Relationship of the Acoustic Startle Response and Its Modulation to Adaptive and Maladaptive Behaviors in Typically Developing Children and Those With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Pilot Study.

: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with persistent impairments in adaptive functioning across multiple domains of daily life. Thus, investigation of the biological background of both adaptive and maladaptive behaviors may shed light on developing effective interventions for improving social adaptation in ASD. In this study, we examined the relationship between adaptive/maladaptive behaviors and the acoustic startle response (ASR) and its modulation, which are promising neurophysiological markers for ASD translational research.

Negatively Skewed Locomotor Activity Is Related to Autistic Traits and Behavioral Problems in Typically Developing Children and Those With Autism Spectrum Disorders.

An important objective for researchers and clinicians is to gain a better understanding of the factors that underlie autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). It is possible that investigating objective and quantitative behavioral phenotypes and their relationship to clinical characteristics, such as autistic traits and other emotional/behavioral problems, might facilitate this process. Given this, in the current study we examined the link between locomotor dynamics and clinical characteristics, including autistic traits and emotional/behavioral problems, in children with ASD ( = 14) and typically developing (TD) children ( = 13).

Acoustic Hyper-Reactivity and Negatively Skewed Locomotor Activity in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: An Exploratory Study.

Investigation of objective and quantitative behavioral phenotypes along with neurobiological endophenotypes might lead to increased knowledge of the mechanisms that underlie autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Here, we investigated the association between locomotor dynamics and characteristics of the acoustic startle response (ASR) and its modulation in ASD ( = 14) and typically developing (TD, = 13) children. The ASR was recorded in response to acoustic stimuli in increments of 10 dB (65-105 dB SPL).