ABSTRACT
This pilot study investigated driving history and driving behaviors between adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) as compared to non-ASD adult drivers. Seventy-eight licensed drivers with ASD and 94 non-ASD comparison participants completed the Driver Behavior Questionnaire. Drivers with ASD endorsed significantly lower ratings of their ability to drive, and higher numbers of traffic accidents and citations relative to non-ASD drivers. Drivers with ASD also endorsed significantly greater numbers of difficulties on the following subscales: intentional violations, F(1, 162) = 6.15, p = .01, η p (2) = .04; mistakes, F(1, 162) = 10.15, p = .002, η p (2) = .06; and slips/lapses, F(1, 162) = 11.33, p = .001, η p (2) = .07. These findings suggest that individuals with ASD who are current drivers may experience more difficulties in driving behaviors and engage in more problematic driving behaviors relative to non-ASD drivers.
Subject(s)
Accidents, Traffic/psychology , Automobile Driving/psychology , Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/diagnosis , Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/psychology , Self Report , Accidents, Traffic/trends , Adult , Automobile Driving/standards , Child , Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pilot Projects , Risk Factors , Self Report/standards , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Forty-two patients with a clinical diagnosis of Bardet-Biedl syndrome ages 2-61 years were given a neuropsychological test battery to evaluate cognitive, sensory, and behavioral functioning. These tests included the Wechsler scales of intelligence, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Boston Naming Test, D-KEFS Verbal Fluency Test, D-KEFS Color-Word Interference Test, D-KEFS Sorting Test, Wide Range Achievement Test: Math and Reading Subtests, Purdue Pegboard, The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test, Social Communication Questionnaire, Social Responsiveness Scale, and Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition, Parent Rating Scale. On the age appropriate Wechsler scale, the mean Verbal Comprehension was 81 (n = 36), Working Memory was 81 (n = 36), Perceptual Reasoning was 78 (n = 24) and Full Scale IQ was 75 (n = 26). Memory for a word list (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test) was in the average range with a mean of 89 (n = 19). Fine motor speed was slow on the Purdue with mean scores 3-4 standard deviations below norms. All subjects were microsmic on the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test. Of these 42 patients, only 6 were able to complete all auditory and visual tests; 52% were unable to complete the visual tests due to impaired vision. A wide range of behavioral issues were endorsed on questionnaires given to parents. Most had social skill deficits but no pattern of either externalizing or internalizing problems. We identify a characteristic neuro-behavioral profile in our cohort comprised of reduced IQ, impaired fine-motor function, and decreased olfaction.
Subject(s)
Bardet-Biedl Syndrome/genetics , Cognition Disorders/genetics , Learning Disabilities/genetics , Adolescent , Adult , Bardet-Biedl Syndrome/pathology , Bardet-Biedl Syndrome/psychology , Child , Child, Preschool , Cognition Disorders/physiopathology , Cognition Disorders/psychology , Female , Humans , Intelligence/genetics , Learning Disabilities/physiopathology , Learning Disabilities/psychology , Male , Middle Aged , Neuropsychological Tests , Reading , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Motion contrast contributes to the segregation of a two-dimensional figure from its background, yet many questions remain about its neural mechanisms. We measured steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) responses to moving dot displays in which figure regions emerged from and disappeared into the background at a specific temporal frequency (1.2Hz, F1), based on regional differences of dot direction and global direction coherence. The goal was to measure the cortical response function across a range of motion contrast magnitudes. In two experiments using both a low channel count electrode array (Experiment 1) and a high density array (Experiment 2), we observed two distinct phase-locked evoked responses that were similar across motion contrast type. A response at 1.2Hz (1F1) increased in amplitude with increasing magnitudes of direction or coherence contrast. A response at 2.4Hz (2F1) increased in amplitude, but saturated at low levels of direction or coherence contrast. The two components showed different scalp distributions - the 1F1 was strongest along medial occipital channels, while the 2F1 was bilaterally distributed. Taken together, the studies suggest that figures defined by different types of motion contrast are processed by cortical systems with similar dynamics, and that there are separable neural systems devoted to (i) signaling the absolute magnitude of motion contrast and (ii) detecting when a figure defined by motion contrast appears and disappears from view.
