Behavioral characteristics of high- and low-IQ autistic children

Bj, Freeman; Er, Ritvo; Pc, Schroth; Tonick, Illene J.; Guthrie, Donald; Wake, Lisa

doi:10.1176/ajp.138.1.25

Cited by 68 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Perhaps the essential element of CI is the limited range of focus, interest, or activity , and is not confounded by the verbal capabilities of the individual. This may allow us to identify CI in a broad range of cases; this is consistent with previous research that has shown that circumscribed interests can be found in higher- and lower-functioning individuals with autism (Bartak & Rutter, 1976; Freeman et al, 1981). …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Evidence for three subtypes of repetitive behavior in autism that differ in familiality and association with other symptoms

Lam

Bodfish

Piven

2008

Child Psychology Psychiatry

280

233

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Background Restricted repetitive behaviors (RRBs) are a core feature of autism and consist of a variety of behaviors, ranging from motor stereotypies to complex circumscribed interests. The objective of the current study was to examine the structure of RRBs in autism using relevant items from the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised in a sample of 316 individuals with autistic disorder. Methods/Results Using exploratory factor analysis, three distinct factors were identified: Repetitive Motor Behaviors (RMB), Insistence on Sameness (IS), and Circumscribed Interests (CI). RMB were found to be associated with a variety of subject characteristics such as IQ, age, social/communication impairments, and the presence of regression. IS was associated with social and communication impairments whereas CI appeared to be independent of subject characteristics, suggesting CI may be particularly useful in subsetting samples. Based on sib-pair correlations, IS and CI (but not RMB) appear to be familial. Analysis of the data at the case level suggests that the presence of multiple forms of RRB in an individual is associated with more impairment in the social and communication domains, suggesting a more severe presentation of autistic disorder. Conclusions There appears to be considerable structure within repetitive behavior in autism. The finding that these behaviors are differentially related to subject characteristics and familiality adds to their validity.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Evidence for three subtypes of repetitive behavior in autism that differ in familiality and association with other symptoms

Lam

Bodfish

Piven

2008

Child Psychology Psychiatry

280

233

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This finding, when added to similar observations of older subjects and matched controls [23–27], does not suggest, however, a qualitatively different set of behaviors. Bodfish et al [8] assessed the occurrence of specific topographies of repetitive behaviors as well as their severity in individuals with intellectual disability with and without autism.…”

Section: Phenomenology Of Repetitive Behaviorsupporting

confidence: 46%

The pathophysiology of restricted repetitive behavior

Lewis

Kim

2009

J Neurodevelop Disord

204

161

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Restricted, repetitive behaviors (RRBs) are heterogeneous ranging from stereotypic body movements to rituals to restricted interests. RRBs are most strongly associated with autism but occur in a number of other clinical disorders as well as in typical development. There does not seem to be a category of RRB that is unique or specific to autism and RRB does not seem to be robustly correlated with specific cognitive, sensory or motor abnormalities in autism. Despite its clinical significance, little is known about the pathophysiology of RRB. Both clinical and animal models studies link repetitive behaviors to genetic mutations and a number of specific genetic syndromes have RRBs as part of the clinical phenotype. Genetic risk factors may interact with experiential factors resulting in the extremes in repetitive behavior phenotypic expression that characterize autism. Few studies of individuals with autism have correlated MRI findings and RRBs and no attempt has been made to associate RRB and post-mortem tissue findings. Available clinical and animal models data indicate functional and structural alterations in cortical-basal ganglia circuitry in the expression of RRB, however. Our own studies point to reduced activity of the indirect basal ganglia pathway being associated with high levels of repetitive behavior in an animal model. These findings, if generalizable, suggest specific therapeutic targets. These, and perhaps other, perturbations to cortical basal ganglia circuitry are mediated by specific molecular mechanisms (e.g., altered gene expression) that result in long-term, experience-dependent neuroadaptations that initiate and maintain repetitive behavior. A great deal more research is needed to uncover such mechanisms. Work in areas such as substance abuse, OCD, Tourette syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, and dementias promise to provide findings critical for identifying neurobiological mechanisms relevant to RRB in autism. Moreover, basic research in areas such as birdsong, habit formation, and procedural learning may provide additional, much needed clues. Understanding the pathophysioloy of repetitive behavior will be critical to identifying novel therapeutic targets and strategies for individuals with autism.

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“…CIs have been described from the earliest characterizations of autism [2] exist across all levels of symptom severity and intellectual functioning [3] [4] [5] and are ubiquitous in the disorder– an estimated 88% of individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience CIs [6]. While this evidence suggests that CIs constitute an especially pervasive and prevalent clinical characteristic of the autism phenotype, there remains a paucity of empirical research in this area relative to other features of the disorder [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Affective Responses by Adults with Autism Are Reduced to Social Images but Elevated to Images Related to Circumscribed Interests

2012

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Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) demonstrate increased visual attention and elevated brain reward circuitry responses to images related to circumscribed interests (CI), suggesting that a heightened affective response to CI may underlie their disproportionate salience and reward value in ASD. To determine if individuals with ASD differ from typically developing (TD) adults in their subjective emotional experience of CI object images, non-CI object images and social images, 213 TD adults and 56 adults with ASD provided arousal ratings (sensation of being energized varying along a dimension from calm to excited) and valence ratings (emotionality varying along dimension of approach to withdrawal) for a series of 114 images derived from previous research on CI. The groups did not differ on arousal ratings for any image type, but ASD adults provided higher valence ratings than TD adults for CI-related images, and lower valence ratings for social images. Even after co-varying the effects of sex, the ASD group, but not the TD group, gave higher valence ratings to CI images than social images. These findings provide additional evidence that ASD is characterized by a preference for certain categories of non-social objects and a reduced preference for social stimuli, and support the dissemination of this image set for examining aspects of the circumscribed interest phenotype in ASD.

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Behavioral characteristics of high- and low-IQ autistic children

Cited by 68 publications

References 6 publications

Evidence for three subtypes of repetitive behavior in autism that differ in familiality and association with other symptoms

Evidence for three subtypes of repetitive behavior in autism that differ in familiality and association with other symptoms

The pathophysiology of restricted repetitive behavior

Affective Responses by Adults with Autism Are Reduced to Social Images but Elevated to Images Related to Circumscribed Interests

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