Atypical Emotional Electrodermal Activity in Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Past studies in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) indicate atypical peripheral physiological arousal. However, the conditions under which these atypicalities arise and their link with behavioral emotional expressions and core ASD symptoms remain uncertain. Given the importance of physiological arousal in affective, learning, and cognitive processes, the current study examined changes in skin conductance level (ΔSCL) in 41 toddlers with ASD (mean age: 22.7 months, SD: 2.9) and 32 age‐matched toddlers with typical development (TD) (mean age: 21.6 months, SD: 3.6) in response to probes designed to induce anger, joy, and fear emotions. The magnitude of ΔSCL was comparable during anger (P = 0.206, d = 0.30) and joy (P = 0.996, d = 0.01) conditions, but significantly lower during the fear condition (P = 0.001, d = 0.83) in toddlers with ASD compared to TD peers. In the combined samples, ΔSCL positively correlated with intensity of behavioral emotional expressivity during the anger (r[71] = 0.36, P = 0.002) and fear (r[68] = 0.32, P = 0.007) conditions, but not in the joy (r[69] = −0.15, P = 0.226) condition. Finally, ΔSCL did not associate with autism symptom severity in any emotion‐eliciting condition in the ASD group. Toddlers with ASD displayed attenuated ΔSCL to situations aimed at eliciting fear, which may forecast the emergence of highly prevalent internalizing and externalizing problems in this population. The study putatively identifies ΔSCL as a dimension not associated with severity of autism but with behavioral responses in negatively emotionally challenging events and provides support for the feasibility, validity, and incipient utility of examining ΔSCL in response to emotional challenges in very young children. Lay Summary Physiological arousal was measured in toddlers with autism exposed to frustrating, pleasant, and threatening tasks. Compared to typically developing peers, toddlers with autism showed comparable arousal responses to frustrating and pleasant events, but lower responses to threatening events. Importantly, physiological arousal and behavioral expressions were aligned during frustrating and threatening events, inviting exploration of physiological arousal to measure responses to emotional challenges. Furthermore, this study advances the understanding of precursors to emotional and behavioral problems common in older children with autism. Autism Res 2020, 13: 1476–1488. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Puppets facilitate attention to social cues in children with ASD

“…Puppets' physical appearance, voice, and playfulness can also serve as powerful sources of positive emotions. As shown in recent studies, despite otherwise atypical emotional reactivity profiles (Macari et al, 2018; Vernetti et al, 2020), toddlers with ASD displayed largely normative joyful emotional responses to puppets engaging in playful interactions on both behavioral and physiological levels (Macari et al, 2018; Vernetti et al, 2020). There is extensive evidence that positive emotions increase levels of dopamine in the brain, a neurotransmitter which plays a key role in motivation, reinforcement, and executive function, and facilitates learning, flexibility, and problem‐solving (Ashby & Isen, 1999; Shiota et al, 2017).…”

The Relationship between Autism and Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes/Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders

“…There is a large body of literature describing autonomic dysregulation in autism. The profile in autism is typified by high basal sympathetic (fight or flight) tone, lower parasympathetic (rest and digest) activation, and low sympathetic reactivity to certain stimuli including tests of orthostatic tolerance [ 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 ]. However, a small percentage of more severely affected cases tend to have sympathetic under activation except when engaging in self-injurious behaviors, which suggests these behaviors are a form of autonomic self-regulation.…”

Attend Less, Fear More: Elevated Distress to Social Threat in Toddlers With Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…In one study, Macari and colleagues [Macari et al, 2018] employed the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery – Locomotor Version (Lab‐TAB) [Gagne, Van Hulle, Aksan, Essex, & Goldsmith, 2011; Goldsmith & Rothbart, 1999] and showed attenuated intensity of fear in response to nonsocial threat (approach by novel objects) compared to developmentally delayed (DD) and typical developing (TD) controls. Lower intensity of distress to nonsocial threat in toddlers with ASD was accompanied by significantly lower changes in physiological arousal measured by skin conductance levels compared to TD controls [Vernetti et al, 2020]. In contrast, Scherr and colleagues [Scherr, Hogan, Hatton, & Roberts, 2017] reported that in response to social threat (approach by a stranger), preschool children with ASD exhibited more intense facial expressions of fear compared to TD and Fragile X comparison groups.…”