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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is clinically characterized by social and communication difficulties as well as repetitive behaviors. Many children with ASD also suffer from anxiety, which has been associated with alterations in amygdala structure. In this work, the association between amygdala subnuclei volumes and anxiety was assessed in a cohort of 234 participants (mean age = 11.0 years, SD = 3.9, 95 children with ASD, 139 children were non-autistic). Children underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Amygdala subnuclei volumes were extracted automatically. Anxiety was assessed using the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders, the Child Behavior Checklist, and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Children with ASD had higher anxiety scores relative to non-autistic children on all anxiety measures (all, p < 0.05). Anxiety levels were significantly predicted in children with ASD by right basal (right: B = 0.235, p = 0.002) and paralaminar (PL) (B = -0.99, p = 0.009) volumes. Basal nuclei receive multisensory information from cortical and subcortical areas and have extensive projections within the limbic system while the PL nuclei are involved in emotional processing. Alterations in basal and PL nuclei in children with ASD and the association with anxiety may reflect morphological changes related to in the neurocircuitry of anxiety in ASD.

BackgroundNeonates with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at high risk of punctate white matter injury (WMI) and impaired brain development. We hypothesized that WMI in CHD neonates occurs in a characteristic distribution that shares topology with preterm WMI and that lower birth gestational age (GA) is associated with larger WMI volume.Objective(1) To quantitatively assess the volume and location of WMI in CHD neonates across three centres. (2) To compare the volume and spatial distribution of WMI between term CHD neonates and preterm neonates using lesion mapping.MethodsIn 216 term born CHD neonates from three prospective cohorts (mean birth GA: 39 weeks), WMI was identified in 86 neonates (UBC: 29; UCSF: 43; UCZ: 14) on pre- and/or post-operative T1 weighted MRI. WMI was manually segmented and volumes were calculated. A standard brain template was generated. Probabilistic WMI maps (total, pre- and post-operative) were developed in this common space. Using these maps, WMI in the term CHD neonates was compared with that in preterm neonates: 58 at early-in-life (mean postmenstrual age at scan 32.2 weeks); 41 at term-equivalent age (mean postmenstrual age at scan 40.1 weeks).ResultsThe total WMI volumes of CHD neonates across centres did not differ (p = 0.068): UBC (median = 84.6 mm3, IQR = 26-174.7 mm3); UCSF (median = 104 mm3, IQR = 44-243 mm3); UCZ (median = 121 mm3, IQR = 68-200.8 mm3). The spatial distribution of WMI in CHD neonates showed strong concordance across centres with predilection for anterior and posterior rather than central lesions. Predominance of anterior lesions was apparent on the post-operative WMI map relative to the pre-operative map. Lower GA at birth predicted an increasing volume of WMI across the full cohort (41.1 mm3 increase of WMI per week decrease in gestational age; 95% CI 11.5-70.8; p = 0.007), when accounting for centre and heart lesion. While WMI in term CHD and preterm neonates occurs most commonly in the intermediate zone/outer subventricular zone there is a paucity of central lesions in the CHD neonates relative to preterms.ConclusionsWMI in term neonates with CHD occurs in a characteristic topology. The spatial distribution of WMI in term neonates with CHD reflects the expected maturation of pre-oligodendrocytes such that the central regions are less vulnerable than in the preterm neonates.

Children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tend to exhibit similar deficits in attention and memory ability. Early screening of cognitive deficits in children with NDDs, particularly in preschool children, is fundamental to improving cognitive and academic outcomes. In order to determine cognitive profiles in children with ASD and ADHD, we developed accessible audiovisual instructions for an online battery of 13 cognitive tests. Children ages 4–16 who were diagnosed with ADHD (n = 83), or ASD (n = 37), or who were typically developing children (TD) (n = 86) were recruited. Data were analyzed using a stepwise Discriminant Analysis to determine which cognitive tasks were the strongest discriminators between the diagnostic groups. Results revealed four tasks reflective of working memory, reasoning, and attentional processes, which correctly classified approximately 53–60% of each group. The ADHD group had lower scores on attentional tasks compared to TD, while ASD group had lower scores on reasoning tasks compared to the TD children, and made more attempts across all four tasks. The results from this study stress the need for cognitive screening assessments that include domain-specific items to improve the characterization of executive function deficits and promote academic achievement in all children with NDDs. Plain language summary: Commonly diagnosed Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) include autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Children with NDDs often experience a wide range of cognitive difficulties which can seriously impact their academic, emotional and behavioural outcomes at school. In this study, we used online cognitive tests that were developed for adults. These 'gamified' tasks assess a number of cognitive abilities including working memory, attention, verbal skills, and reasoning. We developed audiovisual instructions to make these tasks more suitable to children with and without NDDs. These tasks were then used in an online sample of children with ASD, ADHD, and typically developing children. We wanted to see how each group of children performed on the tasks, to assess their relative cognitive strengths and difficulties. We found that the tasks could successfully categorize each group of children based on their task performance. The ADHD group had lower scores on attentional tasks compared to TD children. The ASD group had lower scores on reasoning compared to TD children. The cognitive task battery may eventually be used to help identify cognitive difficulties and improve outcomes in children with NDDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Images have been shown to consistently differ in terms of their memorability in healthy adults: some images stick in one's mind while others are forgotten quickly. Studies have suggested that memorability is an intrinsic, continuous property of a visual stimulus that can be both measured and manipulated. Memory literature suggests that important developmental changes occur throughout adolescence that have an impact on recognition memory, yet the effect that these changes have on image memorability has not yet been investigated. In the current study, we recruited adolescents ages 11–18 (n = 273, mean = 16) to an online visual memory experiment to explore the effects of developmental changes throughout adolescence on image memorability, and determine if memorability findings in adults can be generalized to the adolescent age group. We used the online experiment to calculate adolescent memorability scores for 1,000 natural images, and compared the results to the MemCat dataset—a memorability dataset that is annotated with adult memorability scores (ages 19–27). Our study finds that memorability scores in adolescents and adults are strongly and significantly correlated (Spearman's rank correlation, r = 0.76, p < 0.001). This correlation persists even when comparing adults with developmentally different sub-groups of adolescents (ages 11–14: r = 0.67, p < 0.001; ages 15–18: r = 0.60, p < 0.001). Moreover, the rankings of image categories by mean memorability scores were identical in both adolescents and adults (including the adolescent sub-groups), indicating that broadly, certain image categories are more memorable for both adolescents and adults. Interestingly, however, adolescents experienced significantly higher false alarm rates than adults, supporting studies that show increased impulsivity and reward-seeking behaviour in adolescents. Our results reveal that the memorability of images remains consistent across individuals at different stages of development. This consistency aligns with and strengthens prior research, indicating that memorability is an intrinsic property of images. Our findings open new pathways for applying memorability studies in adolescent populations, with profound implications in fields such as education, marketing, and psychology. Our work paves the way for innovative approaches in these domains, leveraging the consistent nature of image memorability across age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several brain regions show structural and functional abnormalities in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but the developmental trajectory of abnormalities in these structures and how they may relate to social and communicative impairments are still unclear. We assessed the effects of age on cortical thickness in individuals with ASD, between the ages of 7 and 39 years in comparison to typically developing controls. Additionally, we examined differences in cortical thickness in relation to symptomatology in the ASD group, and their association with age. Analyses were conducted using a general linear model, controlling for sex. Social and communication scores from the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) were correlated with the thickness of regions implicated in those functions. Controls showed widespread cortical thinning relative to the ASD group. Within regions-of-interest, increased thickness in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex was associated with poorer social scores. Additionally, a significant interaction between age and social impairment was found in the orbitofrontal cortex, with more impaired younger children having decreased thickness in this region. These results suggest that differential neurodevelopmental trajectories are present in individuals with ASD and some differences are associated with diagnostic behaviours. (Contains 3 figures and 2 tables.)

While self-injurious behaviors (SIB) can cause significant morbidity for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), little is known about its associated risk factors. We assessed 7 factors that may influence self-injury in a large cohort of children with ASD: (a) atypical sensory processing; (b) impaired cognitive ability; (c) abnormal functional communication; (d) abnormal social functioning; (e) age; (f) the need for sameness; (g) rituals and compulsions. Half (52.3%, n = 126) of the children (n = 241, aged 2-19 years) demonstrated SIB. Abnormal sensory processing was the strongest single predictor of self-injury followed by sameness, impaired cognitive ability and social functioning. Since atypical sensory processing and sameness have a greater relative impact on SIB, treatment approaches that focus on these factors may be beneficial in reducing self-harm in children with ASD. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)