The UW STAART Center will address the following overall objectives: (1) To determine social, linguistic, neuropsychological, and electrophysiological characteristics that distinguish very young children with autism from children with developmental delay and those with typical development. Such research will enhance our ability to recognize autism early in life so that children with autism can be helped as early as possible, and their long-term outcome can be improved (Projects I and II). (2) To assess the efficacy of early intensive behavioral intervention for improving outcomes for children with autism, and to determine whether child neurocognitive factors moderate the effects of early intervention. Such knowledge will inform decisions regarding individualized interventions, elucidate brain mechanisms, and shed light on questions related to brain plasticity (Project I). (3) To increase our understanding of the neurobiological bases of autism by studying abnormalities in brain structure (via magnetic resonance imaging) and brain chemistry (via magnetic resonance spectroscopy) in very young children with autism, as compared to children with developmental delay and those with typical development (Project III). (4) To enhance our understanding of the cognitive neuroscience of autism by studying core social cognition impairments in high-functioning individuals with autism using event related brain potentials and functional magnetic resonance imaging. This information is relevant for early identification, development of more refined interventions, and measurement of quantitative genetic traits (Project IV). (5) To conduct molecular biology studies aimed at gene discovery in autism. Identification of susceptibility genes in autism is important for early identification, prevention, and medical treatment (Project V).

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Specialized Center--Cooperative Agreements (U54)
Project #
1U54MH066399-01A1
Application #
6653703
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-BBBP-6 (50))
Program Officer
Zalcman, Steven J
Project Start
2003-05-13
Project End
2008-04-30
Budget Start
2003-05-13
Budget End
2004-04-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$1,641,899
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Washington
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
605799469
City
Seattle
State
WA
Country
United States
Zip Code
98195
St John, Tanya; Dawson, Geraldine; Estes, Annette (2018) Brief Report: Executive Function as a Predictor of Academic Achievement in School-Aged Children with ASD. J Autism Dev Disord 48:276-283
Kleinhans, Natalia M; Richards, Todd; Greenson, Jessica et al. (2016) Altered Dynamics of the fMRI Response to Faces in Individuals with Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 46:232-241
Faja, Susan; Dawson, Geraldine; Sullivan, Katherine et al. (2016) Executive function predicts the development of play skills for verbal preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders. Autism Res 9:1274-1284
Faja, Susan; Dawson, Geraldine; Aylward, Elizabeth et al. (2016) Early event-related potentials to emotional faces differ for adults with autism spectrum disorder and by serotonin transporter genotype. Clin Neurophysiol 127:2436-47
Estes, Annette; Munson, Jeffrey; Rogers, Sally J et al. (2015) Long-Term Outcomes of Early Intervention in 6-Year-Old Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 54:580-7
Sullivan, Katherine; Stone, Wendy L; Dawson, Geraldine (2014) Potential neural mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder. Res Dev Disabil 35:2921-32
Kuhl, Patricia K; Coffey-Corina, Sharon; Padden, Denise et al. (2013) Brain responses to words in 2-year-olds with autism predict developmental outcomes at age 6. PLoS One 8:e64967
Corrigan, Neva M; Shaw, Dennis W W; Richards, Todd L et al. (2012) Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and MRI reveal no evidence for brain mitochondrial dysfunction in children with autism spectrum disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 42:105-15
Dawson, Geraldine; Jones, Emily J H; Merkle, Kristen et al. (2012) Early behavioral intervention is associated with normalized brain activity in young children with autism. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 51:1150-9
Webb, Sara Jane; Merkle, Kristen; Murias, Michael et al. (2012) ERP responses differentiate inverted but not upright face processing in adults with ASD. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 7:578-87

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