The dissociating effects of fear and disgust on multisensory integration in autism: evidence from evoked potentials.

Background: Deficits in Multisensory Integration (MSI) in ASD have been reported repeatedly and have been suggested to be caused by altered long-range connectivity. Here we investigate behavioral and ERP correlates of MSI in ASD using ecologically valid videos of emotional expressions.

Methods: In the present study, we set out to investigate the electrophysiological correlates of audiovisual MSI in young autistic and neurotypical adolescents.

Intra-Subject Variability, Intelligence, and ADHD Traits in a Community-Based Sample.

Objective: The present study investigates the predictive validity of intra-subject variability (ISV) for ADHD traits in a community-based sample and the stability of the relationship between ISV and fluid intelligence (gf) across the continuum of ADHD traits.

Method: Age-residualized data from 426 participants (8-18 years, 6% ADHD) was used to investigate whether ex-Gaussian and DDM parameters derived from simple choice-reaction-time tasks can predict continuously assessed ADHD traits. Multiple-Group-Analyses and Latent-Moderated-Structural-Equations were used to test whether ADHD traits moderate the relationship between ISV and gf.

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Although the DSM-5 has emphasised the relevance of sensory abnormalities in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), there are hardly any measures to assess them in German speaking countries. The present study translated the "Sensory Perception Questionnaire" (SPQ) by Tavassoli et al. (2014) to German and validated this scale.

Attention for Emotion-How Young Adults With Neurodevelopmental Disorders Look at Facial Expressions of Affect.

While Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Schizophrenia (SCZ) differ in many clinically relevant features such as symptomatology and course, they may also share genetic underpinnings, affective problems, deviancies in social interactions, and are all characterized by some kind of cognitive impairment. This situation calls for a joint investigation of the specifics of cognitive (dys-)functions of the three disorders. Such endeavor should focus, among other domains, on the inter-section of processing cognitive, affective and social information that is crucial in effective real-life interactions and can be accomplished when attentional preferences for human facial expressions of emotions is studied.

An German Short-Version of the "Sensory Perception Quotient" for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Sensory features in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have received increasing interest in clinical work and research during the recent years. With the Sensory Perception Quotient (SPQ), Tavasolli and colleagues have produced a self-rating scale for adults with ASD that measures sensory hyper-sensitivity in different sensory modalities, without also tapping cognitive or motivational aspects that precede or follow autistic sensory experiences. Here, we present the results of a translation of the SPQ to German and its short version as well as their validation in samples of autistic or neuro-typical participants.

Preliminary Evaluation of the FETASS Training for Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study.

While several recent evaluation studies have shown the efficacy of parent training programs for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, manual-based training in German is still scarce. To address this gap, we developed a specific modularized training program for parents of children from preschool to pre-adolescent age with Autism Spectrum Disorder (FETASS). The overarching purpose of the FETASS intervention is to enhance social communication behavior and quality of life of the child by coaching parents.

Social and non-social gaze cueing in autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and a comorbid group.

Recent trends in literature, along with the changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), make it imperative to study Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) together, in order to better understand potential aetiological commonalities between these highly comorbid disorders. The present study examines social cueing, a highly studied construct in ASD, and intra-subject variability (ISV), a potential endophenotype of ADHD, in four groups of typically developing (TD), ADHD, ASD- (ASD without ADHD), ASD+ (ASD with ADHD) participants (N = 85) aged 10-13 years. Results showed that social cueing is intact in the 'pure' ASD group when task expectations are clear.

ADOS-Eye-Tracking: The Archimedean Point of View and Its Absence in Autism Spectrum Conditions.

Face perception and emotion categorization are widely investigated under laboratory conditions that are devoid of real social interaction. Using mobile eye-tracking glasses in a standardized diagnostic setting while applying the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2), we had the opportunity to record gaze behavior of children and adolescents with and without Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASCs) during social interaction. The objective was to investigate differences in eye-gaze behavior between three groups of children and adolescents either (1) with ASC or (2) with unconfirmed diagnosis of ASC or (3) with neurotypical development (NTD) during social interaction with an adult interviewer in a diagnostic standard situation using the ADOS-2.

Visual search in neurodevelopmental disorders: evidence towards a continuum of impairment.

Disorders with neurodevelopmental aetiology such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Schizophrenia share commonalities at many levels of investigation despite phenotypic differences. Evidence of genetic overlap has led to the concept of a continuum of neurodevelopmental impairment along which these disorders can be positioned in aetiological, pathophysiological and developmental features. This concept requires their simultaneous comparison at different levels, which has not been accomplished so far.

Dissociating Slow Responses From Slow Responding.

Increased Intra-Subject Variability (ISV) is a candidate endophenotype of ADHD. ISV's relationship with response speed is highly relevant for ADHD as patients are highly variable but typically no slower than controls. This brief report addresses the relationship between variability and speed by employing dimensional analyses for differentiated performance measures, with a particular focus on the ex-Gaussian measures, across relevant ADHD studies and in young healthy adults (N = 70).

Late attentional processes potentially compensate for early perceptual multisensory integration deficits in children with autism: evidence from evoked potentials.

Sensory processing deficits and altered long-range connectivity putatively underlie Multisensory Integration (MSI) deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present study set out to investigate non-social MSI stimuli and their electrophysiological correlates in young neurotypical adolescents and adolescents with ASD. We report robust MSI effects at behavioural and electrophysiological levels.

Quantitative genome-wide association study of six phenotypic subdomains identifies novel genome-wide significant variants in autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are highly heritable and are characterized by deficits in social communication and restricted and repetitive behaviors. Twin studies on phenotypic subdomains suggest a differing underlying genetic etiology. Studying genetic variation explaining phenotypic variance will help to identify specific underlying pathomechanisms.

Studying global processing in autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with gaze movements: The example of a copying task.

Recent discussions in the literature, along with the revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) (American Psychiatric Association 2013), suggest aetiological commonalities between the highly comorbid Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Addressing this discussion requires studying these disorders together by comparing constructs typical to each of them. In the present study, we investigate global processing, known to be difficult for participants with ASD, and Intra-Subject Variability (ISV), known to be consistently increased in participants with ADHD, in groups, aged 10-13 years, with ADHD (n = 25), ASD without comorbid ADHD (ASD-) (n = 13) and ASD with ADHD (ASD+) (n = 18) in comparison with a typically developing group (n = 22).

Visual search in ADHD, ASD and ASD + ADHD: overlapping or dissociating disorders?

Recent debates in the literature discuss commonalities between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at multiple levels of putative causal networks. This debate requires systematic comparisons between these disorders that have been studied in isolation in the past, employing potential markers of each disorder to be investigated in tandem. The present study, choose superior local processing, typical to ASD, and increased Intra-Subject Variability (ISV), typical to ADHD, for a head-to-head comparison of the two disorders, while also considering the comorbid cases.

Psychometric analyses of the Tower of London planning task reveal high reliability and feasibility in typically developing children and child patients with ASD and ADHD.

The Tower of London (TOL) is probably the most often used assessment tool for planning ability in healthy and clinical samples. Various versions, including our proposed standard problem set, have proven to be feasible and reliable in adults. In contrast, reliability information for typically developing (TD) children and neurodevelopmental disorders during childhood are largely missing.

The impact of the COMT genotype and cognitive demands on facets of intra-subject variability.

Intra-Subject Variability (ISV), a potential index of catecholaminergic regulation, is elevated in several disorders linked with altered dopamine function. ISV has typically been defined as reaction time standard deviation. However, the ex-Gaussian and spectral measures capture different aspects and may delineate different underlying sources of ISV; thus reflecting different facets of the construct.

Electro-cortical correlates of multisensory integration using ecologically valid emotional stimuli: Differential effects for fear and disgust.

Multisensory integration (MSI) is crucial for human communication and social interaction and has been investigated in healthy populations and neurodevelopmental disorders. However, the use of stimuli with high ecological validity is sparse, especially in event-related potential (ERP) studies. The present study examined the ERP correlates of MSI in healthy adults using short (500 ms) ecologically valid professional actor-produced emotions of fear or disgust as vocal exclamation or facial expression (unimodal conditions) or both (bimodal condition).

Intuitive Moral Reasoning in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Matter of Social Schemas?

Using a schema-theoretical perspective in the field of moral cognition, we assessed response behavior of adolescent (n = 15) and adult (n = 22) individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in comparison with adolescent (n = 22) and adult (n = 22) neurotypically developed controls. We conceptualized the Intuitive Moral Reasoning Test-in five moral dilemmas, participants had to choose between two alternative actions and assess their decision with respect to emotional valence, arousal, moral acceptability and permissibility from both the perspective of the acting person and then of the victim. Patients with ASD displayed a different decision and response behavior, particularly when the dilemmas were based on extreme life situations in combination with a social schema involving close social relationships.

Inferior Frontal Gyrus Volume Loss Distinguishes Between Autism and (Comorbid) Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-A FreeSurfer Analysis in Children.

Autism spectrum (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are neurodevelopmental disorders with a high rate of comorbidity. To date, diagnosis is based on clinical presentation and distinct reliable biomarkers have been identified neither for ASD nor ADHD. Most previous neuroimaging studies investigated ASD and ADHD separately.

Media Use, Sleep Quality, and ADHD Symptoms in a Community Sample and a Sample of ADHD Patients Aged 8 to 18 Years.

Relationships between sleep, screen-based media, and ADHD symptomatology were investigated using a case- and community-based approach. : = 357 healthy and = 61 children with ADHD (12.72 ± 2.

Examining the Overlap Between ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Using Candidate Endophenotypes of ADHD.

Unlabelled: Recent discussions of aetiological overlap between ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) require comparative studying of these disorders.

Method: We examined performance of ASD patients with (ASD+) and without (ASD-) comorbid ADHD, ADHD patients, and controls for selected putative endophenotypes of ADHD: Intrasubject Variability (ISV) of reaction times, working memory (WM), inhibition, and temporal processing.

Results: We found that patients with ADHD or ASD+, but not ASD-, had elevated ISV across the entire task battery and temporal processing deficits, and that none of the groups were impaired in WM or inhibition.

Interindividual and Intraindividual Variation of Methylphenidate Concentrations in Serum and Saliva of Patients With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Background: Therapeutic drug monitoring is becoming increasingly important in psychiatric therapy, especially in children. However, for several reasons, it cannot yet be implemented as a daily routine in clinical or outpatient settings. To evaluate new, noninvasive procedures, blood and saliva (oral fluid) samples were collected from patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who were also being administered methylphenidate (MPH).

Common functional variants of the glutamatergic system in Autism spectrum disorder with high and low intellectual abilities.

The genetic architecture underlying Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been suggested to differ between individuals with lower (IQ ≤ 70; LIQ) and higher intellectual abilities (IQ > 70; HIQ). Among the identified pathomechanisms, the glutamatergic signalling pathway is of specific interest in ASD. We investigated 187 common functional variants of this neurotransmitter system for association with ASD and with symptom severity in two independent samples, a German (German-ALL: N = 583 families) and the Autism Genome Project cohort (AGP-ALL: N = 2001 families), split into HIQ, and LIQ subgroups.