ABSTRACT
Both autism spectrum (ASD) and anxiety disorders are associated with atypical neural and attentional responses to emotional faces, differing in affective face processing from typically developing peers. Within a longitudinal study of children with ASD (23 male, 3 female), we hypothesized that early ERPs to emotional faces would predict concurrent and later ASD and anxiety symptoms. Greater response amplitude to fearful faces corresponded to greater social communication difficulties at age 3, and less improvement by age 14. Faster ERPs to neutral faces predicted greater ASD symptom improvement over time, lower ASD severity in adolescence, and lower anxiety in adolescence. Early individual differences in processing of emotional stimuli likely reflect a unique predictive contribution from social brain circuitry early in life.
Subject(s)
Anxiety/psychology , Autistic Disorder/psychology , Brain/physiology , Emotions/physiology , Evoked Potentials/physiology , Facial Expression , Adolescent , Adolescent Behavior/physiology , Adolescent Behavior/psychology , Anxiety/diagnosis , Attention/physiology , Autistic Disorder/diagnosis , Brain/growth & development , Brain Mapping/methods , Child , Fear/physiology , Fear/psychology , Female , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Photic Stimulation/methodsABSTRACT
High rates of anxiety and depression are reported among youth with autism spectrum disorders. These conditions are generally assessed using measures validated for typically developing youth. Few studies have investigated their validity for autism spectrum disorders, which is crucial for accurate assessment and the provision of proper treatment. The Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale was evaluated with 67 youth with autism spectrum disorders to examine its utility in measuring anxiety and depression in this population. Parents and children (aged 11-15 years) referred to a multisite intervention study completed the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale, Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children, Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule, Child Behavior Checklist, and Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale. Results suggest acceptable internal consistency of the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale. Modest convergent validity was found among the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale and other standardized measures of anxiety and depression. There were stronger correlations between Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale Total scores and subscales of measures expected to correlate significantly than those not expected to correlate. One exception was a significant association between the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale and Child Behavior Checklist Attention subscale, calling into question the divergent validity in separating anxiety from attention problems. Overall, results suggest preliminary support for the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale in youth with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders.
Subject(s)
Anxiety Disorders/diagnosis , Anxiety/diagnosis , Asperger Syndrome/psychology , Autistic Disorder/psychology , Depression/diagnosis , Adolescent , Anxiety/psychology , Anxiety Disorders/psychology , Child , Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/psychology , Depression/psychology , Humans , Psychometrics , Reproducibility of Results , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit impairment in numerous areas of functioning, most notably in the areas related to social interactions, communication, and behavior at school and at home. Understanding the severity of the impairment in each of the domains associated with areas of functioning is imperative when evaluating the efficacy of an intervention, whether it be medical, therapeutic, or both. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to examine the convergent and discriminant validity of the Columbia Impairment Scale (CIS) for youth with ASD, and their parents. METHODS: A sample of 77 adolescents with ASD and their parents completed the CIS and various other measures that examined mood, anxiety, and behavior. RESULTS: Although there was some evidence of convergent validity for the parent-report CIS, there was inadequate discriminant validity. The child-report version of the CIS yielded generally poor validity indices. CONCLUSIONS: There appear to be important limitations when using this measure for youth with ASD.
Subject(s)
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/psychology , Adolescent , Anxiety/diagnosis , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Parents , Psychiatric Status Rating ScalesABSTRACT
It has been suggested that atypical amygdala function contributes to the social impairments characteristic of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Previous research has demonstrated that adolescents and adults with ASD generate normal response during a fear-potentiated startle paradigm, suggesting this aspect of amygdala function is intact and may not account for the social dysfunction associated with the condition. The amygdala also plays a crucial role in the expression of anxiety and may contribute to high rates of reported anxiety in individuals with ASD. The present study partially replicates prior work by examining the fear-potentiated startle response in adolescents with ASD, and extends this to investigate the relationship between startle response and anxiety. Eyeblink magnitude and latency (electromyographic activity; EMG) were collected from 20 adolescents with ASD and 19 typically developing (TD) age-matched adolescents during a fear-potentiated startle paradigm. Parent-report and self-report of anxiety and additional psychiatric symptoms were collected. Parental reports indicated higher rates of associated psychopathology in adolescents with ASD compared with TD adolescents. Consistent with previous results, both groups showed normal potentiated startle response, and no group differences in EMG were found. Symptoms of anxiety and level of social impairment were unrelated to startle response. These findings held for all levels of anxiety, suggesting that within the context of the fear-potentiated startle paradigm, amygdala response is not associated with degree of atypical social or emotional functioning in ASD.
Subject(s)
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/diagnosis , Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/psychology , Emotional Intelligence , Fear , Reflex, Startle , Social Adjustment , Adolescent , Amygdala/physiopathology , Anxiety/diagnosis , Anxiety/physiopathology , Anxiety/psychology , Blinking/physiology , Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/physiopathology , Electromyography , Fear/physiology , Female , Humans , Male , Reference Values , Reflex, Startle/physiologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Anxiety may interfere with school-age children's independent behaviour and hence, their daily living skills (DLS). Nonetheless, this has not been tested in previous studies of children with clinical anxiety. METHOD: This study compared two groups of age-, gender-, and ethnicity-matched children with and without anxiety disorders (N = 60), testing the association of anxiety disorders with a lack of independence in DLS. RESULTS: Anxiety disorders are significantly associated with less mastery of DLS. Age moderated this effect for children with anxiety disorders; older children were more negatively impacted by anxiety disorders than younger children. CONCLUSIONS: Anxiety disorders may negatively impact children's independence in DLS. As children transition from mid- to late childhood - a period normally marked by increasing independence - this effect may grow in magnitude.
Subject(s)
Activities of Daily Living/psychology , Anxiety Disorders/psychology , Child , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Abnormalities in the interactions between functionally linked brain regions have been suggested to be associated with the clinical impairments observed in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We investigated functional connectivity within the limbic system during face identification; a primary component of social cognition, in 19 high-functioning adults with ASD and 21 age-and IQ-matched control adults. Activation during identification of previously viewed faces and houses using a one-back paradigm was compared. The fusiform face area (FFA) was individually localized in each participant and used as the seed point for functional connectivity analyses. The degree of correlation between FFA and the extended neural circuitry involved in face identification was tested. A whole brain analysis was also conducted in order to determine whether connectivity from the FFA to aberrant brain locations was present in the ASD group. Measures of clinical severity (ADOS social score and ADI-R social score) were included as independent variables into the functional connectivity analyses. Significant FFA-amygdala and FFA-superior temporal sulcus functional connectivity was found in both the ASD and control participants. However, the control group had significantly increased connectivity to the left amygdala and the posterior cingulate compared to ASD. Post hoc analyses additionally found increased connectivity to the thalamus in the controls. A significant relationship between abnormal functional connectivity and clinical severity in the ASD group was observed. Specifically, greater social impairment was associated with reduced FFA-amygdala connectivity and increased FFA-right inferior frontal connectivity. These results suggest that abnormal neural connections within the limbic system may contribute to the social impairments observed in ASD.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/psychology , Face , Neural Pathways/physiopathology , Pattern Recognition, Visual , Adolescent , Adult , Amygdala/physiopathology , Autistic Disorder/physiopathology , Brain Mapping/methods , Eye Movements , Facial Expression , Frontal Lobe/physiopathology , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Photic Stimulation/methods , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Recognition, Psychology , Severity of Illness Index , Social PerceptionABSTRACT
It has been shown that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) demonstrate normal activation in the fusiform gyrus when viewing familiar, but not unfamiliar faces. The current study utilized eye tracking to investigate patterns of attention underlying familiar versus unfamiliar face processing in ASD. Eye movements of 18 typically developing participants and 17 individuals with ASD were recorded while passively viewing three face categories: unfamiliar non-repeating faces, a repeating highly familiar face, and a repeating previously unfamiliar face. Results suggest that individuals with ASD do not exhibit more normative gaze patterns when viewing familiar faces. A second task assessed facial recognition accuracy and response time for familiar and novel faces. The groups did not differ on accuracy or reaction times.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder , Face , Facial Expression , Recognition, Psychology , Visual Perception , Adolescent , Adult , Attention , Female , Humans , Male , Reaction TimeABSTRACT
Autism is currently viewed as a spectrum condition that includes strikingly different severity levels; IQ is consistently described as one of the primary aspects of the heterogeneity in autism. To investigate the possibility of more than one distinct subtype of autism based on IQ both latent class analysis and taxometrics methods were used to classify Mullen IQs in a sample of 456 children with autism spectrum disorder. We found evidence for multiple IQbased subgroups using both methods. Groups differed in level of intellectual functioning and patterns of verbal versus nonverbal ability. Results support the notion of distinct subtypes of autism that differ in severity of intellectual ability, patterns of cognitive strengths and weaknesses, and severity of autism symptoms.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/complications , Cognition Disorders/complications , Cognition Disorders/diagnosis , Intelligence , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Neuropsychological Tests , Nonverbal Communication , Severity of Illness Index , Verbal BehaviorABSTRACT
Evidence suggests that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often exhibit associated psychiatric symptoms, particularly related to depression. The current study investigated whether individual characteristics, specifically, severity of ASD symptoms, level of cognitive ability, and/or presence of other psychiatric disorders, are associated with occurrence of depressive symptoms in adults with ASD. Forty-six adults with ASD were administered a standardized psychiatric history interview. Twenty participants (43%) endorsed depressive symptoms. It was found that individuals with less social impairment, higher cognitive ability, and higher rates of other psychiatric symptoms, were more likely to report depressive symptoms. These characteristics may be vulnerability factors for the development of depression, and should be considered when screening and treating adults with ASD.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/diagnosis , Depressive Disorder/diagnosis , Adolescent , Adult , Anxiety Disorders/diagnosis , Anxiety Disorders/epidemiology , Anxiety Disorders/psychology , Autistic Disorder/epidemiology , Autistic Disorder/psychology , Cognition Disorders/diagnosis , Cognition Disorders/epidemiology , Cognition Disorders/psychology , Comorbidity , Depressive Disorder/epidemiology , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Female , Humans , Interview, Psychological , Male , Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder/diagnosis , Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder/epidemiology , Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder/psychology , Psychometrics/statistics & numerical data , Reproducibility of Results , Social Adjustment , Wechsler Scales/statistics & numerical dataABSTRACT
The relation between level of intellectual functioning and risk for associated symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was investigated. Cognitive ability and associated symptoms were assessed directly and/or via parent report in 74 children with ASD at 6 and 9 years of age. Participants were classified as lower and higher functioning using Nonverbal and Verbal IQ and Communication scores on the Vineland at age 6. Children with higher functioning at age 6 displayed increased internalizing symptoms by age 9, whereas children with lower functioning displayed higher hyperactivity, attention problems, and irritability by age 9. Results suggest that level of intellectual functioning may be a risk factor for different patterns of associated symptoms by later childhood.
