Commentary: Critical considerations for studying low‐functioning autism

Chakrabarti, Bhismadev

doi:10.1111/jcpp.12720

Cited by 18 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…It could be argued that individuals “coping better” are more likely to volunteer to speak about their experience, and so we may not gain an accurate perspective for the full spectrum. Individuals on the autism spectrum with intellectual disability and/or minimal language are generally neglected in research and it is important to consider how their views can be gathered and how they can be brought into participatory research models (Chakrabarti 2017 ).…”

Section: Study Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Qualitative Exploration of the Female Experience of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Milner

McIntosh

Colvert

et al. 2019

J Autism Dev Disord

183

138

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Autism spectrum disorder is thought to be a predominantly male diagnosis, however recent research suggests a smaller gender disparity in prevalence than previously assumed. Accounts of the female experience of autism are important to help reduce likely male-bias in current understanding and recognition of autism. Eighteen autistic females and four mothers of autistic females took part in discussions with a topic guide around diagnosis, impact and coping. A thematic analysis was conducted. Five themes were identified: fitting in the with the norm, potential obstacles for autistic women and girls, negative aspects of autism, the perspective of others, and positive aspects of having autism. We hope that greater understanding of the experiences of autistic females may lead to improved awareness, diagnosis and support for women and girls. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s10803-019-03906-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Study Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Qualitative Exploration of the Female Experience of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Milner

McIntosh

Colvert

et al. 2019

J Autism Dev Disord

183

138

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“…There has been an explosion of research in the field of autism, as evidenced by a 24-fold increase in the number of papers published on the topic over the past three decades (Chakrabarti 2017 ). Despite this proliferation, many experts have noted that those severely affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD) appear to have been understudied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are Children Severely Affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder Underrepresented in Treatment Studies? An Analysis of the Literature

Stedman¹,

Taylor

Erard

et al. 2018

J Autism Dev Disord

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Despite significant advances in autism research, experts have noted that children severely affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD) appear to have been understudied. Rigorous analysis of this observation has been limited, and the representation of severity has not been well-described. We assessed three domains of severity (communication ability, cognitive functioning, and adaptive functioning) in 367 treatment studies of children with ASD published 1991–2013. We found that the proportion of studies that included the severely affected population decreased significantly over time, as well as wide variability in measurement and reporting. Inadequate representation of the full autism spectrum in the literature could lead to an unbalanced picture of ASD and leave behind those with arguably the greatest need.

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“…The current study does not answer this question, since there is no control condition with nonsocial stimuli. However, in a previous study, we have shown that the impact of autistic traits on reward modulation of automatic mimicry was seen for social but not nonsocial stimuli (68). Future studies should explicitly test this possibility using the current paradigm.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Atypical Reward-Driven Modulation of Mimicry-Related Neural Activity in Autism

2019

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by deficits in social functioning and difficulties in forming social bonds. According to the social motivation theory of ASD, people with ASD fail to attend social stimuli because they do not experience them as rewarding, resulting in deficits in social cognition. In neurotypical (NT) individuals, more rewarding faces have been shown to elicit greater spontaneous facial mimicry. This association between reward and mimicry is reduced in people with high autistic traits, suggesting that altered reward processing might explain the deficits in spontaneous facial mimicry observed in individuals with ASD. In a previous study, we observed that learned reward value of a face modulates mimicry-related neural response to it and that this modulation is reduced in people with high autistic traits. Using an identical evaluative conditioning paradigm where neutral faces were conditioned with high and low rewards, we tested the modulating effect of reward value on mimicry-related brain activity in a group of adults with and without ASD. We focused on the activity in a cluster within the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) identified through an independent meta-analysis of 139 neuroimaging studies of mimicry, in response to passively viewing videos of the conditioned faces. The blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response contrast of high- vs. low-reward faces was reduced in participants with ASD compared to NT controls. The extent of reward-driven modulation was negatively correlated with autistic traits across the whole sample. Our results indicate that the mimicry-related brain response is less modulated by learned reward value in individuals with ASD when compared to NT controls. In previous studies, we found in a similar sample that being mimicked by faces was associated with less reward-related brain response in individuals ASD compared to an NT sample, suggesting that the link between reward and mimicry is affected in both directions in ASD. Together, this reduced bidirectional link between reward and mimicry can point to a potential mechanism underlying some of the social cognitive features of ASD.

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Commentary: Critical considerations for studying low‐functioning autism

Cited by 18 publications

References 8 publications

A Qualitative Exploration of the Female Experience of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

A Qualitative Exploration of the Female Experience of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Are Children Severely Affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder Underrepresented in Treatment Studies? An Analysis of the Literature

Atypical Reward-Driven Modulation of Mimicry-Related Neural Activity in Autism

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