88 results on '"Jason J Wolff"'
Search Results
2. Resting-state fMRI in sleeping infants more closely resembles adult sleep than adult wakefulness.
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Anish Mitra, Abraham Z Snyder, Enzo Tagliazucchi, Helmut Laufs, Jed Elison, Robert W Emerson, Mark D Shen, Jason J Wolff, Kelly N Botteron, Stephen Dager, Annette M Estes, Alan Evans, Guido Gerig, Heather C Hazlett, Sarah J Paterson, Robert T Schultz, Martin A Styner, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, IBIS Network, Bradley L Schlaggar, Joseph Piven, John R Pruett, and Marcus Raichle
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Medicine ,Science - Abstract
Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) in infants enables important studies of functional brain organization early in human development. However, rs-fMRI in infants has universally been obtained during sleep to reduce participant motion artifact, raising the question of whether differences in functional organization between awake adults and sleeping infants that are commonly attributed to development may instead derive, at least in part, from sleep. This question is especially important as rs-fMRI differences in adult wake vs. sleep are well documented. To investigate this question, we compared functional connectivity and BOLD signal propagation patterns in 6, 12, and 24 month old sleeping infants with patterns in adult wakefulness and non-REM sleep. We find that important functional connectivity features seen during infant sleep closely resemble those seen during adult sleep, including reduced default mode network functional connectivity. However, we also find differences between infant and adult sleep, especially in thalamic BOLD signal propagation patterns. These findings highlight the importance of considering sleep state when drawing developmental inferences in infant rs-fMRI.
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- 2017
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3. Differential cognitive and behavioral development from 6 to 24 months in autism and fragile X syndrome
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Lindsay J. Mullin, Joshua Rutsohn, Julia L. Gross, Kelly E. Caravella, Rebecca L. Grzadzinski, Leigh Anne Weisenfeld, Lisa Flake, Kelly N. Botteron, Stephen R. Dager, Annette M. Estes, Juhi Pandey, Robert T. Schultz, Tanya St. John, Jason J. Wolff, Mark D. Shen, Joseph Piven, Heather C. Hazlett, and Jessica B. Girault
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Autism ,Fragile X syndrome ,Infancy ,Development ,Behavioral ,Cognitive ,Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry ,RC321-571 - Abstract
Abstract Background Specifying early developmental differences among neurodevelopmental disorders with distinct etiologies is critical to improving early identification and tailored intervention during the first years of life. Recent studies have uncovered important differences between infants with fragile X syndrome (FXS) and infants with familial history of autism spectrum disorder who go on to develop autism themselves (FH-ASD), including differences in brain development and behavior. Thus far, there have been no studies longitudinally investigating differential developmental skill profiles in FXS and FH-ASD infants. Methods The current study contrasted longitudinal trajectories of verbal (expressive and receptive language) and nonverbal (gross and fine motor, visual reception) skills in FXS and FH-ASD infants, compared to FH infants who did not develop ASD (FH-nonASD) and typically developing controls. Results Infants with FXS showed delays on a nonverbal composite compared to FH-ASD (as well as FH-nonASD and control) infants as early as 6 months of age. By 12 months an ordinal pattern of scores was established between groups on all domains tested, such that controls > FH-nonASD > FH-ASD > FXS. This pattern persisted through 24 months. Cognitive level differentially influenced developmental trajectories for FXS and FH-ASD. Conclusions Our results demonstrate detectable group differences by 6 months between FXS and FH-ASD as well as differential trajectories on each domain throughout infancy. This work further highlights an earlier onset of global cognitive delays in FXS and, conversely, a protracted period of more slowly emerging delays in FH-ASD. Divergent neural and cognitive development in infancy between FXS and FH-ASD contributes to our understanding of important distinctions in the development and behavioral phenotype of these two groups.
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- 2024
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4. Structural and diffusion property alterations in unaffected siblings of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
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Ziwen Peng, Feng Shi, Changzheng Shi, Guodong Miao, Qiong Yang, Wei Gao, Jason J Wolff, Raymond C K Chan, and Dinggang Shen
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Medicine ,Science - Abstract
Disrupted white matter integrity and abnormal cortical thickness are widely reported in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, the relationship between alterations in white matter connectivity and cortical thickness in OCD is unclear. In addition, the heritability of this relationship is poorly understood. To investigate the relationship of white matter microstructure with cortical thickness, we measure fractional anisotropy (FA) of white matter in 30 OCD patients, 19 unaffected siblings and 30 matched healthy controls. Then, we take those regions of significantly altered FA in OCD patients compared with healthy controls to perform fiber tracking. Next, we calculate the fiber quantity in the same tracts. Lastly, we compare cortical thickness in the target regions of those tracts. Patients with OCD exhibited decreased FA in cingulum, arcuate fibers near the superior parietal lobule, inferior longitudinal fasciculus near the right superior temporal gyrus and uncinate fasciculus. Siblings showed reduced FA in arcuate fibers near the superior parietal lobule and anterior limb of internal capsule. Significant reductions in both fiber quantities and cortical thickness in OCD patients and their unaffected siblings were also observed in the projected brain areas when using the arcuate fibers near the left superior parietal lobule as the starting points. Reduced FA in the left superior parietal lobule was observed not only in patients with OCD but also in their unaffected siblings. Originated from the superior parietal lobule, the number of fibers was also found to be decreased and the corresponding cortical regions were thinner relative to controls. The linkage between disrupted white matter integrity and the abnormal cortical thickness may be a vulnerability marker for OCD.
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- 2014
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5. Associations between early trajectories of amygdala development and later school-age anxiety in two longitudinal samples
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Catherine A. Burrows, Carolyn Lasch, Julia Gross, Jessica B. Girault, Joshua Rutsohn, Jason J. Wolff, Meghan R. Swanson, Chimei M. Lee, Stephen R. Dager, Emil Cornea, Rebecca Stephens, Martin Styner, Tanya St. John, Juhi Pandey, Meera Deva, Kelly N. Botteron, Annette M. Estes, Heather C. Hazlett, John R. Pruett, Jr., Robert T. Schultz, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, John H. Gilmore, Mark D. Shen, Joseph Piven, and Jed T. Elison
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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) ,Anxiety ,Amygdala ,Reproducibility ,Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ,Neurophysiology and neuropsychology ,QP351-495 - Abstract
Amygdala function is implicated in the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and anxiety. We investigated associations between early trajectories of amygdala growth and anxiety and ASD outcomes at school age in two longitudinal studies: high- and low-familial likelihood for ASD, Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS, n = 257) and typically developing (TD) community sample, Early Brain Development Study (EBDS, n = 158). Infants underwent MRI scanning at up to 3 timepoints from neonate to 24 months. Anxiety was assessed at 6–12 years. Linear multilevel modeling tested whether amygdala volume growth was associated with anxiety symptoms at school age. In the IBIS sample, children with higher anxiety showed accelerated amygdala growth from 6 to 24 months. ASD diagnosis and ASD familial likelihood were not significant predictors. In the EBDS sample, amygdala growth from birth to 24 months was associated with anxiety. More anxious children had smaller amygdala volume and slower rates of amygdala growth. We explore reasons for the contrasting results between high-familial likelihood for ASD and TD samples, grounding results in the broader literature of variable associations between early amygdala volume and later anxiety. Results have the potential to identify mechanisms linking early amygdala growth to later anxiety in certain groups.
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- 2024
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6. A Prospective Evaluation of Infant Cerebellar-Cerebral Functional Connectivity in Relation to Behavioral Development in Autism Spectrum Disorder
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Zoë W. Hawks, Alexandre Todorov, Natasha Marrus, Tomoyuki Nishino, Muhamed Talovic, Mary Beth Nebel, Jessica B. Girault, Savannah Davis, Scott Marek, Benjamin A. Seitzman, Adam T. Eggebrecht, Jed Elison, Stephen Dager, Matthew W. Mosconi, Lawrence Tychsen, Abraham Z. Snyder, Kelly Botteron, Annette Estes, Alan Evans, Guido Gerig, Heather C. Hazlett, Robert C. McKinstry, Juhi Pandey, Robert T. Schultz, Martin Styner, Jason J. Wolff, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Lori Markson, Steven E. Petersen, John N. Constantino, Desirée A. White, Joseph Piven, and John R. Pruett, Jr.
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Autism ,Cerebellum ,Development ,Error-based learning ,Functional connectivity ,Infancy ,Psychiatry ,RC435-571 - Abstract
Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder diagnosed based on social impairment, restricted interests, and repetitive behaviors. Contemporary theories posit that cerebellar pathology contributes causally to ASD by disrupting error-based learning (EBL) during infancy. The present study represents the first test of this theory in a prospective infant sample, with potential implications for ASD detection. Methods: Data from the Infant Brain Imaging Study (n = 94, 68 male) were used to examine 6-month cerebellar functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging in relation to later (12/24-month) ASD-associated behaviors and outcomes. Hypothesis-driven univariate analyses and machine learning–based predictive tests examined cerebellar–frontoparietal network (FPN; subserves error signaling in support of EBL) and cerebellar–default mode network (DMN; broadly implicated in ASD) connections. Cerebellar-FPN functional connectivity was used as a proxy for EBL, and cerebellar-DMN functional connectivity provided a comparative foil. Data-driven functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging enrichment examined brain-wide behavioral associations, with post hoc tests of cerebellar connections. Results: Cerebellar-FPN and cerebellar-DMN connections did not demonstrate associations with ASD. Functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging enrichment identified 6-month correlates of later ASD-associated behaviors in networks of a priori interest (FPN, DMN), as well as in cingulo-opercular (also implicated in error signaling) and medial visual networks. Post hoc tests did not suggest a role for cerebellar connections. Conclusions: We failed to identify cerebellar functional connectivity–based contributions to ASD. However, we observed prospective correlates of ASD-associated behaviors in networks that support EBL. Future studies may replicate and extend network-level positive results, and tests of the cerebellum may investigate brain-behavior associations at different developmental stages and/or using different neuroimaging modalities.
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- 2023
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7. Language exposure during infancy is negatively associated with white matter microstructure in the arcuate fasciculus
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Katiana A. Estrada, Sharnya Govindaraj, Hervé Abdi, Luke E. Moraglia, Jason J. Wolff, Shoba Sreenath Meera, Stephen R. Dager, Robert C. McKinstry, Martin A. Styner, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Joseph Piven, and Meghan R. Swanson
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Home language environment ,Arcuate fasciculus ,Language development ,Infancy ,Diffusion tensor imaging ,Neurophysiology and neuropsychology ,QP351-495 - Abstract
Decades of research have established that the home language environment, especially quality of caregiver speech, supports language acquisition during infancy. However, the neural mechanisms behind this phenomenon remain under studied. In the current study, we examined associations between the home language environment and structural coherence of white matter tracts in 52 typically developing infants from English speaking homes in a western society. Infants participated in at least one MRI brain scan when they were 3, 6, 12, and/or 24 months old. Home language recordings were collected when infants were 9 and/or 15 months old. General linear regression models indicated that infants who heard the most adult words and participated in the most conversational turns at 9 months of age also had the lowest fractional anisotropy in the left posterior parieto-temporal arcuate fasciculus at 24 months. Similarly, infants who vocalized the most at 9 months also had the lowest fractional anisotropy in the same tract at 6 months of age. This is one of the first studies to report significant associations between caregiver speech collected in the home and white matter structural coherence in the infant brain. The results are in line with prior work showing that protracted white matter development during infancy confers a cognitive advantage.
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- 2023
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8. Restricted and repetitive behavior in children with autism during the first three years of life: A systematic review
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Pang Chaxiong, Adele F. Dimian, and Jason J. Wolff
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repetitive behavior ,ritualistic ,autism spectrum disorder ,birth to three ,sensory ,Psychology ,BF1-990 - Abstract
Restricted and repetitive behavior (RRB) is a core diagnostic feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous research shows that RRB is prevalent early in life and observed in neurotypical development as well. Less is known, however, about early RRB patterns, developmental trajectories, and the relation to outcomes for autistic children. The purpose of this systematic review was to synthesize findings from studies examining RRB in autistic children from birth through age 3. A detailed protocol was designed a priori based on PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews. From the published literature, 41 peer reviewed journal articles were identified and included in this review. Our synthesis of the literature suggests that differences in RRB are evident prior to age 2 in children with or who go onto be diagnosed with autism. These differences were evident for both frequency and intensity of RRB across multiple topographies. There were mixed results regarding functional outcomes associated with early RRB, such as cognitive and adaptive behavior, though relations appeared to become stronger as children aged beyond toddlerhood. Notably, level of RRB appears unrelated to autism severity in young autistic children. A wide range of RRB have been reported to be elevated in autistic children during the first years of life, including repetitive motor behaviors, atypical sensory behaviors, insistence on sameness (IS), and self-injurious behaviors (SIBs). In contrast to studies of older children, RRB in very young autistic children do not appear to be associated with functional outcomes but may be valuable to include in early screening efforts.Systematic review registrationhttps://osf.io/huzf3, unique identifier: doi: 10.17605/OSF.IO/HUZF3.
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- 2022
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9. Hierarchical Multi-geodesic Model for Longitudinal Analysis of Temporal Trajectories of Anatomical Shape and Covariates.
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Sungmin Hong, James Fishbaugh, Jason J. Wolff, Martin A. Styner, and Guido Gerig
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- 2019
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10. Longitudinal change in restricted and repetitive behaviors from 8-36 months
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Robin Sifre, Daniel Berry, Jason J. Wolff, and Jed T. Elison
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Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry ,RC321-571 - Abstract
Abstract Background Restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) are core features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and one of the earliest behavioral signs of ASD. However, RRBs are also present in typically developing (TD) infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children. Past work suggests that examining change in these behaviors over time is essential to distinguish between normative manifestations of these behaviors and behaviors that denote risk for a neurodevelopmental disorder. One challenge in examining changes in these behaviors over time is that most measures of RRBs have not established longitudinal measurement invariance. The aims of this study were to (1) establish measurement invariance in the Repetitive Behavior Scales for Early Childhood (RBS-EC), a parent-report questionnaire of RRBs, and (2) model developmental change in RRBs from 8 to 36 months. Methods We collected RBS-EC responses from parents of TD infants (n = 180) from 8 to 36 months (n = 606 responses, with participants contributing an average of 3-time points). We leverage a novel methodological approach to measurement invariance testing (Bauer, Psychological Models, 22(3), 507–526, 2017), moderated nonlinear factor analysis (MNLFA), to determine whether the RBS-EC was invariant across age and sex. We then generated adjusted factor score estimates for each subscale of the RBS-EC (repetitive motor, self-directed, and higher-order behaviors), and used linear mixed effects models to estimate between- and within-person changes in the RBS-EC over time. Results The RBS-EC showed some non-invariance as a function of age. We were able to adjust for this non-invariance in order to more accurately model changes in the RBS-EC over time. Repetitive motor and self-directed behaviors showed a linear decline from 8 to 36 months, while higher-order behaviors showed a quadratic trajectory such that they began to decline later in development at around 18 months. Using adjusted factor scores as opposed to unadjusted raw mean scores provided a number of benefits, including increased within-person variability and precision. Conclusions The RBS-EC is sensitive enough to measure the presence of RRBs in a TD sample, as well as their decline with age. Using factor score estimates of each subscale adjusted for non-invariance allowed us to more precisely estimate change in these behaviors over time.
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- 2021
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11. Quantitative trait variation in ASD probands and toddler sibling outcomes at 24 months
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Jessica B. Girault, Meghan R. Swanson, Shoba S. Meera, Rebecca L. Grzadzinski, Mark D. Shen, Catherine A. Burrows, Jason J. Wolff, Juhi Pandey, Tanya St John, Annette Estes, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Kelly N. Botteron, Heather C. Hazlett, Stephen R. Dager, Robert T. Schultz, John N. Constantino, Joseph Piven, and for the IBIS Network
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Autism ,Infant sibling ,Family study ,Language ,Communication ,Development ,Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry ,RC321-571 - Abstract
Abstract Background Younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at increased likelihood of receiving an ASD diagnosis and exhibiting other developmental concerns. It is unknown how quantitative variation in ASD traits and broader developmental domains in older siblings with ASD (probands) may inform outcomes in their younger siblings. Methods Participants included 385 pairs of toddler siblings and probands from the Infant Brain Imaging Study. ASD probands (mean age 5.5 years, range 1.7 to 15.5 years) were phenotyped using the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ), and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition (VABS-II). Siblings were assessed using the ADI-R, VABS-II, Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL), and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and received a clinical best estimate diagnosis at 24 months using DSM-IV-TR criteria (n = 89 concordant for ASD; n = 296 discordant). We addressed two aims: (1) to determine whether proband characteristics are predictive of recurrence in siblings and (2) to assess associations between proband traits and sibling dimensional outcomes at 24 months. Results Regarding recurrence risk, proband SCQ scores were found to significantly predict sibling 24-month diagnostic outcome (OR for a 1-point increase in SCQ = 1.06; 95% CI = 1.01, 1.12). Regarding quantitative trait associations, we found no significant correlations in ASD traits among proband-sibling pairs. However, quantitative variation in proband adaptive behavior, communication, and expressive and receptive language was significantly associated with sibling outcomes in the same domains; proband scores explained 9–18% of the variation in cognition and behavior in siblings with ASD. Receptive language was particularly strongly associated in concordant pairs (ICC = 0.50, p
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- 2020
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12. Infant Visual Brain Development and Inherited Genetic Liability in Autism
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Jessica B, Girault, Kevin, Donovan, Zoë, Hawks, Muhamed, Talovic, Elizabeth, Forsen, Jed T, Elison, Mark D, Shen, Meghan R, Swanson, Jason J, Wolff, Sun Hyung, Kim, Tomoyuki, Nishino, Savannah, Davis, Abraham Z, Snyder, Kelly N, Botteron, Annette M, Estes, Stephen R, Dager, Heather C, Hazlett, Guido, Gerig, Robert, McKinstry, Juhi, Pandey, Robert T, Schultz, Tanya, St John, Lonnie, Zwaigenbaum, Alexandre, Todorov, Young, Truong, Martin, Styner, John R, Pruett, John N, Constantino, and Joseph, Piven
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Psychiatry and Mental health ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Siblings ,Brain ,Humans ,Prospective Studies ,Autistic Disorder ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging - Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is heritable, and younger siblings of ASD probands are at higher likelihood of developing ASD themselves. Prospective MRI studies of siblings report that atypical brain development precedes ASD diagnosis, although the link between brain maturation and genetic factors is unclear. Given that familial recurrence of ASD is predicted by higher levels of ASD traits in the proband, the authors investigated associations between proband ASD traits and brain development among younger siblings.In a sample of 384 proband-sibling pairs (89 pairs concordant for ASD), the authors examined associations between proband ASD traits and sibling brain development at 6, 12, and 24 months in key MRI phenotypes: total cerebral volume, cortical surface area, extra-axial cerebrospinal fluid, occipital cortical surface area, and splenium white matter microstructure. Results from primary analyses led the authors to implement a data-driven approach using functional connectivity MRI at 6 months.Greater levels of proband ASD traits were associated with larger total cerebral volume and surface area and larger surface area and reduced white matter integrity in components of the visual system in siblings who developed ASD. This aligned with weaker functional connectivity between several networks and the visual system among all siblings during infancy.The findings provide evidence that specific early brain MRI phenotypes of ASD reflect quantitative variation in familial ASD traits. Multimodal anatomical and functional convergence on cortical regions, fiber pathways, and functional networks involved in visual processing suggest that inherited liability has a role in shaping the prodromal development of visual circuitry in ASD.
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- 2023
13. Subcortical Brain Development in Autism and Fragile X Syndrome: Evidence for Dynamic, Age- and Disorder-Specific Trajectories in Infancy
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Mark D, Shen, Meghan R, Swanson, Jason J, Wolff, Jed T, Elison, Jessica B, Girault, Sun Hyung, Kim, Rachel G, Smith, Michael M, Graves, Leigh Anne H, Weisenfeld, Lisa, Flake, Leigh, MacIntyre, Julia L, Gross, Catherine A, Burrows, Vladimir S, Fonov, D Louis, Collins, Alan C, Evans, Guido, Gerig, Robert C, McKinstry, Juhi, Pandey, Tanya, St John, Lonnie, Zwaigenbaum, Annette M, Estes, Stephen R, Dager, Robert T, Schultz, Martin A, Styner, Kelly N, Botteron, Heather C, Hazlett, and Joseph, Piven
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Adult ,Adolescent ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Brain ,Infant ,Amygdala ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,Article ,Young Adult ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Child, Preschool ,Fragile X Syndrome ,Humans ,Autistic Disorder ,Child - Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Previous research has demonstrated that the amygdala is enlarged in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the precise onset of this enlargement during infancy, how it relates to later diagnostic behaviors, whether the timing of enlargement in infancy is specific to the amygdala, and whether it is specific to ASD (or present in other neurodevelopmental disorders, such as fragile X syndrome) are all unknown. METHODS: Longitudinal MRIs were acquired at 6–24 months of age in 29 infants with fragile X syndrome, 58 infants at high likelihood for ASD who were later diagnosed with ASD, 212 high-likelihood infants not diagnosed with ASD, and 109 control infants (1,099 total scans). RESULTS: Infants who developed ASD had typically sized amygdala volumes at 6 months, but exhibited significantly faster amygdala growth between 6 and 24 months, such that by 12 months the ASD group had significantly larger amygdala volume (Cohen’s d=0.56) compared with all other groups. Amygdala growth rate between 6 and 12 months was significantly associated with greater social deficits at 24 months when the infants were diagnosed with ASD. Infants with fragile X syndrome had a persistent and significantly enlarged caudate volume at all ages between 6 and 24 months (d=2.12), compared with all other groups, which was significantly associated with greater repetitive behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first MRI study comparing fragile X syndrome and ASD in infancy, demonstrating strikingly different patterns of brain and behavior development. Fragile X syndrome–related changes were present from 6 months of age, whereas ASD-related changes unfolded over the first 2 years of life, starting with no detectable group differences at 6 months. Increased amygdala growth rate between 6 and 12 months occurs prior to social deficits and well before diagnosis. This gradual onset of brain and behavior changes in ASD, but not fragile X syndrome, suggests an age- and disorder-specific pattern of cascading brain changes preceding autism diagnosis.
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- 2022
14. Examining Behavioral Interventions for Infancy and Early Toddlerhood: A Systematic Review of Intervention Parameters, Effects, and Participant Populations
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Jessica Simacek, Amy Riegelman, Jaclyn Gunderson, Emma Worthley, Adele Dimian, Pang Chaxiong, and Jason J Wolff
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Rapid advancement is paving the way to identify children who would likely benefit from early intervention during the first years of life, prior to the onset of significant delays in development. With the widely acknowledged benefits of early intervention, key questions arise: Does behavioral intervention targeted to infancy and early toddlerhood improve developmental outcomes? What procedures might be used, and under what circumstances? Who do these interventions work for? The current review comprehensively examined the literature on behavioral interventions based in operant learning paradigm, focused on key developmental areas with children in the first two years of life. We located and synthesized 45 studies with unique participant cohorts that included 1,143 children between the ages of 1 to 23 months old. Interestingly, the search revealed the majority of studies focused on infants in the first year of life, of which a large proportion investigated approaches to increase vocalizations or other forms of communication. We provide implications, limitations, and future directions on how behavioral interventions for infants and young toddlers can inform future intervention research with infant populations.
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- 2023
15. A spatial analysis of service lag to early intensive behavioral intervention for medicaid-enrolled children with autism
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Adele Dimian, Jason J Wolff, Frank Symons, and Jessica Simacek
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Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) is an evidence- based approach to increase adaptive behavior among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite an emphasis on early intervention, significant barriers can interfere with timely intervention access. The purpose of this study was to assess the relation between geographical distributions of families of children with ASD on beginning EIBI services. A cohort of children ages 3- to 5- years old with ASD between 2008 and 2010 were identified through Minnesota’s Medicaid Management Information System. We assessed the distribution and the average time lag from a received diagnosis to EIBI onset with the geographical information system (GIS). Results showed the majority of the cohort experienced a delay, regardless of geography, with non-metro/ rural areas experiencing shorter delays than metro/urban areas. Future research should further evaluate other factors that could affect the timeliness of intervention and ways in which to alleviate these barriers. Keywords: autism; geographic information system, early intensive behavioral intervention
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- 2023
16. Differential Cognitive and Behavioral Development from 6 to 24 Months in Autism and Fragile X Syndrome
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Lindsay J. Mullin, Joshua Rutsohn, Julia L. Gross, Kelly E. Caravella, Leigh Anne Weisenfeld, Lisa Flake, Kelly N. Botteron, Stephen R. Dager, Annette M. Estes, Juhi Pandey, Robert T. Schultz, Tanya St. John, Jason J. Wolff, Mark D. Shen, Joseph Piven, Heather C. Hazlett, and Jessica B. Girault
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Background: Specifying early developmental differences among neurodevelopmental disorders with distinct etiologies but similar clinical phenotypes is critical to improving early identification and tailored intervention during the first years of life. Recent studies have uncovered important differences between infants with fragile X syndrome (FXS) and infants with familial history (FH) of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who go on to develop autism themselves (FH-ASD), including differences in brain development and behavioral symptomology. However, there have been no studies investigating differential developmental skill profiles in FXS and FH-ASD infants. Methods: The current study contrasted longitudinal trajectories of verbal (expressive and receptive language) and nonverbal (gross and fine motor, visual reception) skills in infants with FXS and FH-ASD infants, compared to typically developing controls and FH infants who did not develop ASD (FH-nonASD). Results: Infants with FXS showed delays in developmental composite scores compared to FH-ASD (and FH-nonASD and control) infants as early as 6 months of age. At 12 months an ordinal pattern was established between groups on all domains tested, such that controls > FH-nonASD > FH-ASD > FXS. This pattern persisted through 24 months. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate detectable delays by 6 months in FXS, whereas FH-ASD infants were indistinguishable from typically developing infants until 12 months. This highlights an earlier onset of global cognitive delays in FXS and, conversely, a protracted period of more subtly emerging delays in FH-ASD. Divergent neural and cognitive development in infancy between FXS and FH-ASD add to our understanding of important distinctions in the development and behavioral phenotype of these two groups.
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- 2023
17. Sex differences associated with corpus callosum development in human infants: A longitudinal multimodal imaging study.
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Astrid Schmied, Takahiro Soda, Guido Gerig, Martin Styner, Meghan R. Swanson, Jed T. Elison, Mark D. Shen, Robert C. McKinstry, John R. Pruett Jr., Kelly N. Botteron, Annette M. Estes, Stephen R. Dager, Heather Cody Hazlett, Robert T. Schultz, Joseph Piven, and Jason J. Wolff
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- 2020
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18. Educational Outcomes of a Cohort of Children With Autism Who Received Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention
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Frank J. Symons, Adele F. Dimian, and Jason J. Wolff
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Autism spectrum disorder ,Intervention (counseling) ,mental disorders ,Rehabilitation ,Cohort ,medicine ,Autism ,Psychology ,medicine.disease ,behavioral disciplines and activities ,Education ,Clinical psychology ,Dreyfus model of skill acquisition - Abstract
Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) can be effective for supporting skills acquisition among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Few studies have followed children with ASD who received EIBI into schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate educational outcomes specific to instructional placement, standardized test proficiency, and special education eligibility under the ASD category for children who received EIBI. Medicaid records were utilized to create a cross-systems data set of 3- to 5-year-old children with ASD ( n = 667). Most students were placed in general education, and males and White students were more likely to receive special education services for ASD. Only half of the students participated in standardized testing and met proficiency standards. Implications for future research and advocacy for early intervention are discussed.
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- 2021
19. Predicting Autism in Infancy
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Joseph Piven and Jason J. Wolff
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Adult ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,First year of life ,Article ,Intervention (counseling) ,Prevalence ,Developmental and Educational Psychology ,Humans ,Medicine ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Early childhood ,Autistic Disorder ,Child ,business.industry ,05 social sciences ,Infant ,medicine.disease ,Mental health ,United States ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Mental Health ,Neurodevelopmental Disorders ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Child, Preschool ,Potential biomarkers ,Autism ,Identification (biology) ,business ,050104 developmental & child psychology ,Clinical psychology - Abstract
By definition, autism spectrum disorder emerges during early childhood. However, despite longstanding recommendations for earlier identification and intervention, there has been relatively slow progress in lowering the average age of diagnosis and enrollment in treatment for affected children. This has been due to several factors, including the inadequacy of behavioral risk markers and clinical practice entailing a “wait to see” or “wait to fail” approach to identification. Converging evidence now suggests that brain changes precede changes in behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder. This work has led to the discovery of potential biomarkers of presymptomatic or prodromal risk, which may be used to accurately identify children at ultra-high risk during the first year of life. Such findings raise the possibility of intervention before the consolidation of core autistic features and during a period of substantial neural plasticity. While these avenues of research suggest strong potential for eventual clinical application, they also raise new questions regarding content, dosage, and timing of intervention as well as ethical, legal, and social considerations concerning presymptomatic identification and treatment.
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- 2021
20. Towards a Data-Driven Approach to Screen for Autism Risk at 12 Months of Age
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Jed T. Elison, Shoba Sreenath Meera, Linda R. Watson, Annette Estes, Jason J. Wolff, Truong Kinh, Heather C. Hazlett, Kelly N. Botteron, Catherine A. Burrows, Stephen R. Dager, Grace T. Baranek, Joseph Piven, Mark D. Shen, Tanya St John, Robert T. Schultz, Kevin Donovan, Juhi Pandey, Meghan R. Swanson, and Lonnie Zwaigenbaum
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Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,education.field_of_study ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,business.industry ,05 social sciences ,Population ,Infant ,Familial risk ,medicine.disease ,Article ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Child, Preschool ,mental disorders ,Developmental and Educational Psychology ,medicine ,Humans ,Diagnostic assessment ,Autism ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Autistic Disorder ,education ,business ,050104 developmental & child psychology - Abstract
Objective This study aimed to develop a classifier for infants at 12 months of age based on a parent-report measure (the First Year Inventory 2.0 [FYI]), for the following reasons: (1) to classify infants at elevated risk, above and beyond that attributable to familial risk status for ASD; and (2) to serve as a starting point to refine an approach for risk estimation in population samples. Method A total of 54 high−familial risk (HR) infants later diagnosed with ASD (HR-ASD), 183 HR infants not diagnosed with ASD at 24 months of age (HR-Neg), and 72 low-risk controls participated in the study. All infants contributed FYI data at 12 months of age and had a diagnostic assessment for ASD at age 24 months. A data-driven, cross-validated analytic approach was used to develop a classifier to determine screening accuracy (eg, sensitivity) of the FYI to classify HR-ASD and HR-Neg. Results The newly developed FYI classifier had an estimated sensitivity of 0.71 (95% CI: 0.50, 0.91) and specificity of 0.72 (95% CI: 0.49, 0.91). Conclusion This classifier demonstrates the potential to improve current screening for ASD risk at 12 months of age in infants already at elevated familial risk for ASD, increasing opportunities for detection of autism risk in infancy. Findings from this study highlight the utility of combining parent-report measures with machine learning approaches.
- Published
- 2021
21. Quantifying latent social motivation and its associations with joint attention and language in infants at high and low likelihood for autism spectrum disorder
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Isabella C, Stallworthy, Daniel, Berry, Savannah, Davis, Jason J, Wolff, Catherine A, Burrows, Meghan R, Swanson, Rebecca L, Grzadzinski, Kelly, Botteron, Stephen R, Dager, Annette M, Estes, Robert T, Schultz, Joseph, Piven, Jed T, Elison, John R, Pruett, and Natasha, Marrus
- Subjects
Cognitive Neuroscience ,Developmental and Educational Psychology - Abstract
Social motivation-the psychobiological predisposition for social orienting, seeking social contact, and maintaining social interaction-manifests in early infancy and is hypothesized to be foundational for social communication development in typical and atypical populations. However, the lack of infant social-motivation measures has hindered delineation of associations between infant social motivation, other early-arising social abilities such as joint attention, and language outcomes. To investigate how infant social motivation contributes to joint attention and language, this study utilizes a mixed longitudinal sample of 741 infants at high (HL = 515) and low (LL = 226) likelihood for ASD. Using moderated nonlinear factor analysis (MNLFA), we incorporated items from parent-report measures to establish a novel latent factor model of infant social motivation that exhibits measurement invariance by age, sex, and familial ASD likelihood. We then examined developmental associations between 6- and 12-month social motivation, joint attention at 12-15 months, and language at 24 months of age. On average, greater social-motivation growth from 6-12 months was associated with greater initiating joint attention (IJA) and trend-level increases in sophistication of responding to joint attention (RJA). IJA and RJA were both positively associated with 24-month language abilities. There were no additional associations between social motivation and future language in our path model. These findings substantiate a novel, theoretically driven approach to modeling social motivation and suggest a developmental cascade through which social motivation impacts other foundational skills. These findings have implications for the timing and nature of intervention targets to support social communication development in infancy. HIGHLIGHTS: We describe a novel, theoretically based model of infant social motivation wherein multiple parent-reported indicators contribute to a unitary latent social-motivation factor. Analyses revealed social-motivation factor scores exhibited measurement invariance for a longitudinal sample of infants at high and low familial ASD likelihood. Social-motivation growth from ages 6-12 months is associated with better 12-15-month joint attention abilities, which in turn are associated with greater 24-month language skills. Findings inform timing and targets of potential interventions to support healthy social communication in the first year of life.
- Published
- 2022
22. Examining the factor structure and discriminative utility of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised in infant siblings of autistic children
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Sooyeon, Sung, Angela, Fenoglio, Jason J, Wolff, Robert T, Schultz, Kelly N, Botteron, Stephen R, Dager, Annette M, Estes, Heather C, Hazlett, Lonnie, Zwaigenbaum, Joseph, Piven, Jed T, Elison, and H, Gu
- Subjects
Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Siblings ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Infant Behavior ,Humans ,Infant ,Female ,Autistic Disorder ,Child - Abstract
Using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised in a longitudinal sample of infant siblings of autistic children (HR; n = 427, 171 female, 83.4% White) and a comparison group of low-risk controls (LR, n = 200, 86 female, 81.5% White), collected between 2007 and 2017, this study identified an invariant factor structure of temperament traits across groups at 6 and 12 months. Second, after partitioning the groups by familial risk and diagnostic outcome at 24 months, results reveal an endophenotypic pattern of Positive Emotionality at both 6 and 12 months, (HR-autism spectrum disorder [ASD] HR-no-ASD LR). Third, increased 'Duration of Orienting' at 12 months was associated with lower scores on the 24-month developmental outcomes in HR infants. These findings may augment efforts for early identification of ASD.
- Published
- 2022
23. Delay to Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention and Educational Outcomes for a Medicaid-Enrolled Cohort of Children with Autism
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Frank J. Symons, Jason J. Wolff, and Adele F. Dimian
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Evidence-based practice ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Minnesota ,Cohort Studies ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Behavior Therapy ,Early Medical Intervention ,Intervention (counseling) ,Early Intervention, Educational ,Developmental and Educational Psychology ,medicine ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Child ,Psychiatry ,Generalized estimating equation ,Medicaid ,Public health ,05 social sciences ,medicine.disease ,United States ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Child, Preschool ,Cohort ,Educational Status ,Autism ,Female ,Psychology ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,050104 developmental & child psychology - Abstract
Increased prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has underscored the need for early intervention services. Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) is among the most common evidence-based approaches, however, stakeholders report significant waitlists. The effects of these delays to intervention are unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of delay to EIBI for preschool aged children with ASD on later educational outcomes. Medicaid records from Minnesota (2008-2010) were used to evaluate a cohort diagnosed with ASD and their later educational outcomes from 2010 to 2014 (n = 667) using generalized estimating equations. Approximately 70% of children experienced a delay to EIBI and children that experienced less delay and started EIBI at a younger age had better educational outcomes.
- Published
- 2020
24. Quantitative trait variation in ASD probands and toddler sibling outcomes at 24 months
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Joseph Piven, Mark D. Shen, Kelly N. Botteron, Shoba Sreenath Meera, Heather C. Hazlett, Annette Estes, Robert T. Schultz, Jason J. Wolff, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Rebecca Grzadzinski, John N. Constantino, Jessica B. Girault, Meghan R. Swanson, Tanya St John, Juhi Pandey, Catherine A. Burrows, and Stephen R. Dager
- Subjects
Proband ,Male ,Adolescent ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Cognitive Neuroscience ,Autism ,Infant sibling ,Development ,Pathology and Forensic Medicine ,Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule ,lcsh:RC321-571 ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,mental disorders ,medicine ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Sibling ,Toddler ,Child ,lcsh:Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry ,Language ,business.industry ,Research ,Siblings ,Communication ,05 social sciences ,Neuropsychology ,Infant ,medicine.disease ,Family study ,Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale ,Phenotype ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Child, Preschool ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Female ,Neurology (clinical) ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,050104 developmental & child psychology ,Clinical psychology - Abstract
BackgroundYounger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at increased likelihood of receiving an ASD diagnosis and exhibiting other developmental concerns. It is unknown how quantitative variation in ASD traits and broader developmental domains in older siblings with ASD (probands) may inform outcomes in their younger siblings.MethodsParticipants included 385 pairs of toddler siblings and probands from the Infant Brain Imaging Study. ASD probands (mean age 5.5 years, range 1.7 to 15.5 years) were phenotyped using the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ), and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition (VABS-II). Siblings were assessed using the ADI-R, VABS-II, Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL), and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and received a clinical best estimate diagnosis at 24 months using DSM-IV-TR criteria (n = 89 concordant for ASD;n = 296 discordant). We addressed two aims: (1) to determine whether proband characteristics are predictive of recurrence in siblings and (2) to assess associations between proband traits and sibling dimensional outcomes at 24 months.ResultsRegarding recurrence risk, proband SCQ scores were found to significantly predict sibling 24-month diagnostic outcome (OR for a 1-point increase in SCQ = 1.06; 95% CI = 1.01, 1.12). Regarding quantitative trait associations, we found no significant correlations in ASD traits among proband-sibling pairs. However, quantitative variation in proband adaptive behavior, communication, and expressive and receptive language was significantly associated with sibling outcomes in the same domains; proband scores explained 9–18% of the variation in cognition and behavior in siblings with ASD. Receptive language was particularly strongly associated in concordant pairs (ICC = 0.50,p ConclusionsProband ASD symptomology, indexed by the SCQ, is a predictor of familial ASD recurrence risk. While quantitative variation in social communication and restricted and repetitive behavior were not associated among sibling pairs, standardized ratings of proband language and communication explained significant variation in the same domains in the sibling at 24 months, especially among toddlers with an ASD diagnosis. These data suggest that proband characteristics can alert clinicians to areas of developmental concern for young children with familial risk for ASD.
- Published
- 2020
25. Pre-symptomatic intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD): defining a research agenda
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Michael J. Guralnick, Jed T. Elison, Kevin G. Bath, Joseph Piven, Dima Amso, Gedeon O. Deák, Rebecca Landa, Leonard J Abbeduto, Linda R. Watson, Rebecca Grzadzinski, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Annette Estes, Jason J. Wolff, and Jessica Brian
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Neurology ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) ,Autism ,Cognitive Neuroscience ,MEDLINE ,Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry ,Review ,behavioral disciplines and activities ,Pathology and Forensic Medicine ,Empirical research ,Behavior Therapy ,Clinical Research ,Multidisciplinary approach ,Intervention (counseling) ,Behavioral and Social Science ,mental disorders ,medicine ,Humans ,Psychology ,Social Behavior ,Pediatric ,Prevention ,Neurosciences ,Neuropsychology ,Infant ,medicine.disease ,Brain Disorders ,Mental Health ,Conceptual framework ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Neurology (clinical) ,RC321-571 ,Clinical psychology - Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) impacts an individual’s ability to socialize, communicate, and interact with, and adapt to, the environment. Over the last two decades, research has focused on early identification of ASD with significant progress being made in understanding the early behavioral and biological markers that precede a diagnosis, providing a catalyst for pre-symptomatic identification and intervention. Evidence from preclinical trials suggest that intervention prior to the onset of ASD symptoms may yield more improved developmental outcomes, and clinical studies suggest that the earlier intervention is administered, the better the outcomes. This article brings together a multidisciplinary group of experts to develop a conceptual framework for behavioral intervention, during the pre-symptomatic period prior to the consolidation of symptoms into diagnosis, in infants at very-high-likelihood for developing ASD (VHL-ASD). The overarching goals of this paper are to promote the development of new intervention approaches, empirical research, and policy efforts aimed at VHL-ASD infants during the pre-symptomatic period (i.e., prior to the consolidation of the defining features of ASD).
- Published
- 2021
26. Variability in Responding to Joint Attention Cues in the First Year is Associated With Autism Outcome
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Annette Estes, Jason J. Wolff, Daniel Berry, Carolyn Lasch, Isabella C. Stallworthy, Stephen R. Dager, Robert T. Schultz, John R. Pruett, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Joseph Piven, Meghan R. Swanson, Natasha Marrus, Kelly N. Botteron, Jed T. Elison, and Heather C. Hazlett
- Subjects
Adult ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Joint attention ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Context (language use) ,Audiology ,Article ,Nonverbal communication ,Developmental and Educational Psychology ,medicine ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Attention ,Autistic Disorder ,Child ,business.industry ,Siblings ,05 social sciences ,Infant ,Familial risk ,medicine.disease ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Autism ,Cues ,business ,050104 developmental & child psychology - Abstract
Objective With development, infants become increasingly responsive to the many attention-sharing cues of adults; however, little work has examined how this ability emerges in typical development or in the context of early autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study characterized variation in the type of cue needed to elicit a response to joint attention (RJA) using the Dimensional Joint Attention Assessment (DJAA) during naturalistic play. Method We measured the average redundancy of cue type required for infants to follow RJA bids from an experimenter, as well as their response consistency, in 268 infants at high (HR, n = 68) and low (LR, N = 200) familial risk for ASD. Infants were assessed between 8 and 18 months of age and followed up with developmental and clinical assessments at 24 or 36 months. Our sample consisted of LR infants, as well as HR infants who did (HR-ASD) and did not (HR-neg) develop ASD at 24 months. Results We found that HR and LR infants developed abilities to respond to less redundant (more sophisticated) RJA cues at different rates, and that HR-ASD infants displayed delayed abilities, identifiable as early as 9 months, compared to both HR-neg and LR infants. Interestingly, results suggest that HR-neg infants may exhibit a propensity to respond to less redundant (more sophisticated) RJA cues relative to both HR-ASD and LR infants. Conclusions Using an approach to characterize variable performance of RJA cue-reading abilities, findings from this study enhance our understanding of both typical and ASD-related proficiencies and deficits in RJA development.
- Published
- 2021
27. Examining criterion-oriented validity of the Repetitive Behavior Scales for Early Childhood (RBS-EC) and the Video-Referenced Rating of Reciprocal Social Behavior (vrRSB)
- Author
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Jason J. Wolff, Carolyn Lasch, and Jed T. Elison
- Subjects
Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Emotions ,Discriminant validity ,Infant ,medicine.disease ,Article ,Developmental psychology ,Repetitive behavior ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Cognition ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Child, Preschool ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Developmental and Educational Psychology ,Criterion validity ,medicine ,Humans ,Autism ,Social competence ,Early childhood ,Child ,Social Behavior ,Psychology ,Reciprocal - Abstract
Improved characterization of quantitative traits and dimensionally distributed complex behaviors during toddlerhood may improve early identification of autism spectrum disorder and related neurodevelopmental disorders. Parents of 205 community-ascertained toddlers (age: mean = 20.2, SD = 2.6 months) completed the Repetitive Behavior Scales for Early Childhood (RBS-EC) and the Video-Referenced Rating of Reciprocal Social Behavior (vrRSB), with longitudinal follow-up of behavioral assessments and/or another round of parent-report questionnaires. Criterion validity was examined both concurrently and longitudinally using the Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (ITSEA) as a criterion anchor. Reciprocal social behavior as measured by the vrRSB was significantly associated with social competence as measured by the ITSEA, longitudinally and concurrently. Reciprocal social behavior was not associated with the externalizing subscale on the ITSEA, providing evidence of discriminant validity. Higher-order repetitive behaviors (restricted interests; rituals and routines) as measured by RBS-EC subscales were associated with the dysregulation and internalizing subscales of the ITSEA, longitudinally and concurrently. All RBS-EC subscales (excepting repetitive motor) were associated concurrently and longitudinally with the dysregulation subscale of the ITSEA. We report evidence of criterion-oriented and discriminant validity for the constructs/domains captured by the RBS-EC and vrRSB. These instruments may be particularly useful in characterizing dimensional variability across the typical-to-atypical continuum.
- Published
- 2019
28. The Importance of Temperament for Understanding Early Manifestations of Autism Spectrum Disorder in High-Risk Infants
- Author
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Annette Estes, Kelly N. Botteron, Jason J. Wolff, Breanna Winder-Patel, Robert T. Schultz, Stephen R. Dager, Heather C. Hazlett, Juhi Pandey, Jed T. Elison, Joseph Piven, Sarah Paterson, and Lonnie Zwaigenbaum
- Subjects
Surgency ,Early signs ,media_common.quotation_subject ,05 social sciences ,medicine.disease ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Autism spectrum disorder ,mental disorders ,Developmental and Educational Psychology ,medicine ,Personality ,Autism ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Temperament ,Early childhood ,Psychology ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,050104 developmental & child psychology ,media_common ,Clinical psychology ,High risk infants - Abstract
The present study investigated the relationship between infant temperament characteristics and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) risk status. Temperament was examined at 6, 12, and 24 months in 282 infants at high familial risk for ASD and 114 low-risk controls using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised and Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire. Infants were divided into three groups at 24 months: High-Risk Positive—classified as ASD (HR Pos), High-Risk Negative (HR Neg), and Low-Risk Negative (LR Neg). At 6 and 12 months HR Pos infants exhibited lower Surgency and Regulatory Capacity than LR Neg infants. By 12 months they also demonstrated increased Negative Affect. Group differences remained, when early signs of ASD were controlled for, suggesting that temperament differences could be useful targets for understanding the development of ASD.
- Published
- 2019
29. Early motor abilities in infants at heightened versus low risk for ASD: A Baby Siblings Research Consortium (BSRC) study
- Author
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Klaus Libertus, Suzanne Curtin, Frederick Shic, Helen Tager-Flusberg, Nurit Yirmiya, Charles A. Nelson, Katarzyna Chawarska, Daniel S. Messinger, April R. Levin, Gregory S. Young, Ted Hutman, Kelly A. Sheperd, Jana M. Iverson, Annette Estes, Jason J. Wolff, Rebecca Landa, Carla A. Wall, Judith M. Gardner, Sally J Ozonoff, Lori-Ann R. Sacrey, and Wendy L. Stone
- Subjects
Male ,050103 clinical psychology ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) ,Autism ,Gross motor skill ,Audiology ,ASD ,gross motor ,behavioral disciplines and activities ,Article ,infant siblings ,Motor domain ,Risk Factors ,Clinical Research ,early identification ,mental disorders ,medicine ,Humans ,Psychology ,Genetic Predisposition to Disease ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Child ,Preschool ,Biological Psychiatry ,Group performance ,Motor skill ,Fine motor ,Pediatric ,Siblings ,Prevention ,05 social sciences ,Symptom severity ,Infant ,medicine.disease ,fine motor ,Brain Disorders ,Clinical Psychology ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Mental Health ,Motor Skills ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Child, Preschool ,Infant development ,Female ,Cognitive Sciences - Abstract
Research has identified early appearing differences in gross and fine motor abilities in infants at heightened risk (HR) for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) because they are the younger siblings of children with ASD, and it suggests that such differences may be especially apparent among those HR infants themselves eventually diagnosed with ASD. The present study examined overall and item-level performance on the gross (GM) and fine motor (FM) subscales of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) administered at 6 months to a large, geographically diverse sample of HR infants with varying developmental outcomes (ASD, elevated ADOS without ASD, low ADOS without ASD) and to infants with low ASD risk (low risk [LR]). We also explored whether motor abilities assessed at 6 months predicted ASD symptom severity at 36 months. FM (but not GM) performance distinguished all 3 HR groups from LR infants with the weakest performance observed in the HR-Elevated ADOS children, who exhibited multiple differences from both LR and other HR infants in both gross and fine motor skills. Finally, 6-month FM (but not GM) scores significant predicted 36-month ADOS severity scores in the HR group; but no evidence was found of specific early appearing motor signs associated with a later ASD diagnosis. Vulnerabilities in infants' fine and gross motor skills may have significant consequences for later development not only in the motor domain but in other domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
- Published
- 2019
30. Cataloguing and characterizing interests in typically developing toddlers and toddlers who develop ASD
- Author
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Stephen R. Dager, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Annette Estes, James W. Bodfish, Melody R Altschuler, Heather C. Hazlett, Jason J. Wolff, Kelly N. Botteron, Elayne Vollman, John R. Pruett, Joseph Piven, Jed T. Elison, Catherine A. Burrows, and Robert T. Schultz
- Subjects
Male ,Risk ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,behavioral disciplines and activities ,Article ,Developmental psychology ,03 medical and health sciences ,Typically developing ,0302 clinical medicine ,mental disorders ,medicine ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Family ,Genetics (clinical) ,General Neuroscience ,Siblings ,05 social sciences ,Infant ,Familial risk ,medicine.disease ,Large sample ,Phenotype ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Child, Preschool ,Autism ,Neurology (clinical) ,Psychology ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,050104 developmental & child psychology - Abstract
Intense interests are common in children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and little research has characterized aspects of interests that are unique to or shared among children with and without ASD. We aimed to characterize interests in a sample of infants at high-familial-risk (HR) and low-familial-risk (LR) for ASD using a novel interview. Participants included HR siblings who were diagnosed with ASD at 24 months (HR-ASD, n = 56), HR siblings who did not receive an ASD diagnosis at 24 months (HR-Neg, n = 187), and a LR comparison group (n = 109). We developed and collected data with the Intense Interests Inventory at 18- and 24-months of age, a semi-structured interview that measures intensity and peculiarity of interests in toddlers and preschool-aged children. Intensity of interests differed by familial risk at 24 months, with HR-ASD and HR-Neg groups demonstrating equivalent intensity of interests that were higher than the LR group. By contrast, peculiarity of interest differed by ASD diagnosis, with the HR-ASD group showing more peculiar interests than the HR-Neg and LR groups at 24 months. At 18 months the HR-ASD group had more peculiar interests than the LR group, though no differences emerged in intensity of interests. This measure may be useful in identifying clinically-relevant features of interests in young children with ASD. We also replicated previous findings of males showing more intense interests at 18 months in our non-ASD sample. These results reveal new information about the nature of interests and preoccupations in the early autism phenotype. LAY SUMMARY: Intense interests are common in young children with autism and their family members. Intense interests are also prevalent among typically-developing children, and especially boys. Here we catalog interests and features of these interests in a large sample of toddlers enriched for autism risk. Children who had family members with autism had more intense interests, and those who developed autism themselves had more unusual interests at 24 months. These results highlight the importance of different aspects of interest in autism.
- Published
- 2021
31. Presymptomatic Detection and Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Author
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Annette Estes, Jason J. Wolff, Katherine E. MacDuffie, Holly L. Peay, Benjamin S. Wilfond, Joseph Piven, Lucas T. Harrington, and John R. Pruett
- Subjects
Ethics Rounds ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Psychological intervention ,Primary care ,behavioral disciplines and activities ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Quality of life (healthcare) ,030225 pediatrics ,Intervention (counseling) ,Early Medical Intervention ,mental disorders ,medicine ,Humans ,Risks and benefits ,Psychiatry ,Neurodiversity ,business.industry ,Infant ,medicine.disease ,Clinical trial ,Early Diagnosis ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Research Design ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,business - Abstract
Universal screening for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is recommended during pediatric primary care visits in the first 2 years of life. However, many children are missed by initial screening and not diagnosed with ASD until years later. Research efforts are underway to develop and evaluate new objective measures of risk for ASD that can be used in infancy, before symptoms emerge. Initial studies with these tests, particularly MRI-based screening for infants at high familial risk, have shown promise but have not yet been evaluated in clinical trials. We present the study design for a hypothetical clinical trial that would combine presymptomatic detection and intervention for ASD and consider, through commentaries from diverse perspectives, the ethical issues that should be anticipated in advance of beginning such trials. Commentators Drs Pruett and Piven address the social value of the proposed research and importance of researcher-bioethicist collaborations. Drs Estes and Wolff discuss the clinical potential and challenges of developing presymptomatic interventions for infants at risk for ASD. Dr Harrington takes a neurodiversity view of presymptomatic prediction and intervention and their implications for autistic identity and quality of life. Finally, Drs MacDuffie, Peay and Wilfond consider the potential risks and benefits that must be evaluated and weighed in the next phases of research on presymptomatic detection and intervention for ASD.
- Published
- 2021
32. Longitudinal change in restricted and repetitive behaviors from 8-36 months
- Author
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Jed T. Elison, Robin Sifre, Daniel Berry, and Jason J. Wolff
- Subjects
Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Cognitive Neuroscience ,Factor score ,Psychological Models ,lcsh:RC321-571 ,Pathology and Forensic Medicine ,Developmental psychology ,03 medical and health sciences ,Cognition ,0302 clinical medicine ,Neurodevelopmental disorder ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,medicine ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Measurement invariance ,Early childhood ,Child ,lcsh:Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry ,Research ,05 social sciences ,Neuropsychology ,medicine.disease ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Child, Preschool ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Normative ,Female ,Neurology (clinical) ,Stereotyped Behavior ,Psychology ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,050104 developmental & child psychology - Abstract
Background Restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) are core features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and one of the earliest behavioral signs of ASD. However, RRBs are also present in typically developing (TD) infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children. Past work suggests that examining change in these behaviors over time is essential to distinguish between normative manifestations of these behaviors and behaviors that denote risk for a neurodevelopmental disorder. One challenge in examining changes in these behaviors over time is that most measures of RRBs have not established longitudinal measurement invariance. The aims of this study were to (1) establish measurement invariance in the Repetitive Behavior Scales for Early Childhood (RBS-EC), a parent-report questionnaire of RRBs, and (2) model developmental change in RRBs from 8 to 36 months. Methods We collected RBS-EC responses from parents of TD infants (n = 180) from 8 to 36 months (n = 606 responses, with participants contributing an average of 3-time points). We leverage a novel methodological approach to measurement invariance testing (Bauer, Psychological Models, 22(3), 507–526, 2017), moderated nonlinear factor analysis (MNLFA), to determine whether the RBS-EC was invariant across age and sex. We then generated adjusted factor score estimates for each subscale of the RBS-EC (repetitive motor, self-directed, and higher-order behaviors), and used linear mixed effects models to estimate between- and within-person changes in the RBS-EC over time. Results The RBS-EC showed some non-invariance as a function of age. We were able to adjust for this non-invariance in order to more accurately model changes in the RBS-EC over time. Repetitive motor and self-directed behaviors showed a linear decline from 8 to 36 months, while higher-order behaviors showed a quadratic trajectory such that they began to decline later in development at around 18 months. Using adjusted factor scores as opposed to unadjusted raw mean scores provided a number of benefits, including increased within-person variability and precision. Conclusions The RBS-EC is sensitive enough to measure the presence of RRBs in a TD sample, as well as their decline with age. Using factor score estimates of each subscale adjusted for non-invariance allowed us to more precisely estimate change in these behaviors over time.
- Published
- 2021
33. Phenoscreening: a developmental approach to research domain criteria-motivated sampling
- Author
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Colleen M. Doyle, Jed T. Elison, Nathaniel E. Helwig, Carolyn Lasch, Christopher David Desjardins, Jason J. Wolff, Elayne Vollman, and Suma Jacob
- Subjects
Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Developmental approach ,Population ,Risk profile ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Developmental and Educational Psychology ,medicine ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,education ,education.field_of_study ,05 social sciences ,Sampling (statistics) ,Infant ,Developmentally Appropriate Practice ,medicine.disease ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Phenotype ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Child, Preschool ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Mixture modeling ,Psychology ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,050104 developmental & child psychology ,Research Domain Criteria ,Clinical psychology - Abstract
Background To advance early identification efforts, we must detect and characterize neurodevelopmental sequelae of risk among population-based samples early in development. However, variability across the typical-to-atypical continuum and heterogeneity within and across early emerging psychiatric/neurodevelopmental disorders represent fundamental challenges to overcome. Identifying multidimensionally determined profiles of risk, agnostic to DSM categories, via data-driven computational approaches represents an avenue to improve early identification of risk. Methods Factor mixture modeling (FMM) was used to identify subgroups and characterize phenotypic risk profiles, derived from multiple parent-report measures of typical and atypical behaviors common to autism spectrum disorder, in a community-based sample of 17- to 25-month-old toddlers (n = 1,570). To examine the utility of risk profile classification, a subsample of toddlers (n = 107) was assessed on a distal, independent outcome examining internalizing, externalizing, and dysregulation at approximately 30 months. Results FMM results identified five asymmetrically sized subgroups. The putative high- and moderate-risk groups comprised 6% of the sample. Follow-up analyses corroborated the utility of the risk profile classification; the high-, moderate-, and low-risk groups were differentially stratified (i.e., HR > moderate-risk > LR) on outcome measures and comparison of high- and low-risk groups revealed large effect sizes for internalizing (d = 0.83), externalizing (d = 1.39), and dysregulation (d = 1.19). Conclusions This data-driven approach yielded five subgroups of toddlers, the utility of which was corroborated by later outcomes. Data-driven approaches, leveraging multiple developmentally appropriate dimensional RDoC constructs, hold promise for future efforts aimed toward early identification of at-risk-phenotypes for a variety of early emerging neurodevelopmental disorders.
- Published
- 2020
34. Sleep-onset problems and subcortical development in infants later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder
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Mark D. Shen, Meghan R. Swanson, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Sun Hyung Kim, Tanya St John, Joseph Piven, Juhi Pandey, Katherine E. MacDuffie, Martin Styner, Stephen R. Dager, Kelly N. Botteron, Jed T. Elison, Sarah Paterson, Annette Estes, and Jason J. Wolff
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,genetic structures ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Hypothalamus ,Audiology ,Globus Pallidus ,behavioral disciplines and activities ,Article ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Thalamus ,Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ,mental disorders ,medicine ,Humans ,business.industry ,Putamen ,Brain ,Infant ,Organ Size ,Sleep Latency ,medicine.disease ,Amygdala ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,030227 psychiatry ,Sleep patterns ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Child, Preschool ,Female ,Sleep onset ,Caudate Nucleus ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Sleep patterns in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) appear to diverge from typical development in the second or third year of life. Little is known, however, about the occurrence of sleep problems in infants who later develop ASD and possible impacts on early brain development. In a longitudinal neuroimaging study of infants at familial high (HR) or low risk (LR) for ASD, parent-reported sleep-onset problems were examined in relation to subcortical brain volumes in the first two years of life. METHODS: 432 infants were included across 3 groups: HR who developed ASD (n=71), HR who did not (n=234), and LR (n=127). Sleep-onset problem scores (derived from an infant temperament measure) were evaluated in relation to longitudinal high-resolution T1 & T2 structural imaging data acquired at 6, 12, and 24 months of age. RESULTS: Sleep-onset problems were more common at 6–12 months for infants who later developed ASD. Infant sleep-onset problems were related to hippocampal volume trajectories from 6–24 months only for those HR infants who developed ASD. Brain-sleep relationships were specific to the hippocampus; no significant relationships were found with volume trajectories of other subcortical structures examined (amygdala, caudate, globus pallidus, putamen, or thalamus). CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide initial evidence that sleep-onset problems in the first year of life precede ASD diagnosis and are associated with altered neurodevelopmental trajectories in HR siblings who go on to develop ASD. If replicated, these findings could provide new insights into a potential role of sleep difficulties in the development of ASD.
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- 2020
35. Cost-Effectiveness of MRI-Based Identification of Presymptomatic Autism in a High-Risk Population
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Ian O. Williamson, Jed T. Elison, Jason J. Wolff, and Carlisle Ford Runge
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Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,lcsh:RC435-571 ,Cost effectiveness ,Population ,autism spectrum disorder ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,lcsh:Psychiatry ,Intellectual disability ,Health care ,medicine ,magnetic resonance imaging ,education ,cost-effectiveness ,health care economics and organizations ,Psychiatry ,education.field_of_study ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,screening ,Magnetic resonance imaging ,Brief Research Report ,medicine.disease ,030227 psychiatry ,3. Good health ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Identification (information) ,early intensive behavioral intervention ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Autism ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Biological siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have increased risk of receiving an ASD diagnosis. In the U.S., most children with ASD are diagnosed after the optimal age to initiate early intervention which can reduce symptom severity and improve outcomes. Recent evidence suggests magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the first year of life can predict later diagnostic status in high-risk siblings. We investigated whether MRI-based screening is a cost-effective method for assigning early intervention. A hybrid decision tree/Markov model was used to evaluate two MRI-based screening strategies at 6 and 12 months of age. Primary outcomes were costs in U.S. dollars and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Results were reported as incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). Costs were estimated from societal, health care, and educational perspectives. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. From a societal perspective, the ICER for MRI-based screening at 6 months was $49,000 per QALY when compared to the status quo, implying that such screening is cost-effective at willingness-to-pay (WTP) thresholds of $50,000–$100,000 per QALY. From the health care and educational perspectives, the ICERs were larger at $99,000 and $76,000 per QALY, respectively. Sensitivity analysis identified that the parameters most influential in affecting cost-effectiveness were the prevalence of ASD and/or co-occurring intellectual disability. MRI specificity also has significant impacts which add to the uncertainty of the results. Future work is needed to determine the sensitivity and, in particular, the specificity of MRI with more certainty. Notably, the cost of the MRI-based screening had the least impact.
- Published
- 2020
36. Sex differences associated with corpus callosum development in human infants: A longitudinal multimodal imaging study
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Heather C. Hazlett, Stephen R. Dager, Guido Gerig, Mark D. Shen, Martin Styner, John R. Pruett, Meghan R. Swanson, Takahiro Soda, Robert C. McKinstry, Robert T. Schultz, Annette Estes, Jason J. Wolff, Joseph Piven, Kelly N. Botteron, Astrid Schmied, and Jed T. Elison
- Subjects
Male ,Cognitive Neuroscience ,Physiology ,Brain imaging ,Biology ,Development ,Corpus callosum ,Multimodal Imaging ,050105 experimental psychology ,Article ,lcsh:RC321-571 ,Corpus Callosum ,03 medical and health sciences ,Sexual dimorphism ,0302 clinical medicine ,Child Development ,Neuroimaging ,Negatively associated ,medicine ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Longitudinal Studies ,lcsh:Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry ,Multimodal imaging ,Sex Characteristics ,05 social sciences ,Infant ,Human brain ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Diffusion Tensor Imaging ,Neurology ,Child, Preschool ,Female ,Infants ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Diffusion MRI ,Rate of growth - Abstract
The corpus callosum (CC) is the largest connective pathway in the human brain, linking cerebral hemispheres. There is longstanding debate in the scientific literature whether sex differences are evident in this structure, with many studies indicating the structure is larger in females. However, there are few data pertaining to this issue in infancy, during which time the most rapid developmental changes to the CC occur. In this study, we examined longitudinal brain imaging data collected from 104 infants at ages 6, 12, and 24 months. We identified sex differences in brain-size adjusted CC area and thickness characterized by a steeper rate of growth in males versus females from ages 6 to 24 months. In contrast to studies of older children and adults, CC size was larger for male compared to female infants. Based on diffusion tensor imaging data, we found that CC thickness is significantly associated with underlying microstructural organization. However, we observed no sex differences in the association between microstructure and thickness, suggesting that the role of factors such as axon density and/or myelination in determining CC size is generally equivalent between sexes. Finally, we found that CC length was negatively associated with nonverbal ability among females.
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- 2019
37. Walking, Gross Motor Development, and Brain Functional Connectivity in Infants and Toddlers
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Mark D. Shen, Chloe M. Adams, Joseph Piven, Heather C. Hazlett, Guido Gerig, Alan C. Evans, Kelly N. Botteron, Stephen R. Dager, Lyndsey Cole, Robert W. Emerson, Robert C. McKinstry, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Annette Estes, Jason J. Wolff, Juhi Pandey, Robert T. Schultz, Meghan R. Swanson, Adam T. Eggebrecht, Bradley L. Schlaggar, Natasha Marrus, Alexandre A. Todorov, Jed T. Elison, Cheryl L. Klohr, Sarah Paterson, John N. Constantino, Wei Gao, John R. Pruett, and Martin Styner
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Nerve net ,Cognitive Neuroscience ,Gross motor skill ,Walking ,gross motor ,050105 experimental psychology ,03 medical and health sciences ,Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience ,Child Development ,0302 clinical medicine ,Physical medicine and rehabilitation ,Neural Pathways ,Humans ,Medicine ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Longitudinal Studies ,Toddler ,Default mode network ,Resting state fMRI ,business.industry ,functional connectivity ,05 social sciences ,Brain ,Infant ,Cognition ,Original Articles ,medicine.disease ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,Child development ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Child, Preschool ,network ,Female ,Nerve Net ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Infant gross motor development is vital to adaptive function and predictive of both cognitive outcomes and neurodevelopmental disorders. However, little is known about neural systems underlying the emergence of walking and general gross motor abilities. Using resting state fcMRI, we identified functional brain networks associated with walking and gross motor scores in a mixed cross-sectional and longitudinal cohort of infants at high and low risk for autism spectrum disorder, who represent a dimensionally distributed range of motor function. At age 12 months, functional connectivity of motor and default mode networks was correlated with walking, whereas dorsal attention and posterior cingulo-opercular networks were implicated at age 24 months. Analyses of general gross motor function also revealed involvement of motor and default mode networks at 12 and 24 months, with dorsal attention, cingulo-opercular, frontoparietal, and subcortical networks additionally implicated at 24 months. These findings suggest that changes in network-level brain–behavior relationships underlie the emergence and consolidation of walking and gross motor abilities in the toddler period. This initial description of network substrates of early gross motor development may inform hypotheses regarding neural systems contributing to typical and atypical motor outcomes, as well as neurodevelopmental disorders associated with motor dysfunction.
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- 2017
38. Autism spectrum disorder screening with the CBCL/1½–5: Findings for young children at high risk for autism spectrum disorder
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Robert T. Schultz, Jason J. Wolff, Juhi Pandey, Joseph Piven, Breanna Winder-Patel, Leslie Rescorla, and Sarah Paterson
- Subjects
Male ,030506 rehabilitation ,Screening test ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Child Behavior ,CBCL ,Language Development ,behavioral disciplines and activities ,03 medical and health sciences ,Child Development ,Cognition ,Risk Factors ,mental disorders ,Developmental and Educational Psychology ,medicine ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Longitudinal Studies ,Psychological Tests ,Siblings ,05 social sciences ,medicine.disease ,Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Case-Control Studies ,Child, Preschool ,Autism ,Female ,0305 other medical science ,Psychology ,050104 developmental & child psychology ,Clinical psychology - Abstract
The screening power of the CBCL/1½–5’s Withdrawn and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Pervasive Developmental Problems (DSM-PDP) scales to identify children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at 24 months was tested in a longitudinal, familial high-risk study. Participants were 56 children at high risk for autism spectrum disorder due to an affected older sibling (high-risk group) and 26 low-risk children with a typically developing older sibling (low-risk group). At 24 months, 13 of the 56 high-risk children were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, whereas the other 43 were not. The high-risk children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder group had significantly higher scores on the CBCL/1½–5’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Pervasive Developmental Problems and Withdrawn scales than children in the low-risk and high-risk children not diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder groups [Formula: see text]. Receiver operating characteristic analyses yielded very high area under the curve values (0.91 and 0.89), and a cut point of T ⩾ 60 yielded sensitivity of 77% and specificity of 97% to 99% between the high-risk children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and the combination of low-risk and high-risk children not diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Consistent with several previous studies, the CBCL/1½–5’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Pervasive Developmental Problems scale and the Withdrawn syndrome differentiated well between children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and those not diagnosed.
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- 2017
39. Early brain development in infants at high risk for autism spectrum disorder
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Heather Cody, Hazlett, Hongbin, Gu, Brent C, Munsell, Sun Hyung, Kim, Martin, Styner, Jason J, Wolff, Jed T, Elison, Meghan R, Swanson, Hongtu, Zhu, Kelly N, Botteron, D Louis, Collins, John N, Constantino, Stephen R, Dager, Annette M, Estes, Alan C, Evans, Vladimir S, Fonov, Guido, Gerig, Penelope, Kostopoulos, Robert C, McKinstry, Juhi, Pandey, Sarah, Paterson, John R, Pruett, Robert T, Schultz, Dennis W, Shaw, Lonnie, Zwaigenbaum, Joseph, Piven, and Core H, Gu
- Subjects
Male ,Risk ,0301 basic medicine ,Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Brain development ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,brain ,autism ,First year of life ,behavioral disciplines and activities ,Imaging data ,Article ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Neuroimaging ,mental disorders ,Humans ,Medicine ,Longitudinal Studies ,Social Behavior ,development ,Family Health ,neuroimaging ,Multidisciplinary ,business.industry ,Infant ,Familial risk ,Prognosis ,medicine.disease ,030104 developmental biology ,Developmental trajectory ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Child, Preschool ,Autism ,Female ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Brain enlargement has been observed in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the timing of this phenomenon, and the relationship between ASD and the appearance of behavioural symptoms, are unknown. Retrospective head circumference and longitudinal brain volume studies of two-year olds followed up at four years of age have provided evidence that increased brain volume may emerge early in development. Studies of infants at high familial risk of autism can provide insight into the early development of autism and have shown that characteristic social deficits in ASD emerge during the latter part of the first and in the second year of life. These observations suggest that prospective brain-imaging studies of infants at high familial risk of ASD might identify early postnatal changes in brain volume that occur before an ASD diagnosis. In this prospective neuroimaging study of 106 infants at high familial risk of ASD and 42 low-risk infants, we show that hyperexpansion of the cortical surface area between 6 and 12 months of age precedes brain volume overgrowth observed between 12 and 24 months in 15 high-risk infants who were diagnosed with autism at 24 months. Brain volume overgrowth was linked to the emergence and severity of autistic social deficits. A deep-learning algorithm that primarily uses surface area information from magnetic resonance imaging of the brain of 6-12-month-old individuals predicted the diagnosis of autism in individual high-risk children at 24 months (with a positive predictive value of 81% and a sensitivity of 88%). These findings demonstrate that early brain changes occur during the period in which autistic behaviours are first emerging.
- Published
- 2017
40. Joint Attention and Brain Functional Connectivity in Infants and Toddlers
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Abraham Z. Snyder, Joseph Piven, Robert C. McKinstry, Eric Feczko, Sarah Paterson, John R. Pruett, Sridhar Kandala, John N. Constantino, Guido Gerig, Robert T. Schultz, Penelope Kostopoulos, Alexandre Todorov, Bradley L. Schlaggar, Steven E. Petersen, Alan C. Evans, Jed T. Elison, Kelly N. Botteron, Martin Styner, John D. Lewis, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Chloe M. Adams, Heather C. Hazlett, Adam T. Eggebrecht, Annette Estes, Jason J. Wolff, Stephen R. Dager, and Samir Das
- Subjects
Joint attention ,Cognitive Neuroscience ,media_common.quotation_subject ,05 social sciences ,Empathy ,medicine.disease ,Brain mapping ,050105 experimental psychology ,03 medical and health sciences ,Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience ,0302 clinical medicine ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Task-positive network ,Theory of mind ,medicine ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Psychology ,Neuroscience ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Default mode network ,media_common ,Social behavior - Abstract
Initiating joint attention (IJA), the behavioral instigation of coordinated focus of 2 people on an object, emerges over the first 2 years of life and supports social-communicative functioning related to the healthy development of aspects of language, empathy, and theory of mind. Deficits in IJA provide strong early indicators for autism spectrum disorder, and therapies targeting joint attention have shown tremendous promise. However, the brain systems underlying IJA in early childhood are poorly understood, due in part to significant methodological challenges in imaging localized brain function that supports social behaviors during the first 2 years of life. Herein, we show that the functional organization of the brain is intimately related to the emergence of IJA using functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging and dimensional behavioral assessments in a large semilongitudinal cohort of infants and toddlers. In particular, though functional connections spanning the brain are involved in IJA, the strongest brain-behavior associations cluster within connections between a small subset of functional brain networks; namely between the visual network and dorsal attention network and between the visual network and posterior cingulate aspects of the default mode network. These observations mark the earliest known description of how functional brain systems underlie a burgeoning fundamental social behavior, may help improve the design of targeted therapies for neurodevelopmental disorders, and, more generally, elucidate physiological mechanisms essential to healthy social behavior development.
- Published
- 2017
41. Corrigendum: Joint Attention and Brain Functional Connectivity in Infants and Toddlers
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Sarah Paterson, Jed T. Elison, John N. Constantino, Robert C. McKinstry, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Guido Gerig, Alan C. Evans, Kelly N. Botteron, Alexandre A. Todorov, John D. Lewis, Robert T. Schultz, Chloe M. Adams, Sridhar Kandala, Bradley L. Schlaggar, John R. Pruett, Penelope Kostopoulos, Abraham Z. Snyder, Stephen R. Dager, Martin Styner, Heather C. Hazlett, Adam T. Eggebrecht, Eric Feczko, Joseph Piven, Samir Das, Annette Estes, Jason J. Wolff, and Steven E. Petersen
- Subjects
Male ,enrichment ,Joint attention ,Cognitive Neuroscience ,Psychology, Child ,Neuropsychological Tests ,Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience ,Child Development ,Neural Pathways ,Humans ,Attention ,development ,initiating joint attention ,Brain Mapping ,Functional connectivity ,fMRI ,Brain ,Infant ,Original Articles ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,Child, Preschool ,network ,Female ,Corrigendum ,Psychology ,Neuroscience - Abstract
Initiating joint attention (IJA), the behavioral instigation of coordinated focus of 2 people on an object, emerges over the first 2 years of life and supports social-communicative functioning related to the healthy development of aspects of language, empathy, and theory of mind. Deficits in IJA provide strong early indicators for autism spectrum disorder, and therapies targeting joint attention have shown tremendous promise. However, the brain systems underlying IJA in early childhood are poorly understood, due in part to significant methodological challenges in imaging localized brain function that supports social behaviors during the first 2 years of life. Herein, we show that the functional organization of the brain is intimately related to the emergence of IJA using functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging and dimensional behavioral assessments in a large semilongitudinal cohort of infants and toddlers. In particular, though functional connections spanning the brain are involved in IJA, the strongest brain-behavior associations cluster within connections between a small subset of functional brain networks; namely between the visual network and dorsal attention network and between the visual network and posterior cingulate aspects of the default mode network. These observations mark the earliest known description of how functional brain systems underlie a burgeoning fundamental social behavior, may help improve the design of targeted therapies for neurodevelopmental disorders, and, more generally, elucidate physiological mechanisms essential to healthy social behavior development.
- Published
- 2020
42. Early Language Exposure Supports Later Language Skills in Infants With and Without Autism
- Author
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Linda R. Watson, Kelly N. Botteron, Annette Estes, Sarah Paterson, Leigh C. MacIntyre, Jason J. Wolff, Kevin Donovan, Jed T. Elison, Joseph Piven, Mark D. Shen, Heidi B McNeilly, Natasha Marrus, Stephen R. Dager, Meghan R. Swanson, Shoba Sreenath Meera, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Julia Parish-Morris, and Tanya St John
- Subjects
Male ,Risk ,Mediation (statistics) ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,behavioral disciplines and activities ,Article ,Developmental psychology ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,medicine ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Longitudinal Studies ,Parent-Child Relations ,Socioeconomic status ,Genetics (clinical) ,Early language ,General Neuroscience ,05 social sciences ,Infant ,medicine.disease ,Educational attainment ,Language development ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Home language ,Child, Preschool ,Autism ,Female ,Neurology (clinical) ,Psychology ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Child Language ,050104 developmental & child psychology - Abstract
The way that parents communicate with their typically developing infants is associated with later infant language development. Here we aim to show that these associations are observed in infants subsequently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study had three groups: high-familial-risk infants who did not have ASD (n = 46); high-familial-risk infants who had ASD (n = 14); and low-familial-risk infants who exhibited typical development (n = 36). All-day home language recordings were collected at 9 and 15 months, and language skills were assessed at 24 months. Across all infants in the study, including those with ASD, a richer home language environment (e.g., hearing more adult words and experiencing more conversational turns) at 9 and 15 months was associated with better language skills. Higher parental educational attainment was associated with a richer home language environment. Mediation analyses showed that the effect of education on child language skills was explained by the richness of the home language environment. Exploratory analyses revealed that typically developing infants experience an increase in caregiver-child conversational turns across 9-15 months, a pattern not seen in children with ASD. The current study shows that parent behavior during the earliest stages of life can have a significant impact on later development, highlighting the home language environment as means to support development in infants with ASD. Autism Res 2019, 12: 1784-1795. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: It has long been understood that caregiver speech supports language skills in typically developing infants. In this study, parents of infants who were later diagnosed with ASD and parents of infants in the control groups completed all-day home language recordings. We found that for all infants in our study, those who heard more caregiver speech had better language skills later in life. Parental education level was also related to how much caregiver speech an infant experienced.
- Published
- 2019
43. The Importance of Temperament for Understanding Early Manifestations of Autism Spectrum Disorder in High-Risk Infants
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Sarah J, Paterson, Jason J, Wolff, Jed T, Elison, Breanna, Winder-Patel, Lonnie, Zwaigenbaum, Annette, Estes, Juhi, Pandey, Robert T, Schultz, Kelly, Botteron, Stephen R, Dager, Heather C, Hazlett, Joseph, Piven, and H, Gu
- Subjects
Male ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Risk Factors ,Child, Preschool ,Infant Behavior ,Humans ,Infant ,Female ,Child ,Temperament - Abstract
The present study investigated the relationship between infant temperament characteristics and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) risk status. Temperament was examined at 6, 12, and 24 months in 282 infants at high familial risk for ASD and 114 low-risk controls using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised and Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire. Infants were divided into three groups at 24 months: High-Risk Positive-classified as ASD (HR Pos), High-Risk Negative (HR Neg), and Low-Risk Negative (LR Neg). At 6 and 12 months HR Pos infants exhibited lower Surgency and Regulatory Capacity than LR Neg infants. By 12 months they also demonstrated increased Negative Affect. Group differences remained, when early signs of ASD were controlled for, suggesting that temperament differences could be useful targets for understanding the development of ASD.
- Published
- 2019
44. Neurodevelopmental heterogeneity and computational approaches for understanding autism
- Author
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Michael Steinbach, Suma Jacob, Jed T. Elison, Jason J. Wolff, Vipan Kumar, and Colleen B. Doyle
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Psychological intervention ,Context (language use) ,Dysfunctional family ,Comorbidity ,Review Article ,lcsh:RC321-571 ,Machine Learning ,03 medical and health sciences ,Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience ,0302 clinical medicine ,mental disorders ,medicine ,Humans ,Medical diagnosis ,lcsh:Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry ,Biological Psychiatry ,Models, Theoretical ,medicine.disease ,3. Good health ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,030104 developmental biology ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Autism ,Unsupervised learning ,Psychology ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Cognitive psychology - Abstract
In recent years, the emerging field of computational psychiatry has impelled the use of machine learning models as a means to further understand the pathogenesis of multiple clinical disorders. In this paper, we discuss how autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was and continues to be diagnosed in the context of its complex neurodevelopmental heterogeneity. We review machine learning approaches to streamline ASD’s diagnostic methods, to discern similarities and differences from comorbid diagnoses, and to follow developmentally variable outcomes. Both supervised machine learning models for classification outcome and unsupervised approaches to identify new dimensions and subgroups are discussed. We provide an illustrative example of how computational analytic methods and a longitudinal design can improve our inferential ability to detect early dysfunctional behaviors that may or may not reach threshold levels for formal diagnoses. Specifically, an unsupervised machine learning approach of anomaly detection is used to illustrate how community samples may be utilized to investigate early autism risk, multidimensional features, and outcome variables. Because ASD symptoms and challenges are not static within individuals across development, computational approaches present a promising method to elucidate subgroups of etiological contributions to phenotype, alternative developmental courses, interactions with biomedical comorbidities, and to predict potential responses to therapeutic interventions.
- Published
- 2019
45. Restricted and Repetitive Behavior and Brain Functional Connectivity in Infants at Risk for Developing Autism Spectrum Disorder
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Alan C. Evans, Kelly N. Botteron, Chloe M. Adams, Martin Styner, Natasha Marrus, Abraham Z. Snyder, Sarah Paterson, Robert C. McKinstry, Heather C. Hazlett, S.E. Petersen, Alexandre A. Todorov, McKinnon Cj, Jed T. Elison, Adam T. Eggebrecht, Pruett, Joseph Piven, Guido Gerig, Dager, Robert T. Schultz, Bradley L. Schlaggar, Juhi Pandey, Annette Estes, Jason J. Wolff, and Lonnie Zwaigenbaum
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Cognitive Neuroscience ,Audiology ,Brain mapping ,Article ,050105 experimental psychology ,Repetitive behavior ,03 medical and health sciences ,Functional brain ,0302 clinical medicine ,Neural Pathways ,medicine ,Humans ,Genetic Predisposition to Disease ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging ,Biological Psychiatry ,Default mode network ,Brain Mapping ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,Functional connectivity ,05 social sciences ,Brain ,Infant ,Construct validity ,medicine.disease ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Child, Preschool ,Female ,Neurology (clinical) ,Stereotyped Behavior ,Psychology ,Functional magnetic resonance imaging ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Background Restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs), detectable by 12 months in many infants in whom autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is later diagnosed, may represent some of the earliest behavioral markers of ASD. However, brain function underlying the emergence of these key behaviors remains unknown. Methods Behavioral and resting-state functional connectivity (fc) magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from 167 children at high and low familial risk for ASD at 12 and 24 months (n = 38 at both time points). Twenty infants met criteria for ASD at 24 months. We divided RRBs into four subcategories (restricted, stereotyped, ritualistic/sameness, self-injurious) and used a data-driven approach to identify functional brain networks associated with the development of each RRB subcategory. Results Higher scores for ritualistic/sameness behavior were associated with less positive fc between visual and control networks at 12 and 24 months. Ritualistic/sameness and stereotyped behaviors were associated with less positive fc between visual and default mode networks at 12 months. At 24 months, stereotyped and restricted behaviors were associated with more positive fc between default mode and control networks. Additionally, at 24 months, stereotyped behavior was associated with more positive fc between dorsal attention and subcortical networks, whereas restricted behavior was associated with more positive fc between default mode and dorsal attention networks. No significant network-level associations were observed for self-injurious behavior. Conclusions These observations mark the earliest known description of functional brain systems underlying RRBs, reinforce the construct validity of RRB subcategories in infants, and implicate specific neural substrates for future interventions targeting RRBs.
- Published
- 2019
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46. A longitudinal study of parent-reported sensory responsiveness in toddlers at-risk for autism
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Jason J, Wolff, Adele F, Dimian, Kelly N, Botteron, Stephen R, Dager, Jed T, Elison, Annette M, Estes, Heather C, Hazlett, Robert T, Schultz, Lonnie, Zwaigenbaum, Joseph, Piven, and H, Gu
- Subjects
Male ,Parents ,Longitudinal study ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Sensory system ,Article ,Repetitive behavior ,DSM-5 ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Developmental and Educational Psychology ,medicine ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Degree of association ,Longitudinal Studies ,05 social sciences ,Infant ,medicine.disease ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Child, Preschool ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Sensation Disorders ,Autism ,Female ,Psychology ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,050104 developmental & child psychology ,Clinical psychology - Abstract
Background Atypical sensory responsivity and sensory interests are now included in the DSM 5 diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) under the broad domain of restricted and repetitive behavior (RRB). However, relatively little is known about the emergence of sensory-related features and their relation to conventionally defined RRB in the first years of life. Methods Prospective, longitudinal parent-report data using the Sensory Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ) were collected for 331 high-risk toddlers (74 of whom met diagnostic criteria for ASD at age 2) and 135 low-risk controls. Longitudinal profiles for SEQ scores were compared between groups across ages 12-24 months. Associations between SEQ measures and measures of RRB subtypes (based on the Repetitive Behavior Scale, Revised) were also examined. Results Longitudinal profiles for all SEQ scores significantly differed between groups. SEQ scores were elevated for the ASD group from age 12 months, with differences becoming more pronounced across the 12-24 month interval. At both 12 and 24 months, most measures derived from the SEQ were significantly associated with all subtypes of RRB. Conclusions These findings suggest that differences in sensory responsivity may be evident in high-risk infants later diagnosed with ASD in early toddlerhood, and that the magnitude of these differences increases over the second year of life. The high degree of association between SEQ scores and RRB supports the conceptual alignment of these features but also raises questions as to explanatory mechanisms.
- Published
- 2018
47. Altered corpus callosum morphology associated with autism over the first 2 years of life
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Kelly N. Botteron, John D. Lewis, Annette Estes, Jason J. Wolff, Heather C. Hazlett, Takahiro Soda, Clement Vachet, Martin Styner, Robert T. Schultz, Jed T. Elison, Stephen R. Dager, Guido Gerig, Joseph Piven, and Lonnie Zwaigenbaum
- Subjects
Male ,congenital, hereditary, and neonatal diseases and abnormalities ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Adolescent ,Audiology ,Corpus callosum ,Corpus Callosum ,Developmental psychology ,White matter ,Young Adult ,Neuroimaging ,mental disorders ,Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ,medicine ,Humans ,Longitudinal Studies ,Child ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,Infant ,Magnetic resonance imaging ,Original Articles ,medicine.disease ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Child Development Disorders, Pervasive ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Child, Preschool ,Brain size ,Autism ,Female ,Neurology (clinical) ,Psychology ,Diffusion MRI - Abstract
Numerous brain imaging studies indicate that the corpus callosum is smaller in older children and adults with autism spectrum disorder. However, there are no published studies examining the morphological development of this connective pathway in infants at-risk for the disorder. Magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from 270 infants at high familial risk for autism spectrum disorder and 108 low-risk controls at 6, 12 and 24 months of age, with 83% of infants contributing two or more data points. Fifty-seven children met criteria for ASD based on clinical-best estimate diagnosis at age 2 years. Corpora callosa were measured for area, length and thickness by automated segmentation. We found significantly increased corpus callosum area and thickness in children with autism spectrum disorder starting at 6 months of age. These differences were particularly robust in the anterior corpus callosum at the 6 and 12 month time points. Regression analysis indicated that radial diffusivity in this region, measured by diffusion tensor imaging, inversely predicted thickness. Measures of area and thickness in the first year of life were correlated with repetitive behaviours at age 2 years. In contrast to work from older children and adults, our findings suggest that the corpus callosum may be larger in infants who go on to develop autism spectrum disorder. This result was apparent with or without adjustment for total brain volume. Although we did not see a significant interaction between group and age, cross-sectional data indicated that area and thickness differences diminish by age 2 years. Regression data incorporating diffusion tensor imaging suggest that microstructural properties of callosal white matter, which includes myelination and axon composition, may explain group differences in morphology.
- Published
- 2015
48. Subcortical Brain and Behavior Phenotypes Differentiate Infants with Autism versus Language Delay
- Author
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R. T. Schultz, Heather C. Hazlett, S. Paterson, Linda R. Watson, Supriyo Das, A. M. Estes, Jitendra Pandey, Mark D. Shen, Hongbin Gu, Meghan R. Swanson, Natasha Marrus, H. C. Hazlett, Annette Estes, C. Chappell, Robert C. McKinstry, Jason J. Wolff, Stephen R. Dager, Robert T. Schultz, J. Piven, Robert W. Emerson, G.B. Pike, Guido Gerig, D.L. Collins, L. Zwaigenbaum, Sarah Paterson, John R. Pruett, John N. Constantino, Juhi Pandey, J. J. Wolff, Joseph Piven, Jed T. Elison, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Dennis W. W. Shaw, Maya Styner, Martin Styner, K. Botteron, Penelope Kostopoulos, Alan C. Evans, Kelly N. Botteron, J. T. Elison, Vladimir S. Fonov, and Kinh Truong
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Language delay ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Cognitive Neuroscience ,Audiology ,behavioral disciplines and activities ,Language Development ,Structural magnetic resonance imaging ,Article ,Developmental psychology ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Environmental risk ,Risk Factors ,mental disorders ,medicine ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging ,Language Development Disorders ,Biological Psychiatry ,Early language ,05 social sciences ,Brain ,medicine.disease ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,Language development ,Increased risk ,Phenotype ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Child, Preschool ,Autism ,Female ,Neurology (clinical) ,Psychology ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,050104 developmental & child psychology - Abstract
Background Younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are themselves at increased risk for ASD and other developmental concerns. It is unclear if infants who display developmental concerns, but are unaffected by ASD, share similar or dissimilar behavioral and brain phenotypes to infants with ASD. Most individuals with ASD exhibit heterogeneous difficulties with language, and their receptive-expressive language profiles are often atypical. Yet, little is known about the neurobiology that contributes to these language difficulties. Methods In this study, we used behavioral assessments and structural magnetic resonance imaging to investigate early brain structures and associations with later language skills. High-risk infants who were later diagnosed with ASD ( n = 86) were compared with high-risk infants who showed signs of early language delay ( n = 41) as well as with high- and low-risk infants who did not have ASD or language delay ( n = 255 and 143, respectively). Results Results indicated that diminished language skills were evident at 12 months in infants with ASD and infants with early language delay. At 24 months of age, only the infants with ASD displayed atypical receptive-expressive language profiles. Associations between 12-month subcortical volumes and 24-month language skills were moderated by group status, indicating disordinal brain-behavior associations among infants with ASD and infants with language delay. Conclusions These results suggest that there are different brain mechanisms influencing language development in infants with ASD and infants with language delay, and that the two groups likely experience unique sets of genetic and environmental risk factors.
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- 2017
49. The journey to autism: Insights from neuroimaging studies of infants and toddlers
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Suma Jacob, Jed T. Elison, and Jason J. Wolff
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Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Neuroimaging ,Article ,Developmental psychology ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Neurodevelopmental disorder ,mental disorders ,Developmental and Educational Psychology ,medicine ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Early childhood ,Extramural ,05 social sciences ,Brain ,Infant ,medicine.disease ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Functional Brain Imaging ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Autism ,Psychology ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,050104 developmental & child psychology - Abstract
By definition, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that emerges during early childhood. It is during this time that infants and toddlers transition from appearing typical across multiple domains to exhibiting the behavioral phenotype of ASD. Neuroimaging studies focused on this period of development have provided crucial knowledge pertaining to this process, including possible mechanisms underlying pathogenesis of the disorder and offering the possibility of prodromal or presymptomatic prediction of risk. In this paper, we review findings from structural and functional brain imaging studies of ASD focused on the first years of life and discuss implications for next steps in research and clinical applications.
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- 2017
50. Naturalistic Language Recordings Reveal 'Hypervocal' Infants at High Familial Risk for Autism
- Author
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Julia Parish-Morris, Juhi Pandey, Mark A. Clements, Stephen R. Dager, Jed T. Elison, Heather C. Hazlett, Mark D. Shen, Robert W. Emerson, Annette Estes, Joseph Piven, Jason J. Wolff, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Meghan R. Swanson, J. Chad Chappell, Robert T. Schultz, Brian A. Boyd, James M. Rehg, Sarah Paterson, and Kelly N. Botteron
- Subjects
Male ,Risk ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Interpersonal communication ,Babbling ,Article ,Education ,Developmental psychology ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Child Development ,Developmental and Educational Psychology ,medicine ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Association (psychology) ,Social Behavior ,Verbal Behavior ,Siblings ,05 social sciences ,Infant ,Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ,Familial risk ,medicine.disease ,Language acquisition ,Child development ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Infant Behavior ,Autism ,Female ,Psychology ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,050104 developmental & child psychology - Abstract
Children's early language environments are related to later development. Little is known about this association in siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who often experience language delays or have ASD. Fifty-nine 9-month-old infants at high or low familial risk for ASD contributed full-day in-home language recordings. High-risk infants produced more vocalizations than low-risk peers; conversational turns and adult words did not differ by group. Vocalization differences were driven by a subgroup of "hypervocal" infants. Despite more vocalizations overall, these infants engaged in less social babbling during a standardized clinic assessment, and they experienced fewer conversational turns relative to their rate of vocalizations. Two ways in which these individual and environmental differences may relate to subsequent development are discussed.
- Published
- 2017
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