Autism Research最新文献

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Neural Endophenotypes of Semantic Processing and Social Functioning in Autism Spectrum Disorder 自闭症谱系障碍语义加工和社会功能的神经内表型。
IF 3.9 2区 医学
Autism Research Pub Date : 2026-09-23 Epub Date: 2026-07-25 DOI: 10.1002/aur.70320
Shu-Hui Lee, Chuan-Ching Liao, Tai-Li Chou, Susan Shur-Fen Gau
{"title":"Neural Endophenotypes of Semantic Processing and Social Functioning in Autism Spectrum Disorder","authors":"Shu-Hui Lee,&nbsp;Chuan-Ching Liao,&nbsp;Tai-Li Chou,&nbsp;Susan Shur-Fen Gau","doi":"10.1002/aur.70320","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70320","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is highly heritable; however, the neural architecture underlying semantic processing and social functioning, and the extent to which it reflects familial liability, remains insufficiently understood. Unaffected siblings (SIB), who share substantial genetic liability with individuals with ASD, offer a critical framework for identifying intermediate neural phenotypes. We examined 36 individuals with ASD, 36 SIB, and 37 typically developing (TD) controls, matched for age, IQ, and handedness. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a semantic judgment task was used to compare neural activation across groups and to assess whether associations with social functioning, measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), reflected familial risk or dimensional continuity across the autism spectrum. Group comparisons revealed a graded endophenotypic pattern in inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) activation, with reduced activation in ASD and intermediate responses in SIB. The middle temporal gyrus (MTG) showed a similar but weaker gradient, with SIB not differing significantly from TD. Both ASD and SIB also demonstrated heightened cuneus activation, consistent with a heritable compensatory shift toward perceptual processing. Importantly, reduced MTG activation, along with a weaker marginal pattern in the IFG, was associated with higher SRS scores in both the familial and full samples, suggesting an association between semantic activation and social functioning. These findings clarify how familial liability and dimensional variation jointly shape the neural organization of semantic processing and social functioning in ASD.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148586158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Counting, Cardinality and Conservation in Autistic Children 自闭症儿童的计数、基数和守恒。
IF 3.9 2区 医学
Autism Research Pub Date : 2026-09-23 Epub Date: 2026-07-23 DOI: 10.1002/aur.70323
Irene Polo-Blanco, Raúl Fernández-Cobos, Agustín Vicente
{"title":"Counting, Cardinality and Conservation in Autistic Children","authors":"Irene Polo-Blanco,&nbsp;Raúl Fernández-Cobos,&nbsp;Agustín Vicente","doi":"10.1002/aur.70323","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70323","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study examined the understanding of cardinality and conservation in children with and without autism (aged 4–7 years, without intellectual disability), and its relation to counting strategies. A total of 82 children participated in the study, including 41 autistic children (36 boys, 5 girls) and 41 age- and sex-matched non-autistic peers. While both groups demonstrated similar mastery of cardinality, autistic children showed lower performance in conservation tasks. Response times were longer in autistic children during counting tasks. Concerning counting strategies, autistic children relied more on verbal counting with pointing (VCP) and used the rapid recognition strategy (N) less frequently, even for small canonical sets. While both strategies (N and VCP) supported cardinality in both autistic and non-autistic children, only the N strategy appeared closely linked to successful conservation performance. These findings highlight two areas of relative difficulty for some autistic children and point to the potential of targeted interventions to strengthen foundational numerical skills and support later mathematical development.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.70323","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148563882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Adaptive Functioning, Sensory Processing, and Behavioral Problems in Autistic Children: The Moderating Role of Gender 自闭症儿童的适应功能、感觉加工与行为问题:性别的调节作用。
IF 3.9 2区 医学
Autism Research Pub Date : 2026-09-23 Epub Date: 2026-07-29 DOI: 10.1002/aur.70327
Cory Shulman, Danielle Bitton, Zili Nir
{"title":"Adaptive Functioning, Sensory Processing, and Behavioral Problems in Autistic Children: The Moderating Role of Gender","authors":"Cory Shulman,&nbsp;Danielle Bitton,&nbsp;Zili Nir","doi":"10.1002/aur.70327","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70327","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently experience elevated emotional and behavioral difficulties, yet factors associated with variability remain incompletely understood. Adaptive functioning and sensory processing differences have been linked to behavioral problems, but little is known about whether associations differ between boys and girls. This study examined relationships between adaptive functioning, sensory processing, and behavioral problems in children with ASD, focusing on gender as a moderator. The purposive sampling included 110 autistic children (<i>M</i>\u0000 <sub>age</sub> = 85.61 months, <i>SD</i> = 31.51; 50 boys and 60 girls) and their primary caregivers. Adaptive functioning was assessed using the <i>Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales</i>–Third Edition, sensory processing using the <i>Short Sensory Profile</i>, and behavioral problems using the <i>C\u0000hild Behavior Checklist</i>. Gender differences were examined with Mann–Whitney tests, associations with Spearman's correlations, and moderation analyses using PROCESS with bootstrap resampling. Girls demonstrated higher internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems than boys, whereas boys showed greater sensory processing differences. Correlational analyses revealed distinct patterns: adaptive functioning showed stronger associations with behavioral difficulties among girls, whereas sensory processing differences were associated with behavioral problems among boys. Moderation analyses indicated that gender moderated the relationship between adaptive functioning and behavioral problems, such that higher adaptive functioning was associated with fewer behavioral difficulties among girls but not boys. These findings highlight gender-specific patterns in associations between functional abilities and behavior profiles in autism, underscoring the importance of considering gender in developmental pathways and intervention approaches.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.70327","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148622783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Sleep in Young Children With Autism, ADHD and Combined Presentations 患有自闭症、多动症和合并表现的幼儿的睡眠。
IF 3.9 2区 医学
Autism Research Pub Date : 2026-09-23 Epub Date: 2026-07-25 DOI: 10.1002/aur.70326
Eva-Maria Kurz, Sven Bölte, Terje Falck-Ytter
{"title":"Sleep in Young Children With Autism, ADHD and Combined Presentations","authors":"Eva-Maria Kurz,&nbsp;Sven Bölte,&nbsp;Terje Falck-Ytter","doi":"10.1002/aur.70326","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70326","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often accompanied by sleep problems. Longitudinal studies hint towards a greater proportion of persisting sleep problems across early development in neurodivergent compared to neurotypical individuals. Within the context of a prospective infant sibling study of autism and ADHD (<i>n</i> = 209), we compared early caregiver-rated sleep trajectories of individuals diagnosed with autism, ADHD or cooccurring autism and ADHD (AuDHD) at 36 months with two groups that did not meet diagnostic criteria—one group of individuals with and one without elevated likelihood of autism and/or ADHD. Sleep behaviors assessed at 10 and 14 months (i.e., number of night awakenings and settle durations) did not differ between individuals with and without a diagnosis of autism and/or ADHD. At 24 and 36 months, individuals diagnosed with autism and/or ADHD took longer to fall asleep, had less sufficient sleep, more parasomnia-related behaviors and had greater overall sleep disturbance than those without a diagnosis, suggesting that their sleep problems are more circumscribed than often reported for older age ranges. In autism specifically, bedtime resistance improved from 24 to 36 months. While additional studies incorporating objective sleep measures are needed, the current results indicate that sleep involvement in neurodevelopmental conditions may mainly reflect transdiagnostic rather than diagnosis-specific processes in early childhood.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.70326","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148586211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Parenting Stress, Parental Attitudes, and Parent-Reported Autism Symptoms of Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Network Analysis and Subgroup Comparison by Severity 父母压力、父母态度和父母报告的儿童和青少年自闭症谱系障碍的自闭症症状:一个网络分析和严重程度的亚组比较
IF 3.9 2区 医学
Autism Research Pub Date : 2026-09-23 Epub Date: 2026-08-04 DOI: 10.1002/aur.70337
Ziqi Wang, Yiming Long, Heng Li, Phil Reed, Xueyao Ma, Yijun Shi, Lin Zhang
{"title":"Parenting Stress, Parental Attitudes, and Parent-Reported Autism Symptoms of Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Network Analysis and Subgroup Comparison by Severity","authors":"Ziqi Wang,&nbsp;Yiming Long,&nbsp;Heng Li,&nbsp;Phil Reed,&nbsp;Xueyao Ma,&nbsp;Yijun Shi,&nbsp;Lin Zhang","doi":"10.1002/aur.70337","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70337","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents substantial challenges for individuals and families, particularly through elevated parenting stress. Previous research has established that parenting stress is influenced by multiple interrelated factors, including parental attitudes toward ASD and parent-reported autism symptoms. Yet, the structural relations among these factors remain poorly understood. This study applied network analysis to delineate the interconnections among parenting stress, parental attitudes, and parent-reported autism symptoms in 997 parents of children and adolescents with ASD (aged 1–18 years). Network structures were compared across subgroups defined by mild, moderate, and severe levels of autism symptoms. Using Gaussian Graphical Models with EBICglasso, the analysis identified central and bridge nodes. In the overall network, “Difficult Child” showed the highest node and bridge strength. Network structure, global strength, and node strength did not differ significantly across severity subgroups after correction for multiple comparisons, which is consistent with a broadly stable network organization of parenting stress across autism severity levels. Across all severity groups, “Difficult Child” consistently emerged as the most central node, highlighting it as a potentially shared intervention-relevant target for supporting families of children with ASD across the autism severity spectrum.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148671389","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Defining and Measuring Developmental Regression During Childhood: A Scoping Review 儿童期发育倒退的定义和测量:范围综述。
IF 3.9 2区 医学
Autism Research Pub Date : 2026-09-23 Epub Date: 2026-08-08 DOI: 10.1002/aur.70325
Kirsten Furley, Jenny Fairthorne, Vishnu Priya Mohanakumar Sindhu, Katrina Williams, Amanda Brignell
{"title":"Defining and Measuring Developmental Regression During Childhood: A Scoping Review","authors":"Kirsten Furley,&nbsp;Jenny Fairthorne,&nbsp;Vishnu Priya Mohanakumar Sindhu,&nbsp;Katrina Williams,&nbsp;Amanda Brignell","doi":"10.1002/aur.70325","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70325","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Developmental regression during childhood is inconsistently defined and measured, resulting in delayed diagnostic discovery and intervention. This study aimed to examine published definitions and measures for developmental regression. A comprehensive search strategy was applied to Medline, Embase, Cochrane, and PsycINFO databases. Reviewers independently screened relevant studies according to the <i>Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews</i>. The number and percentages of definition use, their primary features, and measures were reported. Of 19,099 potential publications, 157 were included. Thematic analysis identified four condition groups: Neurodevelopmental disorders (<i>n</i> = 118); Progressive neurodegenerative conditions (<i>n</i> = 17); Developmental epileptic encephalopathies (<i>n</i> = 8); and Genetic conditions (<i>n</i> = 14). Most studies (<i>n</i> = 124, 79.0%) used an operational definition, and most specified types of skills lost (<i>n</i> = 147, 93.6%). Age of onset was specified in 67.5% (<i>n</i> = 106), and duration was specified in 34.4% (<i>n</i> = 54). Measures designed to specifically assess developmental regression were infrequently used (<i>n</i> = 5, 3.2%). We concluded that developmental regression is inconsistently defined and measured. A consistent approach is vital to ensure that all children are identified as early as possible. This will allow timely diagnostic discovery, enhance research rigor, and promote the collaboration that is needed to advance our understanding of causal mechanisms and effective interventions for affected children and their families.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.70325","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148698309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Cortical Network Overconnectivity Relates to Sensory, Cognitive, and Social Dimensions in Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder 皮层网络过度连接与自闭症谱系障碍幼儿的感觉、认知和社会维度有关。
IF 3.9 2区 医学
Autism Research Pub Date : 2026-09-23 Epub Date: 2026-07-17 DOI: 10.1002/aur.70315
Borja Rodríguez-Herreros, Ahmad Mheich, Joana Maria Almeida Osório, Sonia Richetin, Vincent Junod, Lorène Arnold, Victoria Aeschbach, Lilia Nora Adamou, Katherina Gschwend, Laura Mendes, David Romascano, Paola Yu, Marine Jequier Gygax, Anne M. Maillard, Micah M. Murray, Mahmoud Hassan, Nadia Chabane
{"title":"Cortical Network Overconnectivity Relates to Sensory, Cognitive, and Social Dimensions in Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder","authors":"Borja Rodríguez-Herreros,&nbsp;Ahmad Mheich,&nbsp;Joana Maria Almeida Osório,&nbsp;Sonia Richetin,&nbsp;Vincent Junod,&nbsp;Lorène Arnold,&nbsp;Victoria Aeschbach,&nbsp;Lilia Nora Adamou,&nbsp;Katherina Gschwend,&nbsp;Laura Mendes,&nbsp;David Romascano,&nbsp;Paola Yu,&nbsp;Marine Jequier Gygax,&nbsp;Anne M. Maillard,&nbsp;Micah M. Murray,&nbsp;Mahmoud Hassan,&nbsp;Nadia Chabane","doi":"10.1002/aur.70315","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70315","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The heterogeneity in both the neurobiological mechanisms and the phenotypic presentations of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) poses a major challenge to clinical and translational research. Alterations in functional connectivity (FC) have been associated with ASD, yet it remains unclear whether and how divergent brain network properties may account for individual differences across ASD-related symptomatology and behaviors. We applied source-level reconstruction to rest-like non-task-related high-density EEG data in a cohort of 104 young children (38 with ASD) to identify global and local alterations of cortical network connectivity. We subsequently used regularized canonical correlation analysis (rCCA) to characterize specific FC patterns linked to variation in cognitive, social and sensory dimensions derived from standard clinical instruments. We found increased low-frequency FC in frontotemporal cross-hemispheric networks and lateral-occipital regions of young ASD children versus healthy peers. RCCA revealed three distinct FC patterns in recurrent ASD-related networks, each contributing to predict individual differences in cognitive, social and sensory features. These linked FC-behavior dimensions may shed light on atypical brain network topology associated with specific phenotypic manifestations of ASD, which might implicate unique underlying neurobiological mechanisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.70315","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148474420","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Development and Validation of a Japanese Version of the Sensory Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) 3.0: Structural Differences of Sensory Features Across Autistic Children 日本版感官体验问卷(SEQ) 3.0的开发与验证:自闭症儿童感官特征的结构差异。
IF 3.9 2区 医学
Autism Research Pub Date : 2026-09-23 Epub Date: 2026-07-25 DOI: 10.1002/aur.70317
Takeshi Atsumi, Haruka Ito, Akane Shinjo, Tomoe Fukutomi, Yasuo Terao, Masakazu Ide, Kanae Matsushima
{"title":"Development and Validation of a Japanese Version of the Sensory Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) 3.0: Structural Differences of Sensory Features Across Autistic Children","authors":"Takeshi Atsumi,&nbsp;Haruka Ito,&nbsp;Akane Shinjo,&nbsp;Tomoe Fukutomi,&nbsp;Yasuo Terao,&nbsp;Masakazu Ide,&nbsp;Kanae Matsushima","doi":"10.1002/aur.70317","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70317","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have unique sensory experiences. For both research and clinical purposes, tools that measure sensory features in autism are valuable; however, a gold-standard tool does not yet exist. The Sensory Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) 3.0 is a well-established caregiver-/parent-report questionnaire for autistic children and other neurodivergent individuals. This study aimed to develop and psychometrically validate the Japanese version of the SEQ 3.0 (SEQ-J). After validation, we examined the differences in sensory response patterns among children with ASD, those with other neurodevelopmental conditions, and typically developing (TD) children to determine whether the SEQ assesses ASD-specific sensory features. We recruited 154 children with ASD (44 with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] and 66 with other conditions) and 156 TD children, aged 6–12 years. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed an acceptable model fit for four content factors (sensory hyper- and hyporesponsiveness, sensory interests, repetitive and seeking behaviors, and enhanced perception) and six method factors (five sensory modalities and social context) in both children with and without ASD. We performed representational similarity analyses (RSAs) on all 10 SEQ factors, comparing both between- and within-group data. The RSAs revealed no difference in within-group similarities between the ASD group with no other developmental conditions and ASD + ADHD groups, but a significant difference in the overall configuration of scores between diagnostic groups compared to other group combinations. These findings support the psychometric validity of the SEQ-J for measuring sensory response patterns specific to children with ASD. Additionally, the structural configuration of SEQ subscores may be useful for investigating sensory features across diagnostic conditions, including ASD.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148594744","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Visual Responsivity in Autism: Measuring Visual Responses in Autistic and Non-Autistic Adults Using Psychophysics, fMRI, and EEG 自闭症的视觉反应:使用心理物理学、功能磁共振成像和脑电图测量自闭症和非自闭症成年人的视觉反应。
IF 3.9 2区 医学
Autism Research Pub Date : 2026-09-23 Epub Date: 2026-07-31 DOI: 10.1002/aur.70335
Daniela L. Seczon, Kristin M. Woodard, Tamar Kolodny, Hannah M. Rea, Mark Pettet, Sara Jane Webb, Scott O. Murray
{"title":"Visual Responsivity in Autism: Measuring Visual Responses in Autistic and Non-Autistic Adults Using Psychophysics, fMRI, and EEG","authors":"Daniela L. Seczon,&nbsp;Kristin M. Woodard,&nbsp;Tamar Kolodny,&nbsp;Hannah M. Rea,&nbsp;Mark Pettet,&nbsp;Sara Jane Webb,&nbsp;Scott O. Murray","doi":"10.1002/aur.70335","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70335","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Autistic individuals frequently report heightened sensitivity to visual stimuli, often described as discomfort in environments with bright or flickering lights. These experiences are hypothesized to reflect underlying differences in sensory gain or neural hyperexcitability; however, findings across studies have yielded mixed results, likely due to methodological variability. This study aimed to evaluate whether group differences in contrast-dependent neural and behavioral responses to a visual stimulus would be observed across complementary methods: psychophysics, fMRI, and EEG. Thirty-one autistic and twenty-seven non-autistic adults completed experimental sessions in which they passively viewed bilaterally presented 6 Hz counterphase flickering checkerboards at high (100%) and low (2%) contrast. Neural responses were measured using the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal from fMRI and steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) from EEG. Contrast robustly modulated responses across experiments, eliciting higher neural responses; however, no group differences emerged in BOLD or behavioral thresholds. The only significant group difference was observed in SSVEP amplitudes, with autistic individuals showing significantly higher neural entrainment to the flickering stimulus than their non-autistic counterparts. Moreover, SSVEP amplitudes were associated with BOLD responses to the same low contrast visual stimulus, suggesting convergence between frequency-locked EEG responses and hemodynamic activity. SSVEP amplitudes were additionally associated with self-reported measures of hypersensitivity, linking heightened neural entrainment to individual differences in sensory experiences. They also showed a differential relationship with perceptual thresholds across groups. These findings show that differences between autistic and non-autistic participants were more evident in frequency-locked neural responses to periodic visual input, as measured by SSVEPs, and that these responses were meaningfully related to visual cortical BOLD activity and sensory hypersensitivity.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.70335","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148649763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Defining Language Profiles in Young Autistic Children Across Verbal, Speaking, and Generative Dimensions 从语言、说话和生成的维度定义年轻自闭症儿童的语言概况。
IF 3.9 2区 医学
Autism Research Pub Date : 2026-09-23 Epub Date: 2026-08-07 DOI: 10.1002/aur.70324
Federica Beccaria, Liesl Leenen, Marie Kolenberg, Klaartje Vertongen, Ellen Demurie, Marielle Weyland, Petra Warreyn, Herbert Roeyers, Ilse Noens, BeLAS Consortium, Inge Zink, Mikhail Kissine
{"title":"Defining Language Profiles in Young Autistic Children Across Verbal, Speaking, and Generative Dimensions","authors":"Federica Beccaria,&nbsp;Liesl Leenen,&nbsp;Marie Kolenberg,&nbsp;Klaartje Vertongen,&nbsp;Ellen Demurie,&nbsp;Marielle Weyland,&nbsp;Petra Warreyn,&nbsp;Herbert Roeyers,&nbsp;Ilse Noens,&nbsp;BeLAS Consortium,&nbsp;Inge Zink,&nbsp;Mikhail Kissine","doi":"10.1002/aur.70324","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70324","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Language trajectories in autism are highly heterogeneous and cannot be captured by unidimensional classifications. Research and clinical practice often rely on verbal/non-verbal or speaking/non-speaking labels, but these categories, when used in isolation, obscure distinct linguistic profiles. Spoken language is also frequently used as a proxy for structural language skills, despite evidence that speech may not be generative or productive. A multidimensional perspective is therefore needed to determine whether verbal skills, spoken output, and linguistic generativity reflect dissociable aspects of language in autism, and whether variation across these dimensions can be explained by non-verbal cognition or autism characteristics. Participants were 167 autistic children aged 2–6 years from the Dutch- and French-speaking regions of Belgium. Verbal skills were assessed using standardized tests. Speaking status was quantified as the proportion of linguistic segments in spontaneous productions recorded at home. Generativity was measured using a similarity index derived from semantic embeddings. Associations with non-verbal Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and autism characteristics were examined using age-controlled linear models. Overlap between the three dimensions, Verbal, Speaking, and Generativity, was only partial. Some children with little or no speech showed relatively strong structural language abilities, whereas others produced abundant but non-generative speech and had limited structural skills. Both non-verbal IQ and autism characteristics were related to all three dimensions, with IQ explaining a larger proportion of variance. Overall, one-dimensional labels fail to capture language variability in autism; assessing Verbal, Speaking, and Generativity as complementary dimensions may better identify uneven linguistic profiles in autistic children.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148686827","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
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