage in different activities, such as book sharing or watching a movie. EEG is time locked to the video recording of their interaction. Offline, behavioral data are microcoded with mutually exclusive engagement state codes. From 216 sessions to date with 2- and 3-year-old toddlers and their parents, 72% of dyads successfully completed the full Social EEG paradigm, suggesting that it is possible to collect dual EEG from parents and toddlers during naturalistic interactions. In addition to providing naturalistic information about child neural development within the caregiving context, this paradigm holds promise for examination of emerging constructs such as brain-to-brain synchrony in parents and children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth S. Norton
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
- Department of Medical Social Sciences and Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Brittany L. Manning
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Emily M. Harriott
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Julia I. Nikolaeva
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Olufemi S. Nyabingi
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Kaitlyn M. Fredian
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Jessica M. Page
- Department of Medical Social Sciences and Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Sean McWeeny
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Sheila Krogh-Jespersen
- Department of Medical Social Sciences and Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Leigha A. MacNeill
- Department of Medical Social Sciences and Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Megan Y. Roberts
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
- Department of Medical Social Sciences and Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Lauren S. Wakschlag
- Department of Medical Social Sciences and Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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12
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Lin XB, Lim CG, Lee TS. Social Deficits or Interactional Differences? Interrogating Perspectives on Social Functioning in Autism. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:823736. [PMID: 35546922 PMCID: PMC9084456 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.823736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social dysfunction is a key characteristic of autism. Determining and treating autism-related social deficits have been challenging. The medical model views interpersonal difficulties in autism as a localized set of deficits to be managed, whereas the neurodiversity movement calls for the accommodation of differences by the larger community. One common assumption underlying these perspectives is a misalignment in social behaviors between autistic individuals and neurotypicals. This paper reviews and interrogates current perspectives on social functioning in autism to uncover the intricacies of such a notion. Even though extant literature has alluded to a misalignment in social behaviors between autistic and neurotypical individuals, it is uncertain where this disparity lies. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangting Bernice Lin
- Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.,School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Choon Guan Lim
- Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.,School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Tih-Shih Lee
- Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.,Department of Psychiatry, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
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13
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Tan DW, Gilani SZ, Boutrus M, Alvares GA, Whitehouse AJO, Mian A, Suter D, Maybery MT. Facial asymmetry in parents of children on the autism spectrum. Autism Res 2021; 14:2260-2269. [PMID: 34529361 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Greater facial asymmetry has been consistently found in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) relative to children without ASD. There is substantial evidence that both facial structure and the recurrence of ASD diagnosis are highly heritable within a nuclear family. Furthermore, sub-clinical levels of autistic-like behavioural characteristics have also been reported in first-degree relatives of individuals with ASD, commonly known as the 'broad autism phenotype'. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to examine whether a broad autism phenotype expresses as facial asymmetry among 192 biological parents of autistic individuals (134 mothers) compared to those of 163 age-matched adults without a family history of ASD (113 females). Using dense surface-modelling techniques on three dimensional facial images, we found evidence for greater facial asymmetry in parents of autistic individuals compared to age-matched adults in the comparison group (p = 0.046, d = 0.21 [0.002, 0.42]). Considering previous findings and the current results, we conclude that facial asymmetry expressed in the facial morphology of autistic children may be related to heritability factors. LAY ABSTRACT: In a previous study, we showed that autistic children presented with greater facial asymmetry than non-autistic children. In the current study, we examined the amount of facial asymmetry shown on three-dimensional facial images of 192 parents of autistic children compared to a control group consisting of 163 similarly aged adults with no known history of autism. Although parents did show greater levels of facial asymmetry than those in the control group, this effect is statistically small. We concluded that the facial asymmetry previously found in autistic children may be related to genetic factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Weiting Tan
- School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.,Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Syed Zulqarnain Gilani
- School of Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.,School of Computer Science and Software Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Maryam Boutrus
- Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Gail A Alvares
- Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Andrew J O Whitehouse
- Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Ajmal Mian
- School of Computer Science and Software Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - David Suter
- School of Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Murray T Maybery
- School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
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14
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Nayar K, Kang X, Xing J, Gordon PC, Wong PCM, Losh M. A cross-cultural study showing deficits in gaze-language coordination during rapid automatized naming among individuals with ASD. Sci Rep 2021; 11:13401. [PMID: 34183686 PMCID: PMC8238959 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91911-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their first-degree relatives demonstrate automaticity deficits reflected in reduced eye-voice coordination during rapid automatized naming (RAN), suggesting that RAN deficits may be a genetically meaningful marker of ASD language-related impairments. This study investigated whether RAN deficits in ASD extend to a language typologically distinct from English. Participants included 23 Cantonese-speaking individuals with ASD and 39 controls from Hong Kong (HK), and age- and IQ-comparable groups of previously-studied English-speaking individuals with ASD (n = 45) and controls (n = 44) from the US. Participants completed RAN on an eye tracker. Analyses examined naming time, error rate, measures of eye movement reflecting language automaticity, including eye-voice span (EVS; location of eyes versus the named item) and refixations. The HK-ASD group exhibited longer naming times and more refixations than HK-Controls, in a pattern similar to that observed in the US-ASD group. Cultural effects revealed that both HK groups showed longer EVS and more fixations than US groups. Naming time and refixation differences may be ASD-specific impairments spanning cultures/languages, whereas EVS and fixation frequency may be more variably impacted. A potential underlying mechanism of visual "stickiness" may be contributing to this breakdown in language automaticity in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kritika Nayar
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Drive, Frances Searle Building, #2-366, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Xin Kang
- Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Jiayin Xing
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Drive, Frances Searle Building, #2-366, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Peter C Gordon
- Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Patrick C M Wong
- Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Molly Losh
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Drive, Frances Searle Building, #2-366, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
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15
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Dell'Osso L, Cremone IM, Amatori G, Cappelli A, Cuomo A, Barlati S, Massimetti G, Vita A, Fagiolini A, Carmassi C, Carpita B. Investigating the Relationship between Autistic Traits, Ruminative Thinking, and Suicidality in a Clinical Sample of Subjects with Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder. Brain Sci 2021; 11:621. [PMID: 34066194 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11050621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 05/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: Previous literature reported in both subjects with Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and Bipolar disorder (BD) higher levels of autistic traits, linked to a greater suicidality risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the presence of autistic traits in a sample of individuals with BD or BPD, with a specific focus on suicidality. (2) Methods: We recruited two clinical samples of subjects (BPD and BD) and a control group without a diagnosis according to DSM-5 (CTL). Subjects were assessed with the AdAS Spectrum, the RRS and, for evaluating suicidality, the MOODS-SR. (3) Results: The CTL group showed significantly lower scores of both BD and BPD on AdAS Spectrum, RRS, and suicidality scores. BPD subjects showed significantly lower scores than BD ones in most of AdAS Spectrum domain scores. Correlation and regression analyses highlighted specific patterns of association among AdAS Spectrum domains, RRS, and suicidality in each clinical group. (4) Conclusions: Both BPD and BD individuals show greater levels of autistic traits, which seem to be distributed in a continuum featuring the highest levels among BD subjects. In both disorders, higher autistic traits were linked to suicidal tendencies, although with different patterns of association between BD and BPD subjects.
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16
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Nayar K, Sealock JM, Maltman N, Bush L, Cook EH, Davis LK, Losh M. Elevated Polygenic Burden for Autism Spectrum Disorder Is Associated With the Broad Autism Phenotype in Mothers of Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Biol Psychiatry 2021; 89:476-485. [PMID: 33229037 PMCID: PMC7901138 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.08.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Revised: 08/15/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a multifactorial neurodevelopmental disorder that encompasses a complex and heterogeneous set of traits. Subclinical traits that mirror the core features of ASD, referred to as the broad autism phenotype (BAP), have been documented repeatedly in unaffected relatives and are believed to reflect underlying genetic liability to ASD. The BAP may help inform the etiology of ASD by allowing the stratification of families into more phenotypically and etiologically homogeneous subgroups. This study explores polygenic scores related to the BAP. METHODS Phenotypic and genotypic information were obtained from 2614 trios from the Simons Simplex Collection. Polygenic scores of ASD (ASD-PGSs) were generated across the sample to determine the shared genetic overlap between the BAP and ASD. Maternal and paternal ASD-PGSs were explored in relation to BAP traits and their child's ASD symptomatology. RESULTS Maternal pragmatic language was related to child's social communicative atypicalities. In fathers, rigid personality was related to increased repetitive behaviors in children. Maternal (but not paternal) ASD-PGSs were related to the pragmatic language and rigid BAP domains. CONCLUSIONS Associations emerged between parent and child phenotypes, with more associations emerging in mothers than in fathers. ASD-PGS associations emerged with BAP in mothers only, highlighting the potential for a female protective factor, and implicating the polygenic etiology of ASD-related phenotypes in the BAP.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Molly Losh
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
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17
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Winston M, Nayar K, Landau E, Maltman N, Sideris J, Zhou L, Sharp K, Berry-Kravis E, Losh M. A Unique Visual Attention Profile Associated With the FMR1 Premutation. Front Genet 2021; 12:591211. [PMID: 33633778 PMCID: PMC7901883 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.591211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Atypical visual attention patterns have been observed among carriers of the fragile X mental retardation gene (FMR1) premutation (PM), with some similarities to visual attention patterns observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and among clinically unaffected relatives of individuals with ASD. Patterns of visual attention could constitute biomarkers that can help to inform the neurocognitive profile of the PM, and that potentially span diagnostic boundaries. This study examined patterns of eye movement across an array of fixation measurements from three distinct eye-tracking tasks in order to investigate potentially overlapping profiles of visual attention among PM carriers, ASD parents, and parent controls. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine whether variables constituting a PM-specific looking profile were able to effectively predict group membership. Participants included 65PM female carriers, 188 ASD parents, and 84 parent controls. Analyses of fixations across the eye-tracking tasks, and their corresponding areas of interest, revealed a distinct visual attention pattern in carriers of the FMR1 PM, characterized by increased fixations on the mouth when viewing faces, more intense focus on bodies in socially complex scenes, and decreased fixations on salient characters and faces while narrating a wordless picture book. This set of variables was able to successfully differentiate individuals with the PM from controls (Sensitivity = 0.76, Specificity = 0.85, Accuracy = 0.77) as well as from ASD parents (Sensitivity = 0.70, Specificity = 0.80, Accuracy = 0.72), but did not show a strong distinction between ASD parents and controls (Accuracy = 0.62), indicating that this set of variables comprises a profile that is unique to PM carriers. Regarding predictive power, fixations toward the mouth when viewing faces was able to differentiate PM carriers from both ASD parents and controls, whereas fixations toward other social stimuli did not differentiate PM carriers from ASD parents, highlighting some overlap in visual attention patterns that could point toward shared neurobiological mechanisms. Results demonstrate a profile of visual attention that appears strongly associated with the FMR1 PM in women, and may constitute a meaningful biomarker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Molly Winston
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Kritika Nayar
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Emily Landau
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Nell Maltman
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - John Sideris
- Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Lili Zhou
- Department of Pediatrics, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Kevin Sharp
- Department of Pediatrics, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States
| | | | - Molly Losh
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
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18
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Yang T, Li D, Zhang Y, Zhang L, Li H, Ji GJ, Yang Z, Zhang L, Zhu C, Wang K. Eye Avoidance of Threatening Facial Expressions in Parents of Children with ASD. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2021; 17:1869-1879. [PMID: 34140771 PMCID: PMC8203098 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s300491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Previous research found that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was characterized by eye avoidance of threatening facial expressions. However, it still remains unclear as to whether these abnormalities are present in parents of children with ASD. Our study aimed to investigate the gaze patterns of parents of children with ASD in the threatening facial expressions. METHODS Thirty-four parents of children with ASD and 35 parents of typically developing (TD) children participated in our study. We investigated the total fixation time of participants when they viewed different facial expression (eg, happy, fearful, angry, sad) videos and examined changes in the fixation duration over time. RESULTS We observed the following: a) the total fixation time of the parents of children with ASD on the eyes of fearful faces was significantly shorter than that of the normal group, and the difference lasted for five seconds (four to six seconds, eight to nine seconds) throughout the process; and b) The parents of children with ASD avoided the eyes of angry expression faces at around five seconds after the stimulus onset. CONCLUSION We concluded that parents of children with ASD tended to avoid the eyes of threatening expression faces while viewing the dynamic emotions video.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tingting Yang
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China
| | - Dandan Li
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China.,Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China.,Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China
| | - Yifan Zhang
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China
| | - Long Zhang
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China.,Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China
| | - Hong Li
- Department of Neurological Rehabilitation of Children, Anhui Provincial Children's Hospital, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China
| | - Gong-Jun Ji
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China.,Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China.,Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhenhai Yang
- Department of Rehabilitation therapy, The First Clinical Medical College of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China
| | - Lei Zhang
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China.,Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China
| | - Chunyan Zhu
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China.,Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China
| | - Kai Wang
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China.,Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China.,Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China.,Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, 230022, People's Republic of China
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19
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Lee M, Nayar K, Maltman N, Hamburger D, Martin GE, Gordon PC, Losh M. Understanding Social Communication Differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder and First-Degree Relatives: A Study of Looking and Speaking. J Autism Dev Disord 2020; 50:2128-41. [PMID: 30864059 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-019-03969-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
This study examined narrative ability in ASD and parents across two contexts differing in structure and emotional content, and explored gaze patterns that may underlie narrative differences by presenting narrative tasks on an eye tracker. Participants included 37 individuals with ASD and 38 controls, 151 parents of individuals with ASD and 63 parent controls. The ASD and ASD parent groups demonstrated lower narrative quality than controls in the less structured narrative task only. Subtler, context-dependent differences emerged in gaze and showed some associations with narrative quality. Results indicate a narrative ability profile that may reflect genetic liability to ASD, and subtle links between visual attention and complex language skills that may be influenced by ASD genetic risk.
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20
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Patel SP, Nayar K, Martin GE, Franich K, Crawford S, Diehl JJ, Losh M. An Acoustic Characterization of Prosodic Differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder and First-Degree Relatives. J Autism Dev Disord 2020; 50:3032-3045. [PMID: 32056118 PMCID: PMC7374471 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04392-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
This study examined prosody through characterization of acoustic properties of the speech of individuals with ASD and their parents, during narration. A subset of utterances were low-pass filtered and rated for differences in intonation, speech rate, and rhythm. Listener ratings were minimally related to acoustic measures, underscoring the complexity of atypical prosody in ASD. Acoustic analyses revealed greater utterance-final fundamental frequency excursion size and slower speech rate in the ASD group. Slower speech rate was also evident in the ASD parent group, particularly parents with the broad autism phenotype. Overlapping prosodic differences in ASD and ASD Parent groups suggest that prosodic differences may constitute an important phenotype contributing to ASD features and index genetic liability to ASD among first-degree relatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shivani P Patel
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Drive, Frances Searle Building, #2-366, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Kritika Nayar
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Drive, Frances Searle Building, #2-366, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Gary E Martin
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, St. John's University, Staten Island, NY, USA
| | - Kathryn Franich
- Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
- Department of Linguistics, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
| | - Stephanie Crawford
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Drive, Frances Searle Building, #2-366, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | | | - Molly Losh
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Drive, Frances Searle Building, #2-366, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
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21
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Kong X, Zhu J, Tian R, Liu S, Sherman HT, Zhang X, Lin X, Han Y, Xiang Z, Koh M, Hobbie C, Wang B, Liu K, Liu J, Yin Y, Wan G. Early Screening and Risk Factors of Autism Spectrum Disorder in a Large Cohort of Chinese Patients With Prader-Willi Syndrome. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:594934. [PMID: 33329146 PMCID: PMC7735061 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.594934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies regarding the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in patients with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) have implicated heterogenous findings. Additionally, the early screening of ASD high-risk population for ASD and identifying ASD risk factors in PWS patients have not been explored. This study included 218 Chinese PWS patients aged 3 months to 18 years old. 78% of subjects were identified as high risk for ASD by ASQ-3 Communication domain score for those younger than 3 years of age and 84% of subjects were classified as high risk for ASD by the GARS-3 for those aged 3 years and older. Among PWS clinical measurements, under-height (P = 0.0186), overweight (P = 0.0248), and obstructive sleep apnea (P = 0.0259) were each significantly correlated with ASD risk. These risk factors and their internal relationship with ASD or ASD traits warrant further studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuejun Kong
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Junli Zhu
- Fisher College, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Ruiyi Tian
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Siyu Liu
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Hannah T Sherman
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | | | - Xiaojing Lin
- Prader-Willi Syndrome Care and Support Center, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yan Han
- Institute of Dermatology and Hospital for Skin Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhi Xiang
- Institute of Dermatology and Hospital for Skin Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, China
| | - Madelyn Koh
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | | | - Bryan Wang
- Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, United States
| | - Kevin Liu
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Jun Liu
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Yueping Yin
- Institute of Dermatology and Hospital for Skin Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, China
| | - Guobin Wan
- Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital, Shenzhen, China
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22
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Dell'Osso L, Carpita B, Bertelloni CA, Diadema E, Barberi FM, Gesi C, Carmassi C. Subthreshold autism spectrum in bipolar disorder: Prevalence and clinical correlates. Psychiatry Res 2019; 281:112605. [PMID: 31629303 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2019.112605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2019] [Revised: 10/05/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND While few previous studies highlighted a higher prevalence of autistic traits among adults with Bipolar Disorder (BD), little is known about their clinical significance in this population. METHOD 143 subjects with BD were enrolled at the adult psychiatric inpatient clinic of the University of Pisa. Assessments included the SCID-5, the MOODS-SR, the AQ and the AdAS Spectrum. RESULTS 42.7% of the sample scored positively for significant levels of autistic traits. Subjects with high autistic traits showed a greater likelihood of a very early onset of BD, greater length of current in-hospital stay, significantly higher rates of anxiety disorders and lower rates of substance use disorders compared to patients with low autistic traits. They also show significantly greater depressive symptoms and suicidality across the lifetime. Suicidality was associated with the altered responsiveness to sensory input and inversely related to adherence to routine and inflexibility. CONCLUSION The study is a first exploration of the clinical significance of autistic traits among BD patients. Our results highlight the clinical significance of autistic traits in patients with BD, supporting the usefulness of a dimensional approach to the autism spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liliana Dell'Osso
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy
| | - Barbara Carpita
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy.
| | | | - Elisa Diadema
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Camilla Gesi
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy
| | - Claudia Carmassi
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy
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23
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Nayar K, McKinney W, Hogan AL, Martin GE, La Valle C, Sharp K, Berry-Kravis E, Norton ES, Gordon PC, Losh M. Language processing skills linked to FMR1 variation: A study of gaze-language coordination during rapid automatized naming among women with the FMR1 premutation. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0219924. [PMID: 31348790 PMCID: PMC6660192 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2019] [Accepted: 07/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The FMR1 premutation (PM) is relatively common in the general population. Evidence suggests that PM carriers may exhibit subtle differences in specific cognitive and language abilities. This study examined potential mechanisms underlying such differences through the study of gaze and language coordination during a language processing task (rapid automatized naming; RAN) among female carriers of the FMR1 PM. RAN taps a complex set of underlying neuropsychological mechanisms, with breakdowns implicating processing disruptions in fundamental skills that support higher order language and executive functions, making RAN (and analysis of gaze/language coordination during RAN) a potentially powerful paradigm for revealing the phenotypic expression of the FMR1 PM. Forty-eight PM carriers and 56 controls completed RAN on an eye tracker, where they serially named arrays of numbers, letters, colors, and objects. Findings revealed a pattern of inefficient language processing in the PM group, including a greater number of eye fixations (namely, visual regressions) and reduced eye-voice span (i.e., the eyes' lead over the voice) relative to controls. Differences were driven by performance in the latter half of the RAN arrays, when working memory and processing load are the greatest, implicating executive skills. RAN deficits were associated with broader social-communicative difficulties among PM carriers, and with FMR1-related molecular genetic variation (higher CGG repeat length, lower activation ratio, and increased levels of the fragile X mental retardation protein; FMRP). Findings contribute to an understanding of the neurocognitive profile of PM carriers and indicate specific gene-behavior associations that implicate the role of the FMR1 gene in language-related processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kritika Nayar
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Walker McKinney
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
- Clinical Child Psychology Program, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
| | - Abigail L. Hogan
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
- Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Gary E. Martin
- St. John’s University, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Queens, New York, United States of America
| | - Chelsea La Valle
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
- Psychology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Kevin Sharp
- Pediatrics, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | | | - Elizabeth S. Norton
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Peter C. Gordon
- Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Molly Losh
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
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