Wireless EEG System for Training Attention and Eye Movement in ASD

描述(由申请人提供)：自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)是一种终生障碍，严重影响学习和在社会环境中发挥作用的能力。在典型功能中，较高水平的社交、语言和沟通技能是在生命的头几年发展起来的，依赖于感觉-运动和注意力能力的关键组成部分。同样，在自闭症中，较高水平的社交问题会在出生后的头两年出现，并在此之前出现微妙但异常的视觉注意力和运动技能。改善社交和沟通的培训是自闭症患者最常见的行为干预措施。这些疗法可能会改善作为培训目标的特定行为，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广泛地有效。因为注意力中断是自闭症最早和最持久的症状之一，而且注意力高度依赖于训练的改善，所以它是干预的重要目标。我们提出了一种新的干预方法来训练注意定向和眼动的速度和准确性。该训练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，以及受限的注意力领域。因为眼球运动和注意力是紧密相连的，自闭症患者的眼球运动缺陷与空间注意力障碍相似。眼球运动是注意力的标志，拟议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。培训将使用一系列有趣的视频游戏，通过安装在家用轻型头盔中的无线脑电波实时提供视觉和听觉反馈，逐步塑造行为。我们计划在培训前和培训后进行三个水平的结果测量，以测试干预的有效性(直接测试注意力和眼动；测试注意力和视觉监控的改善以及模拟环境中反应的速度和准确性；测试实际社会环境中的行为)。在此应用程序的R21阶段，我们将：完成并测试硬件和软件；验证脑电和眼球跟踪方法；测试系统在家中使用的可行性；设计、编程和中试测试视频游戏。在这个项目的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岁的自闭症儿童进行小样本的临床试验。如果这项初步工作取得成功，长期目标将是开发一种易于获得、价格低廉、适合广泛年龄范围的自闭症儿童和成人使用的基于脑电的家庭系统。

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.