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To date, studies have not established whether autistic and non-autistic individuals differ in emotion recognition from facial motion cues when matched in terms of alexithymia. Here, autistic and non-autistic adults (N = 60) matched on age, gender, non-verbal reasoning ability and alexithymia, completed an emotion recognition task, which employed dynamic point light displays of emotional facial expressions manipulated in terms of speed and spatial exaggeration. Autistic participants exhibited significantly lower accuracy for angry, but not happy or sad, facial motion with unmanipulated speed and spatial exaggeration. Autistic, and not alexithymic, traits were predictive of accuracy for angry facial motion with unmanipulated speed and spatial exaggeration. Alexithymic traits, in contrast, were predictive of the magnitude of "both" correct and incorrect emotion ratings.

Scant literature exists assessing the effectiveness of video modeling (VM) alone in the sports literature. Further evaluations of VM to improve sports skills is warranted because VM is an accessible and efficient procedure that has successfully improved skills in other fields of practice (e.g., staff training, medical procedures). Additionally, behavior analysts have not evaluated interventions for improving goalkeeping skills for individual soccer players. Therefore, we replicated the 1 behavior-analytic sports study on VM (Quinn et al., 2020), using a multiple baseline design across behaviors to evaluate the effects of VM and VM + video feedback (VF) to train 3 goalkeeper skills to two 9-year-old soccer players. The results showed that, although VM had some effect on performance compared to baseline, VM + VF resulted in the robust outcomes necessary for proficient performance of the goalkeeper skills. We discuss the results and limitations.

Walking is a common and preferred form of exercise. Although there are current recommendations for walking volume (e.g., steps per day), recent research has begun to distinguish volume from intensity (e.g., "brisk" walking) as an important dimension of exercise. Increasing intensity may confer health advantages beyond volume measures because it shifts cardiovascular performance to more vigorous training zones. Reinforcement‐based approaches have been valuable in increasing volume measures of exercise, and the present study sought to develop a corresponding reinforcement approach to training walking intensity. For this study, we used a continuous reinforcement paradigm where music played only while walking met specified criteria; otherwise, music playback stopped. As a result, music was synchronized with walking performance. Seventeen participants walked on a nonmotorized treadmill at a self‐selected pace. Across the session, different conditions arranged for music to play independent of walking speed or contingent on speed increases or decreases. An extinction component assessed performance when music was withdrawn completely. Walking speed was selectively increased and decreased by adjusting the contingencies that were arranged for music, and variability in speed increased during extinction, with both findings indicating that music was a reinforcer. Heart rate was also increased to moderate–vigorous intensities during reinforcement. The findings provide a compelling case that walking intensity can be modified by music reinforcement. We suggest that synchronous schedules may be an important foundation for future exercise technologies that are based on reinforcement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined a conjugate approach for evaluating auditory stimulus preference for 81 participants using force as a continuous response dimension. First, the researchers used a verbal preference assessment to evaluate each participant's preference for listening to five genres of music. This process identified high‐preference and low‐preference music for each participant. Thereafter, the researchers exposed each participant to the five music genres in a randomized order while using a hand dynamometer to measure their response force to increase the auditory clarity of the music. The results indicate (a) 63% of the participants' high‐preference music genres corresponded to the genre for which they exerted the highest mean force and (b) most participants' low‐preference music genres corresponded to the genre for which they exerted the lowest mean force. These findings are consistent with those from Davis et al. (2021) and further support using conjugate preparations for measuring the relative value of some stimulus events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Difficulties in reasoning about others' mental states (i.e., mentalising/Theory of Mind) are highly prevalent among disorders featuring dopamine dysfunctions (e.g., Parkinson's disease) and significantly affect individuals' quality of life. However, due to multiple confounding factors inherent to existing patient studies, currently little is known about whether these sociocognitive symptoms originate from aberrant dopamine signalling or from psychosocial changes unrelated to dopamine. The present study, therefore, investigated the role of dopamine in modulating mentalising in a sample of healthy volunteers. We used a double-blind, placebo-controlled procedure to test the effect of the D2/D3 antagonist haloperidol on mental state attribution, using an adaptation of the Heider and Simmel (1944) animations task. On 2 separate days, once after receiving 2.5 mg haloperidol and once after receiving placebo, 33 healthy adult participants viewed and labelled short videos of 2 triangles depicting mental state (involving mentalistic interaction wherein 1 triangle intends to cause or act upon a particular mental state in the other, e.g., surprising) and non-mental state (involving reciprocal interaction without the intention to cause/act upon the other triangle's mental state, e.g., following) interactions. Using Bayesian mixed effects models, we observed that haloperidol decreased accuracy in labelling both mental and non-mental state animations. Our secondary analyses suggest that dopamine modulates inference from mental and non-mental state animations via independent mechanisms, pointing towards 2 putative pathways underlying the dopaminergic modulation of mental state attribution: action representation and a shared mechanism supporting mentalising and emotion recognition. We conclude that dopaminergic pathways impact Theory of Mind, at least indirectly. Our results have implications for the neurochemical basis of sociocognitive difficulties in patients with dopamine dysfunctions and generate new hypotheses about the specific dopamine-mediated mechanisms underlying social cognition. Difficulties in reasoning about others' mental states ("Theory of Mind") are highly prevalent among disorders featuring dopamine dysfunctions, but it is not clear if these difficulties are a direct consequence of aberrant dopamine signaling. This psychopharmacology study provides insights into the role of dopamine in Theory of Mind, showing that the D2-receptor antagonist haloperidiol reduces the accuracy with which healthy adults attribute mental states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appropriate modulation of imitation according to social context is important for successful social interaction. In the present study we subliminally primed high-functioning adults with ASC and age- and IQ-matched controls with either a pro- or non- social attitude. Following priming, an automatic imitation paradigm was used to acquire an index of imitation. Whereas imitation levels were higher for pro-socially primed relative to non-socially primed control participants, there was no difference between pro- and non- socially primed individuals with ASC. We conclude that high-functioning adults with ASC demonstrate atypical social modulation of imitation. Given the importance of imitation in social interaction we speculate that difficulties with the modulation of imitation may contribute to the social problems characteristic of ASC. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

Based on the guiding principles of the symbolic interactions theory, the authors used symbolic interaction theory to understand the views and meanings attached to welfare, poverty, and poor families, as well as to decipher grandmothers' policy recommendations. The culturally variant perspective provided a conceptual lens that placed grandmothers' adaptive behaviors in a historical, socio-political context. Using Grounded Theory Methods, the authors analyzed 20 personal interviews from a larger multiple-case study that examines the influence of TANF on grandparent-led families in southwest Virginia. Grandparents' views create a continuum of beliefs toward poverty, TANF, and personal responsibility with themes of individualistic, structural, and fatalistic views. They made distinct policy recommendations to remove the penalties attached to kinship care. Kinship care continues to be an adaptive family feature, but Black grandmothers' maintain some of the same societal and familial values as the larger society.

Alexithymia concerns a difficulty identifying and communicating one's own emotions, and a tendency towards externally-oriented thinking. Recent work argues that such alexithymic traits are due to altered arousal response and poor subjective awareness of "objective" arousal responses. Although there are individual differences within the general population in identifying and describing emotions, extant research has focused on highly alexithymic individuals. Here we investigated whether mean arousal and concordance between subjective and objective arousal underpin individual differences in alexithymic traits in a general population sample. Participants rated subjective arousal responses to 60 images from the International Affective Picture System whilst their skin conductance was recorded. The Autism Quotient was employed to control for autistic traits in the general population. Analysis using linear models demonstrated that mean arousal significantly predicted Toronto Alexithymia Scale scores above and beyond autistic traits, but concordance scores did not. This indicates that, whilst objective arousal is a useful predictor in populations that are both above and below the cut-off values for alexithymia, concordance scores between objective and subjective arousal do not predict variation in alexithymic traits in the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent developments suggest that autistic individuals require dynamic angry expressions to have a higher speed in order for them to be successfully identified. Therefore, it is plausible that autistic individuals do not have a 'deficit' in angry expression recognition, but rather their internal representation of these expressions is characterised by very high‐speed movement. In this study, matched groups of autistic and non‐autistic adults completed a novel emotion‐based task which employed dynamic displays of happy, angry and sad point light facial (PLF) expressions. On each trial, participants moved a slider to manipulate the speed of a PLF stimulus until it moved at a speed that, in their 'mind's eye', was typical of happy, angry or sad expressions. Participants were shown three different types of PLFs—those showing the full‐face, only the eye region, and only the mouth region, wherein the latter two were included to test whether differences in facial information sampling underpinned any dissimilarities in speed attributions. Across both groups, participants attributed the highest speeds to angry, then happy, then sad, facial motion. Participants increased the speed of angry and happy expressions by 41% and 27% respectively and decreased the speed of sad expressions by 18%. This suggests that participants have 'caricatured' internal representations of emotion, wherein emotion‐related kinematic cues are over‐emphasised. There were no differences between autistic and non‐autistic individuals in the speeds attributed to full‐face and partial‐face angry, happy and sad expressions respectively. Consequently, we find no evidence that autistic adults possess atypically fast internal representations of anger. Lay Summary: This study shows that autistic and non‐autistic individuals do not differ in the speeds they assign to angry, happy and sad facial expressions. This is important because it means that we know that autistic and non‐autistic individuals picture angry, happy and sad expressions in a similar way in terms of speed. Therefore, autistic individuals' difficulties recognising 'normal speed' angry expressions are not due to differences in the speeds they expect the expressions to be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adjudicated adolescents detained in residential facilities for illegal sexual behavior, as well as adolescents living at home, may engage in problem behaviors such as excessive vocalizations. In residential detention facilities, these excessive vocalizations may result in disciplinary action and loss of privileges. Moreover, excessive vocalizations may also reduce the amount of positive social interactions that staff members and caregivers have with the adolescents. The current study evaluated a multiple-schedule procedure for reducing excessive vocalizations displayed by three adolescents. The procedure involved (a) a red card to signal that attention was not available and (b) either a green card or no card to signal that attention was available. Results show that the participants learned to abstain from vocalizing for up to 30 min when a caregiver presented the red card. In addition, the treatment effects persisted during generalization assessment sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers frequently argue that a child's engagement in stereotypy may compete with his ability to acquire academic skills, engage in appropriate social interactions, or both; however, few studies have directly tested these suppositions. We used a five-phase assessment to evaluate the extent to which behavioral interventions with a progressively greater number of components were necessary to decrease stereotypy and increase correct responding during academic instructions for five children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. For one participant, stereotypy decreased when instructors provided standard instruction without specific intervention for stereotypy. For two participants, stereotypy decreased when instructors provided standard instruction plus antecedent intervention for stereotypy with continuous music. For another participant, stereotypy decreased when instructors provided enhanced consequences for correct responding during standard instruction without either antecedent or consequent intervention for stereotypy. For the final participant, stereotypy decreased and correct responding increased when instructors provided standard instruction and consequent intervention for stereotypy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous‐flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) placement has become a standard of care in advanced heart failure treatment. Bleeding is the most frequently reported adverse event after LVAD implantation and may be increased by antithrombotic agents used for prevention of pump thrombosis. This retrospective cohort included 85 adult patients implanted with a Heartmate II LVAD. Major bleeding was defined as occurring >7 days after implant and included intracranial hemorrhage, events requiring 2 units of packed red blood cells within a 24‐h period, and death from bleeding. Primary outcome was intensity of anticoagulation between patients with or without at least one incidence of nonsurgical major bleeding. Major bleeding occurred in 35 (41%) patients with 0.48 events per patient year and a median (IQR) time to first bleed of 134.5 (39.3, 368.5) days. The median (IQR) INR at time of bleed was 1.7 (1.4, 2.5). Median INR during follow‐up did not differ between groups and patients with major bleeding were not more likely to have a supra‐therapeutic INR. Patients who bled were more likely to have received LVAD for destination therapy, to have lower weight, worse renal function, and lower hemoglobin at baseline. Duration of LVAD support and survival were similar between groups with no difference in occurrence of thrombosis. Incidence of nonsurgical major bleeding was not significantly associated with degree of anticoagulation. Certain baseline characteristics may be more important than anticoagulation intensity to identify patients at risk for bleeding after LVAD implant. Modification of anticoagulation alone is not a sufficient management strategy and early intervention may be required to mitigate bleeding impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cook et al. recently described a progressive model for teaching children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to provide eye contact with an instructor following a name call. The model included the following phases: contingent praise only, contingent edibles plus praise, stimulus prompts plus contingent edibles and praise, contingent video and praise, schedule thinning, generalization assessments, and maintenance evaluations. In the present study, we evaluated the extent to which modifications to the model were needed to train 15 children with ASD to engage in eye contact. Results show that 11 of 15 participants acquired eye contact with the progressive model; however, eight participants required one or more procedural modifications to the model to acquire eye contact. In addition, the four participants who did not acquire eye contact received one or more modifications. Results also show that participants who acquired eye contact with or without modifications continued to display high levels of the behavior during follow-up probes. We discuss directions for future research with and limitations of this progressive model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed an iOS app, the iSTIM, designed to support parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in reducing common repetitive vocal and motor behavior (i.e., stereotypy). The purpose of our study was to preliminarily test the decision-making algorithms of the iSTIM using trained university students to implement the assessments and interventions. Specifically, we examined the effects of the iSTIM on stereotypy and functional engagement in 11 children with ASD within alternating treatment designs. Using the iSTIM reduced engagement in stereotypy for eight participants and increased functional engagement for four of those participants. Our results indicate that the iSTIM may decrease engagement in stereotypy but that some of the decision-making algorithms may benefit from modifications prior to testing with parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted five experiments to evaluate the predictive validity of a free-operant competing stimulus assessment (FOCSA). In Experiment 1, we showed that each participant’s repetitive behavior persisted without social consequences. In Experiment 2, we used the FOCSA to identify high-preference, low-stereotypy (HP-LS) items for 11 participants and high-preference, high-stereotypy (HP-HS) items for nine participants. To validate the results of the FOCSAs (Experiment 3), we used a three-component multiple schedule to evaluate the immediate and subsequent effects of an HP-LS stimulus, an HP-HS stimulus, or both (in separate test sequences) on each participant’s stereotypy. Results of Experiment 3 showed that the FOCSA correctly predicted the immediate effect of the HP-LS stimulus for 10 of 11 participants; however, the FOCSA predictions were less accurate for the HP-HS stimulus. Results of Experiment 4 showed that a differential reinforcement of other behavior procedure in which participants earned access to the HP-LS for omitting vocal stereotypy increased all five participants’ latency to engaging in stereotypy; however, clinically significant omission durations were only achieved for one participant. Experiment 5 showed that differential reinforcement of alternative behavior in which participants earned access to the HP-LS stimulus contingent upon correct responses during discrete-trial training reduced targeted and nontargeted stereotypy and increased correct academic responding for all four participants. The potential utility of the FOCSA is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although electronic devices may enhance the effectiveness of some behavioral interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders, such devices may also give rise to problem behavior such as repetitious button pressing (i.e., object stereotypy). Results of this study showed that a child with autism spectrum disorder only displayed high levels of object stereotypy on an iPad™ when presses generated auditory output. Subsequently, results showed that when the participant used the iPad™ without auditory output, his stereotypical behavior decreased and his manding for various items simultaneously increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents recommendations on the use of mechanical circulatory support (MCS) therapy for advanced heart failure. It offers guidance on the assessment, stabilization and transport of an ambulatory patient with MCS back to the MCS center for definitive therapy. It also provides a framework for the management of known MCS-associated complications and possible comorbid medical problems.

Although many teaching techniques for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) require the instructor to gain the child’s eye contact prior to delivering an instructional demand, the literature contains notably few procedures that reliably produce this outcome. To address this problem, we evaluated the effects of a sequential model for increasing eye contact in children with ASD. The model included the following phases: contingent praise only (for eye contact), contingent edibles plus praise, stimulus prompts plus contingent edibles and praise, contingent video and praise, schedule thinning, and maintenance evaluations for up to 2 years. Results indicated that the procedures increased eye contact for 20 participants (one additional participant did not require consequences). For 16 participants, praise (alone) was not sufficient to support eye contact; however, high levels of eye contact were typically maintained with these participants when therapists used combined schedules of intermittent edibles or video and continuous praise. We discuss some limitations of this model and directions for future research on increasing eye contact for children with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social cognition is a topic of enormous interest and much research, but we are far from having an agreed taxonomy or factor structure of relevant processes. The aim of this review is to outline briefly what is known about the structure of social cognition and to suggest how further progress can be made to delineate the in(ter)dependence of core sociocognitive processes. We focus in particular on several processes that have been discussed and tested together in typical and atypical (notably autism spectrum disorder) groups: imitation, biological motion, empathy, and theory of mind. We consider the domain specificity/generality of core processes in social learning, reward, and attention, and we highlight the potential relevance of dual-process theories that distinguish systems for fast/automatic and slow/effortful processing. We conclude with methodological and conceptual suggestions for future progress in uncovering the structure of social cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a series of studies on multiple forms of repetitive behavior displayed by four children with autism spectrum disorder. Study 1 showed that each participant's highest probability repetitive behavior persisted in the absence of social consequences, thereby meeting the functional definition of stereotypy. Study 2 showed that preferred, structurally matched stimulation decreased each participant's targeted (highest probability) stereotypy, as well as their non-targeted (lower probability) stereotypy. Study 3 showed that for three participants, non-contingent access to preferred stimulation decreased immediate and, to some extent, subsequent engagement in targeted and non-targeted stereotypy. For the fourth participant, non-contingent access to preferred stimulation decreased immediate engagement in the targeted stereotypy, but increased subsequent engagement in non-targeted stereotypy; this subsequent increase was attenuated by reducing the duration of access to the preferred stimulus. Study 4 showed that a trial-based differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) procedure systematically increased the period of time for which the targeted stereotypy was not displayed for three of three participants. In addition, results showed that the participants' non-targeted stereotypy either decreased or was unchanged when DRO was provided for the targeted stereotypy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this analysis was to assess survival differences between men and women supported with Impella 2.5 (Abiomed Inc., Danvers) in the setting of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complicated by cardiogenic shock (CS).Background: Data on sex differences in outcomes of CS with mechanical circulatory support are sparse.Methods: Patients enrolled in the cVAD Registry who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and Impella 2.5 support for CS complicating an AMI were included. Differences between men and women were examined.Results: In total, 180 patients were analyzed. Women (n = 49, 27.2%) were older (71.0 ± 12.8 years vs 63.8 ± 13.0, P = 0.001), smaller (BSA 1.82 ± 0.22 vs 2.04 ± 0.24 m(2) , P < 0.001), and had a higher STS mortality risk score than men (27.9 ± 17.0 vs. 20.8 ± 16.8 P = 0.01). There was no difference in survival to discharge (P = 0.3). Patients receiving the Impella 2.5 pre-PCI had significantly lower inpatient mortality than those who received support post-PCI (P = 0.003). However, the magnitude of the survival benefit was significantly greater in women who received the Impella pre-PCI as compared to men. Overall, 68.8% of women survived with pre-PCI Impella 2.5 versus 24.2% post-PCI (P = 0.005) whereas 54.2% of men survived with pre-PCI Impella 2.5 versus 40.3% post-PCI (P = 0.1, p-interaction = 0.07). No differences in timing to intervention were found between men and women.Conclusions: Early initiation of hemodynamic support prior to PCI with Impella 2.5, in the setting of AMI complicated by CS, was associated with a greater survival benefit to hospital discharge in women compared to men, despite a higher predicted risk of mortality and a greater revascularization failure rate for women. (J Interven Cardiol 2016;29:248-256). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]