An examination of motor functioning in autism and Asperger's disorder: An analysis of gait & cortical brain activity.

自闭症和阿斯伯格症运动功能的检查：步态分析

• 批准号: nhmrc : 194238
• 负责人: E/Pr Bruce Tonge
• 金额: $ 8.02万
• 依托单位: Monash University
• 依托单位国家: 澳大利亚
• 项目类别: NHMRC Project Grants
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 澳大利亚
• 起止时间: 2002-01-01 至 2003-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://researchdata.edu.au/an-examination-motor-brain-activity/95582
• 关键词: examination; motor; functioning; autism; Asperger

Autism is a developmental disorder characterised by a triad of deficits: delayed and atypical language development, impaired development of social skills, and ritualistic and stereotypic behaviour. Although not part of the standard diagnosis, movement disorders and gait abnormalities have been clinically observed in autism similar to those seen in Parkinson's disease. In addition, individuals with Asperger's disorder may appear more clumsy, have a stiff or awkward way of walking, and exhibit poor coordination in posture and gesture. It has been suggested that there is disruption within the basal-ganglia-thalamocortical circuitry (the region connecting the frontal and sub-cortical structures), which may cause the motor dysfunction seen in autism and Asperger's disorder. Few studies have attempted to isolate particular stages of motor functioning which may account for the coordination and motor delay observed clinically in autism and Asperger's disorder. A recent study of ours found evidence to suggest that motor planning deficiencies may account for the 'clumsy' movement patterns frequently reported in the autism - Asperger's disorder literature. Therefore, the aim of this research is to provide a comprehensive neurobehavioural and neurophysiological analysis of motor functioning in young people with autism and Asperger's disorder to further examine the exact stages of motor processing which are deficient in these disorder groups. Recent retrospective studies have shown that even as infants children with autism exhibit clear features of motor disturbance, which, if detected and clearly defined, could advance early diagnosis. In addition to advancing the clinical definition of autism and Asperger's disorder, a careful examination of motor disturbance may also illuminate the neurobiological underpinnings of these disorders.

自闭症是一种发育障碍，其特征是三重缺陷：延迟和非典型语言发育，社交技能发育受损，以及仪式化和刻板行为。虽然不是标准诊断的一部分，但在自闭症中临床观察到的运动障碍和步态异常与帕金森氏病相似。此外，患有阿尔茨海默氏症的人可能看起来更笨拙，行走方式僵硬或笨拙，姿势和手势协调性差。有人认为，基底神经节-丘脑皮质回路（连接额叶和皮质下结构的区域）内存在中断，这可能导致自闭症和自闭症患者的运动功能障碍。很少有研究试图将运动功能的特定阶段分离出来，这可能是临床上观察到的自闭症和自闭症患者的协调和运动延迟的原因。我们最近的一项研究发现，有证据表明，运动规划缺陷可能是自闭症患者文献中经常报道的“笨拙”运动模式的原因。因此，本研究的目的是提供一个全面的神经行为学和神经生理学分析的运动功能的年轻人患有自闭症和自闭症的障碍，以进一步研究运动处理的确切阶段，这是缺乏这些障碍群体。最近的回顾性研究表明，自闭症儿童甚至在婴儿时期就表现出明显的运动障碍特征，如果发现并明确定义，可以促进早期诊断。除了推进自闭症和自闭症的临床定义，对运动障碍的仔细检查也可能阐明这些疾病的神经生物学基础。