Wireless EEG System for Training Attention and Eye Movement in ASD

用于训练自闭症患者注意力和眼动的无线脑电图系统

• 批准号: 9134199
• 负责人: JEANNE TOWNSEND
• 金额: $ 24.14万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-21 至 2018-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9134199
• 关键词: Address; Adult; Affect; Age; Attention; Autistic Disorder; Behavior; Behavior Therapy; Behavior assessment; Behavioral; Behavioral Symptoms; Brain; Child; Clinical; Clinical Trials; Communication; Computer software; Conduct Clinical Trials; Development; Devices; Disease; Early Intervention; Effectiveness of Interventions; Electroencephalography; Elements; Environment; Evaluation; Eye; Eye Movements; Feedback; Foundations; Goals; Goggles; Helmet; Home environment; Intervention; Language; Learning; Life; Link; Measures; Methods; Monitor; Motor; Motor Skills; Nature; Outcome; Outcome Measure; Performance; Phase; Pre-Post Tests; Questionnaires; Saccades; Sampling; Sensory; Series; Shapes; Social Environment; Social Functioning; Social Interaction; Social support; Speed; Symptoms; System; Tablet Computer; Teenagers; Testing; Time; Training; Video Games; Visual; Visual attention; Wireless Technology; Work; aged; associated symptom; auditory feedback; autism spectrum disorder; base; behavior test; course development; design; flexibility; follow-up; improved; light weight; new technology; novel; persistent symptom; programs; response; skills; social; social communication; social skills; targeted treatment; virtual reality; visual feedback; visual motor

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong disorder that severely affects the ability to learn and function in a social environment. In typica function, higher level social, language and communication skills develop over the first few years of life and depend upon the critical building blocks of sensory-motor and attention abilities. Similarly in autism, higher level problems with social communication develop over the first two post- natal years and are preceded by subtle but abnormal visual attention and motor skills. Trainings to improve social interaction and communication are the most common of behavioral interventions in ASD. These therapies may improve the specific behaviors that are targets of the training, but rarely do they generalize to broader function or other clinical symptoms. We propose that interventions aimed instead at the early deficits that support social and language skills would be more broadly effective. Because disruption of attention is one of the earliest and most persistent symptoms in autism, and because attention is highly subject to improvement with training, it is an important target for intervention. We propose a novel intervention to trai the speed and accuracy of attention orienting and eye movement. The training is designed to target attentional behaviors that have been shown to be impaired in autism, including attention orienting, disengagement and shifting, and a restricted attentional field. Because eye movement and attention are tightly linked, eye movement deficits in ASD parallel those found in spatial attention. Eye movements provide a marker for attention and the proposed training is designed to improve speed, accuracy and flexibility of eye movement and attention simultaneously. Training will use a series of entertaining video games to gradually shape behavior using visual and auditory feedback provided in real time from wireless EEG mounted in lightweight headgear designed for home use. We plan three levels of outcome measures for pre- and post-training to test the effectiveness of the intervention (direct tests of attention and eye movement; tests of improvement in attentional and visual monitoring and speed and accuracy of response in a simulated environment; tests of behavior in an actual social environment). During the R21 phase of this application we will: complete and test hardware and software; validate EEG and eye-tracking methods; test feasibility of the system for use at home; design, program and pilot test the video games. During the R33 phase of this project we will conduct clinical trials with control conditions (e.g., standard video games without training elements) with a small sample of ASD children aged 9-15. If this initial work is successful, the long term goal would be to develop a readily available inexpensive EEG-based system for home use that is suitable for a broad age range of ASD children and adults.

描述（由申请人提供）：自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 是一种终生疾病，严重影响学习能力和在社会环境中发挥作用。在典型功能中，更高水平的社交、语言和沟通技能在生命的最初几年中发展，并依赖于感觉运动和注意力能力的关键组成部分。同样，自闭症患者在出生后的头两年会出现更高水平的社交沟通问题，随后会出现微妙但异常的视觉注意力和运动技能。改善社交互动和沟通的培训是自闭症谱系障碍最常见的行为干预措施。这些疗法可能会改善训练目标的特定行为，但很少能推广到更广泛的功能或其他临床症状。我们建议，针对支持社交和语言技能的早期缺陷的干预措施将更加有效。由于注意力障碍是自闭症最早、最持久的症状之一，而且注意力很容易通过训练得到改善，因此它是干预的重要目标。 我们提出了一种新颖的干预措施来训练注意力定向和眼球运动的速度和准确性。该培训旨在针对已被证明在自闭症中受损的注意力行为，包括注意力定向、脱离和转移以及注意力领域受限。由于眼球运动和注意力密切相关，自闭症谱系障碍患者的眼球运动缺陷与空间注意力的缺陷相似。眼球运动为注意力提供了一个标志，所提出的训练旨在同时提高眼球运动和注意力的速度、准确性和灵活性。培训将使用一系列娱乐性视频游戏，通过安装在专为家庭使用设计的轻型头盔中的无线脑电图实时提供的视觉和听觉反馈来逐渐塑造行为。我们为训练前和训练后计划了三个级别的结果测量，以测试干预的有效性（注意力和眼动的直接测试；模拟环境中注意力和视觉监测的改善以及反应速度和准确性的测试；实际社会环境中的行为测试）。在此应用程序的 R21 阶段，我们将： 完成并测试硬件和软件；验证脑电图和眼动追踪方法；测试系统在家使用的可行性；设计、编程和试点测试视频游戏。在该项目的 R33 阶段，我们将在控制条件下（例如，没有训练元素的标准视频游戏）对 9-15 岁的 ASD 儿童进行小样本临床试验。如果这项初步工作取得成功，长期目标将是开发一种现成的、廉价的、基于脑电图的家用系统，适合广泛年龄段的自闭症谱系障碍儿童和成人。