Electrophysiological Response to Executive Control Training in Autism

自闭症执行控制训练的电生理反应

• 批准号: 8279766
• 负责人: Susan Faja
• 金额: $ 8.97万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-07-01 至 2014-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8279766
• 关键词: Address; Affect; Age; Attention; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Autistic Disorder; Award; Behavior; Behavioral; Behavioral Research; Brain; Calculi; Child; Child Behavior; Childhood; Clinical; Clinical Research; Cognitive; Complex; Computers; Conflict (Psychology); Development; Electrophysiology (science); Evaluation; Event-Related Potentials; Exhibits; Fostering; Gambling; Gender; Goals; Grant; Home environment; Impairment; Individual; Individual Differences; Intellectual functioning disability; Intervention; Intervention Studies; Investigation; Iowa; Knowledge; Life; Link; Measurable; Measurement; Measures; Mentors; Methods; Mind; Monitor; Neuronal Plasticity; Parents; Peer Review; Performance; Phase; Positioning Attribute; Postdoctoral Fellow; Prevalence; Problem Solving; Process; Psychologist; Public Health; Publications; Randomized; Relative (related person); Reporting; Research Personnel; School-Age Population; Schools; Scientist; Services; Social Functioning; Stimulus; Strategic Planning; Symptoms; System; Testing; Training; Training Programs; United States; Universities; Washington; Work; Workplace; autism spectrum disorder; base; behavior measurement; brain behavior; brief intervention; career; career development; clinically significant; cognitive neuroscience; cohort; design; executive function; improved; improved functioning; neurodevelopment; neuromechanism; novel; relating to nervous system; response; skills; social; social cognition; social skills; success; teacher; theories; tool

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are extremely common, with prevalence estimated at 1 in 110 children in the United States. Fifty to 96% of children with ASD demonstrate impaired executive control-the ability to manage complex or conflicting information in the service of a goal. Development of appropriate executive control is relevant to public health because these skills are critical for success in school, the workplace, and social relationships. Executive impairments in ASD have been well documented, but have received virtually no intervention research attention. Further, development of neural systems underlying executive control in ASD and their contribution to social function and symptoms remain poorly understood. The proposed project has the following scientific goals: (1) to determine the neural basis of executive control in children with ASD using two well-established electrophysiological measures (K99 period); (2) to test whether individual electrophysiological differences in executive control are meaningfully related to the social function and symptoms of children with ASD (R00 period); and (3) to assess whether brief, focused training in executive control produces significant changes in the brain function and behavior of children with ASD (R00 period). These goals will be addressed using a common set of electrophysiological measures. During the mentored K99 phase, the neural response to executive control tasks by 30 children with ASD will be compared with 30 typically developing children. During the independent phase, 60 children with ASD will be randomly assigned to receive brief executive control training or to a waitlist. Individual differences in neural response and their relation to social ability will be assessed in all children prior to intervention. The major career development objectives are: the completion of Dr. Susan Faja's training in electrophysiology and the launching of her career as an independent scientist with the long-term goal of examining brain-behavioral changes associated with intervention. Dr. Faja is a clinical psychologist with a background in clinical research including development of a brief computer intervention for individuals with ASD. The proposed career development builds on current work as a senior postdoctoral fellow that employs electrophysiological methods with individuals with ASD. The specific career development goals are: (1) to provide training in electrophysiological methods crucial to investigating brain-behavior relationships related to executive control and response to intervention; (2) to address specific gaps in clinical and statistical training: (3) to support Dr. Faja's transition to an independent position, and (4) to foster skills in grant and lab management. The mentored phase will occur at the University of Washington, which has a strong record of training autism researchers and supporting career awards. Mentors include Drs. Sara Webb, Wendy Stone and Michael Posner, who provide considerable expertise in electrophysiology, professional development of clinical researchers, and executive control and its enhancement via training, respectively. The project is aligned with NIH's goal of developing a strong cohort of investigators to address the nation's behavioral and clinical research needs and with the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee Strategic Plan, which stipulates the need for bio-behavioral studies of individual differences and the development of novel treatments for school- aged children with ASD. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Children with autism spectrum disorders (estimated to affect 1 in 110 children) frequently exhibit difficulties resolving conflicting information, a skill that ha been linked to social and academic functioning in typically developing children. This study has the goal of understanding the brain functions underlying these problem- solving skills in children with autism and their connection to perspective taking in social situations where conflicting perspectives are present. This information will be used to measure whether a brief, inexpensive training program specifically developed to improve problem-solving abilities in children improves the functioning of children with autism and reduces challenges faced by these children in academic and social situations.

描述(由申请人提供)：自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)非常常见，估计在美国每110名儿童中就有1名患病率。50%到96%的自闭症儿童表现出执行控制能力受损--在实现目标的过程中管理复杂或冲突信息的能力。发展适当的行政控制与公共健康有关，因为这些技能对于在学校、工作场所和社会关系中取得成功至关重要。自闭症的执行障碍已经得到了很好的记录，但几乎没有受到干预研究的关注。此外，自闭症患者的执行控制基础神经系统的发展及其对社会功能和症状的贡献仍然知之甚少。拟议的项目有以下科学目标：(1)使用两种成熟的电生理测量方法(K99期)确定自闭症儿童执行控制的神经基础；(2)测试执行控制中的个体电生理学差异是否与自闭症儿童的社会功能和症状有意义地相关(R00期)；以及(3)评估执行控制方面的简短、集中的训练是否会对自闭症儿童的大脑功能和行为产生重大变化(R00期)。这些目标将使用一套通用的电生理措施来实现。在接受指导的K99阶段，将比较30名自闭症儿童和30名典型发育儿童对执行控制任务的神经反应。在独立阶段，60名患有自闭症的儿童将被随机分配接受简短的执行控制培训或进入等待名单。在干预之前，将对所有儿童的神经反应的个体差异及其与社会能力的关系进行评估。主要的职业发展 目标是：完成苏珊·法贾博士的电生理学培训，开始她作为一名独立科学家的职业生涯，长期目标是检查与干预相关的大脑行为变化。法贾博士是一名临床心理学家，具有临床研究背景，包括为自闭症患者开发简短的计算机干预。拟议的职业发展建立在目前作为高级博士后研究员的工作基础上，该博士后使用电生理方法治疗自闭症患者。具体的职业发展目标是：(1)提供电生理方法方面的培训，这些方法对调查与执行控制和干预反应有关的大脑-行为关系至关重要；(2)解决临床和统计培训中的具体差距：(3)支持Dr。 (4)培养赠款和实验室管理方面的技能。指导阶段将在华盛顿大学进行，该大学在培训自闭症研究人员和支持职业奖项方面有着良好的记录。导师包括Sara Webb博士、Wendy Stone博士和Michael Posner博士，他们分别在电生理学、临床研究人员的专业发展以及执行控制和通过培训增强执行控制方面提供了丰富的专业知识。该项目符合NIH发展一支强大的研究人员队伍以满足国家行为和临床研究需求的目标，并与机构间自闭症协调委员会战略计划保持一致，该战略计划规定了对个体差异进行生物行为研究的必要性，并为患有自闭症的学龄儿童开发新的治疗方法。 公共卫生相关性：患有自闭症谱系障碍的儿童(估计每110名儿童中就有1名)经常表现出难以解决相互冲突的信息，这一技能已被认为与典型发育中儿童的社会和学术功能有关。这项研究的目的是了解自闭症儿童解决问题能力背后的大脑功能，以及它们与存在冲突观点的社会情景中的观点采择之间的联系。这些信息将被用来衡量专门为提高儿童解决问题能力而开发的简短、廉价的培训计划是否改善了自闭症儿童的功能，并减少了这些儿童在学业和社交环境中面临的挑战。