Examining Stress and Arousal Across Pubertal Development in ASD

青春期是童年和成年之间的过渡期，与青春期发育相吻合， 一个显著的心理，身体，荷尔蒙和社会变化的时间-一个关键和关键的过渡 自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的青少年。也会发生各种生理变化， 在初级调节系统中是明显的，包括下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴和 副交感神经系统（PNS）。这些变化导致增强的唤醒和反应模式 这导致了青春期HPA压力假说。虽然这增强了 反应能力可能有助于个人适应增加的需求和新的挑战，它可能 患有ASD年轻人更容易受到伤害，他们已经倾向于增强生理唤醒和贫穷， 适应变化。总的来说，研究小组的发现表明：1）ASD儿童表现出 生理调节的变异性更大，对发育过程中的压力反应更强，2） 皮质醇对社会互动和降低皮质醇对社会威胁的ASD，3）情绪的显着上升 失调（例如，焦虑）在青春期，4）社会功能，压力， 青春期状态，和5）发育过渡是预测风险和弹性的个体， 自闭症因此，我们认为，有必要加强对社会和环境之间相互作用的研究。 情绪功能和压力在青春期发展，以检查这一潜在的易感时期， 自闭症为了检查青春期的发育变化，该研究将采用交叉顺序设计， 评估10至15岁之间患有ASD或典型发育（TD）的儿童（男性和女性 通过跟踪两个队列四年进行纵向测量。队列1在10年时入组（随访10 - 13年） 在12岁时入组的队列2（随后为12至15岁）将每年测量一次，持续4年。十字架- 当参与者年龄为12岁和13岁时，将检验分段或群组效应。青春期发育 将通过生理（皮质醇、睾酮、呼吸性窦性心律失常）、行为 （临床，行为编码）和人际（自我报告和父母报告）前后采取的措施 社会任务。这项研究的结果可能会提供更好的了解生理和 ASD儿童和青少年青春期发育的心理过程和变化。此外，委员会认为， 这些指标将与社会功能和情感健康相关，以揭示潜在的 与焦虑和抑郁等共病状况的关系。因此，总体目标是 检查ASD青春期发育过程中的压力和唤醒，以最终确定潜在的风险因素， 治疗目标和治疗策略。

Adolescence, the transition between childhood and adulthood, coincides with pubertal development, which is a time of remarkable psychological, physical, hormonal and social changes – a pivotal and critical transition for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A variety of physiological changes also occur which is evident in primary regulatory systems including the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS). These changes result in patterns of enhanced arousal and response to perceived stressors, which have led to a puberty-HPA stress hypothesis. Although this enhanced responsivity may help prepare the individual to adapt to increased demands and new challenges, it may increase vulnerability in youth with ASD who are already prone to enhanced physiological arousal and poor adaption to change. Collectively, findings from the research team have shown: 1) children with ASD exhibit more variability in physiological regulation and heightened response to stress over development, 2) higher cortisol to social interaction and lower cortisol to social threat in ASD, 3) a significant rise in emotion dysregulation (e.g., anxiety) in adolescence, 4) strong associations between social functioning, stress, and pubertal status, and 5) developmental transitions are pivotal to predicting risk and resiliency in individuals with ASD. Thus, we posit that there is significant need for enhanced study of the interplay between social and emotional functioning and stress across pubertal development to examine this potentially susceptible period in ASD. To examine developmental changes across puberty, the study will utilize a cross-sequential design by assessing male and female) children with ASD or typical development (TD) between 10 and 15 years measured longitudinally by following two cohorts for four years. Cohort 1 enrolled at 10-years (follow 10 to 13) and Cohort 2 enrolled at 12-years (follow 12 to 15) will be measured annually for four years. The cross- sectional or cohort effects will be tested when participants are 12 and 13 years of age. Pubertal development change will be examined by physiological (cortisol, Testosterone, Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia), behavioral (clinical, behavioral coding) and interpersonal (self-report and parent report) measures taken before and after social tasks. The results from this investigation may provide better understanding of the physiological and psychological processes and changes over pubertal development in children and youth with ASD. Moreover, these indices will be examined in relation to social functioning and emotional well-being to reveal potential relationships with comorbid conditions such as anxiety and depression. Thus, the overarching goal is to examine stress and arousal across pubertal development in ASD to ultimately identify potential risk factors, treatment targets, and therapeutic strategies.