Executive function "drives" differences in simulated driving performance between young adults with and without autism spectrum disorder.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may experience greater difficulty learning to drive than peers who do not have ASD, but reasons for those differences are unclear. This study examined how diagnostic symptoms of ASD and commonly co-morbid executive dysfunction relate to differences in simulated driving performance between young, inexperienced drivers with and without ASD. Participants included 98 young adults, ages 16-26 years, half of which were diagnosed with ASD.

Driving Comparisons Between Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Development.

Objective: Many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are reluctant to pursue driving because of concerns about their ability to drive safely. This study aimed to assess differences in simulated driving performance in young adults with ASD and typical development, examining relationships between driving performance and the level of experience (none, driver's permit, licensed) across increasingly difficult driving environments.

Method: Participants included 50 English-speaking young adults (16-26 years old) with ASD matched for sex, age, and licensure with 50 typically-developing (TD) peers.

Clinical utility of the Colorado Learning Difficulties Questionnaire.

Background And Objective: Behavioral disorders are highly comorbid with childhood learning disabilities (LDs), and accurate identification of LDs is vital for guiding appropriate interventions. However, it is difficult to conduct comprehensive assessment of academic skills within the context of primary care visits, lending utility to screening of academic skills via informant reports. The current study evaluated the clinical utility of a parent-reported screening measure in identifying children with learning difficulties.

Introduction to special issue: moving forward in pediatric neuropsychology.

This special issue of The Clinical Neuropsychologist focuses on advances in the emerging subspecialty of pediatric neuropsychology. The national and international contributions in this issue cover a range of key clinical, research, training, and professional issues specific to pediatric neuropsychology. The genesis for this project developed out of a series of talks at the Philadelphia Pediatric Neuropsychology Symposium in 2010, hosted by the Stein Family Fellow, the Department of Psychology of the College of Arts and Sciences at Drexel University, and the Philadelphia Neuropsychology Society.

Abnormal prefrontal cortical response during affective processing in borderline personality disorder.

Emotion dysregulation is a hallmark feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and is associated with a dysfunction of prefrontal (PFC)-limbic systems. The purpose of the present study was to examine PFC function in BPD during the experience and suppression of sadness. Subjects were females with BPD (N=9) and age-, gender-, and IQ-matched non-psychiatric comparison subjects (N=8).

Medial prefrontal cortex hyperactivation during social exclusion in borderline personality disorder.

Frontal systems dysfunction and abandonment fears represent central features of borderline personality disorder (BPD). BPD subjects (n=10) and matched non-psychiatric comparison subjects (n=10) completed a social-cognitive task with two confederates instructed to either include or exclude subjects from a circumscribed interaction. Evoked cerebral blood oxygenation in frontal cortex was measured using 16-channel functional near infrared spectroscopy.

Distinguishing between neuropsychological malingering and exaggerated psychiatric symptoms in a neuropsychological setting.

It is unclear whether symptom validity test (SVT) failure in neuropsychological and psychiatric domains overlaps. Records of 105 patients referred for neuropsychological evaluation, who completed the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM), Reliable Digit Span (RDS), and Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III), were examined. TOMM and RDS scores were uncorrelated with MCMI-III symptom validity indices and factor analysis revealed two distinct factors for neuropsychological and psychiatric SVTs.

Clock drawing errors in dementia: neuropsychological and neuroanatomical considerations.

Objectives: A clock drawing test scoring system is presented to explore the neuropsychological/neuroanatomic components underlying clock drawing in patients initially diagnosed with Alzheimer disease, ischemic vascular dementia associated with white matter alterations, and Parkinson disease.

Methods: Fourteen clock drawing test errors were scored to create 4 clock drawing test subscales that assess different underlying cognitive operations.

Results: In the command condition, errors on the Time subscale were correlated with impairment on executive control measures.

Educational neuroimaging: a proposed neuropsychological application of near-infrared spectroscopy (nIRS).

Objective: To provide a description of an emerging neuroimaging methodology, near-infrared spectroscopy (nIRS), and a potential educational application of the unique aspects of this technology.

Summary: nIRS is documented for its potential as a personal, portable, brain imaging system that may prove useful for cerebral monitoring in applied settings such as home, school, and work. The basis of nIRS brain imaging is reviewed, with summary descriptions of optical and neurovascular issues as well as a brief comparison to other brain imaging methodologies.

Neuropsychological technologies in rehabilitation.

Objective: To provide an introduction and a conceptual context for the articles presented in this special edition of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation on neuropsychological technologies.

Summary: Many clinical assessments in neuropsychology are metamorphosing from a psychometric search for a lesion to a functional image of the working brain. Behavioral probes increasingly employ technology to provide more ecologically valid stimuli to elicit diagnostically relevant responses.

Retrospective assessment of rehabilitation outcome after traumatic brain injury: development and utility of the functional independence level.

Objective: To develop a measure suitable for retrospective analysis of qualitative brain injury outcome data, the Functional Independence Level (FIL), and document its reliability, validity, and utility.

Design: Retrospective analysis of existing records, with inclusion based on availability of records, and quantitative or qualitative documentation of functional status at a minimum of 1.5 years after injury.

Motor vehicle collision factors influence severity and type of TBI.

Primary Objective: To analyse the relationship between motor vehicle collision factors and TBI.

Research Design: Retrospective design analysed the difference between the types of brain injuries sustained in distinct collision configurations.

Methods And Procedures: Medical charts and police accident reports were reviewed for individuals sustaining TBI in 168 motor vehicle collisions between 1985-1998.