Examining Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Extreme Eating Behaviors in Young Children with ASD

项目总结 与正常发育的儿童相比，患有自闭症的儿童饮食问题增加了五倍。 这些极端的饮食行为往往会导致严重的健康后果(如营养不良、肥胖)，而且 造成父母巨大的压力和负担。我们还没有真正了解相关的机制 ASD儿童的这些困难行为，并且没有标准的护理来治疗喂养问题 ASD，可能是因为我们目前的喂养干预不是机械性的信息。因此，这项研究 使用生物行为方法通过借鉴其他饮食失调来揭示这些机制 表现出症状的人群与ASD重叠。进食行为的神经行为模型将 注意保持极端的饮食行为，这项研究将使用创新的眼球跟踪技术来 客观地考察对食物的注意偏向。此外，我们还将研究行为表达方式 自闭症的症状(例如，重复行为)与这些食物相关的注意机制有关。 最后，鉴于环境可能会影响儿童的饮食行为，我们将研究家庭如何 环境影响自闭症儿童的饮食行为。我们的目标包括：目标1：使用眼球跟踪 与TD儿童相比，检查ASD儿童与食物相关注意偏差的技术。目标2： 来检验我们是否能够可靠地测量环境和饮食行为的自然特征 家里有自闭症儿童的数量。探索目标3：探索ASD的行为表现症状是否 与食物注意力偏向有关。本研究的培训目标将包括：1)高级培训 眼睛跟踪，2)在研究设计、方法和观察数据收集方面获得坚实的基础，3) 加强统计学知识，4)拓展进食行为的临床知识，5)发展 具体的专业发展计划，为独立研究提供资金。这一举措的总体影响 研究将确定自闭症患者进食行为的相互作用和驱动机制。我们预料到了这一点 研究将提供强有力的试点数据，这将导致未来的资金和更大的样本量来确定 ASD儿童进食行为的潜在机制。此外，鉴于缺乏经验证据 经过验证的治疗方法，以及对ASD喂养问题的高治疗抵抗率，这 这项研究将为ASD儿童的生物知情饮食干预提供基础，以减少 与极端饮食行为相关的有害健康后果。

PROJECT SUMMARY Children with ASD have a fivefold increase in eating problems when compared to typically developing children. These extreme eating behaviors often lead to serious health consequences (e.g., malnutrition, obesity) and are cause for significant parental stress and burden. We have yet to truly understand the mechanisms associated with these difficult behaviors in children with ASD, and there is no standard of care to treat feeding issues in ASD, perhaps because our current feeding interventions are not mechanistically-informed. Thus, this study uses a biobehavioral approach to uncover these mechanisms by drawing from other eating disordered populations that show symptom overlap with ASD. Neurobehavioral models of eating behavior link the role of attention in maintaining extreme eating behaviors, and this study will use innovative eye-tracking technology to objectively examine attentional bias towards food. Further, we will examine how behaviorally expressed symptoms of ASD (e.g., repetitive behaviors) are associated with these food-related attentional mechanisms. Lastly, given the environment is likely to influence children’s eating behaviors, we will examine how the home environment affects the eating behaviors of children with ASD. Our aims include: Aim 1: To use eye-tracking technology to examine food-related attentional biases in children with ASD compared to TD children. Aim 2: To examine if we can reliably measure the naturalistic characteristics of the environment and eating behaviors of children with ASD at home. Exploratory Aim 3: To explore if behaviorally expressed symptoms of ASD are associated with food attentional biases. Training goals for this study will involve: 1) advanced training in eye tracking, 2) obtaining a strong basis in research design, methodology, and observational data collection, 3) strengthening statistical knowledge, 4) expanding clinical knowledge of eating behaviors, and 5) developing concrete professional development plans leading to independent research funding. The overall impact of this study will be determining the interplay and driving mechanisms of eating behaviors in ASD. We anticipate this study will provide robust pilot data that will lead to future funding and a larger sample size to determine underlying mechanisms of eating behaviors in children with ASD. Further, given the lack of empirically validated treatment approaches, and the high rates of treatment resistance for feeding problems in ASD, this study will provide a basis towards biologically informed eating interventions for children with ASD to reduce deleterious health consequences associated with extreme eating behaviors.