Autism is currently widely viewed as a spectrum disorder with affected individuals having varying degrees of social and emotional disturbances. In the present application we describe a new conceptualization of autism in order to account for some of the heterogeneity. In the application, a neuroendocrine spectrum model is proposed in which aspects of emotional reactivity, social responsiveness and biological indices intersect to define distinct subtypes. The investigation involves three interrelated studies of socioemotional functioning utilizing several methods of analysis to include the assessment of biological markers of emotional arousal and stress, sophisticated behavioral observational techniques, and functional neuroimaging in order to carefully explore the psychobiological profiles of children with and without autism. Specifically, during peer interactions of a playground activity, sophisticated behavioral observation will be obtained to evaluate the frequency, duration and interactive sequences exhibited by children with autism. These data will be analyzed with stress hormones to uncover relationships between behavioral and biological symptom profiles. In addition, we will explore brain activation patterns in these children while they play games with different computer and human partners. It is anticipated that this comprehensive study of """"""""real world"""""""" social interactions will allow us to uncover meaningful associations between the child's behavior, biological profiles and brain activity before, during and after play with peers. The ultimate goal is that these results will better inform our understanding of autism to allow us to provide individualized biological and behavioral treatments.

Public Health Relevance

Autism is a spectrum disorder in which affected individuals have varying degrees of social and emotional disturbances. In the application, a model is proposed in which aspects of emotional reactivity, social responsiveness and biological measures are combined to form distinct subtypes. Social and emotional functioning of children with autism is explored using sophisticated behavioral observations of social interactions, measurement of stress hormones, and the study of brain activity in response to playing games during """"""""real world"""""""" interactions to help us to better understand the variability of behavior, brain and hormones in children with autism.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH085717-02
Application #
8130710
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-BBBP-R (05))
Program Officer
Gilotty, Lisa
Project Start
2010-09-01
Project End
2015-03-31
Budget Start
2011-06-01
Budget End
2012-03-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$347,305
Indirect Cost
Name
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
004413456
City
Nashville
State
TN
Country
United States
Zip Code
37212
Taylor, Julie Lounds; Muscatello, Rachael A; Corbett, Blythe A (2018) Differences in anticipatory versus reactive stress to social evaluative threat in adults versus adolescents with autism. Autism Res 11:1276-1285
Muscatello, Rachael A; Corbett, Blythe A (2018) Comparing the effects of age, pubertal development, and symptom profile on cortisol rhythm in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res 11:110-120
Edmiston, E Kale; Muscatello, Rachael A; Corbett, Blythe A (2017) Altered Pre-Ejection Period Response to Social Evaluative Threat in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Res Autism Spectr Disord 36:57-65
Qualls, Lydia R; Corbett, Blythe A (2017) Examining the relationship between social communication on the ADOS and real-world reciprocal social communication in children with ASD. Res Autism Spectr Disord 33:1-9
Edmiston, E Kale; Jones, Robin M; Corbett, Blythe A (2016) Physiological Response to Social Evaluative Threat in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 46:2992-3005
Edmiston, Elliot Kale; Merkle, Kristen; Corbett, Blythe A (2015) Neural and cortisol responses during play with human and computer partners in children with autism. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 10:1074-83
Tomarken, Andrew J; Han, Gloria T; Corbett, Blythe A (2015) Temporal patterns, heterogeneity, and stability of diurnal cortisol rhythms in children with autism spectrum disorder. Psychoneuroendocrinology 62:217-26
Corbett, Blythe A; Newsom, Cassandra; Key, Alexandra P et al. (2014) Examining the relationship between face processing and social interaction behavior in children with and without autism spectrum disorder. J Neurodev Disord 6:35
Corbett, Blythe A; Schupp, Clayton W (2014) The cortisol awakening response (CAR) in male children with autism spectrum disorder. Horm Behav 65:345-50
Corbett, Blythe A; Simon, David (2014) Adolescence, Stress and Cortisol in Autism Spectrum Disorders. OA Autism 1:2

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