This program of research will continue its dual foci: 1) defining the phenotype of autism at multiple levels of analysis: behavior, neuropsychology, brain function, brain structure, and familial aspects; and 2) defining the continuities and discontinuities in the developmental course of autism using comparative longitudinal studies. In the first five years of funding, the investigators were able to eliminate or refine four of the competing neuropsychological explanations of autism: a basic sensory deficit, a praxis deficit, a cognitive intersubjectivity deficit, and an executive deficit. The investigators' past work has narrowed and deepened their focus to four key areas: 1) imitation, 2) core affective processes, 3) spatial working memory, and 4) relationships of brain structure and language functioning. In the proposed studies, they will examine these areas in autism again at multiple levels of analysis: behavior, neuropsychology, brain function and structure, and familial aspects. The investigators will conduct longitudinal studies comparing autism, fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome, other developmental delays, and typical development across ages spanning from early infancy (through the use of home videos) to middle childhood, and will also include familial data from parents. Research methods including behavioral and neuropsychological measures, brain imaging techniques including magnetoencephalography and magnetic resonance imaging, psychophysiological paradigms involving eye movements, electrodermal responses, electromyography, and comparison of data from children and their parents. The main aims of this program are: 1) to refine and delineate autism-specific impairments, spared abilities, and familial aspects of imitation, emotional processes, spatial working memory, and a relationship between language and brain structure; 2) to examine whether skills in these areas are independent or whether relationships among them exist concurrently and longitudinally; 3) to determine whether the patterns of deficits are more suggestive of homogeneity or heterogeneity (suggesting potential subtypes); and 4) to participate in cross-network projects that examine the biological, neuropsychological, and behavioral aspects of autism.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Program--Cooperative Agreements (U19)
Project #
2U19HD035468-06
Application #
6552876
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZHD1-MRG-C (10))
Program Officer
Freund, Lisa S
Project Start
1997-06-01
Project End
2007-05-31
Budget Start
2002-09-20
Budget End
2003-05-31
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2002
Total Cost
$949,019
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Davis
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
094878337
City
Davis
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
95618
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Hahn, Laura J; Fidler, Deborah J; Hepburn, Susan L et al. (2013) Early intersubjective skills and the understanding of intentionality in young children with Down syndrome. Res Dev Disabil 34:4455-65
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Lee, Nancy Raitano; Fidler, Deborah J; Blakeley-Smith, Audrey et al. (2011) Caregiver report of executive functioning in a population-based sample of young children with Down syndrome. Am J Intellect Dev Disabil 116:290-304
Soke, Gnakub Norbert; Philofsky, Amy; Diguiseppi, Carolyn et al. (2011) Longitudinal changes in Scores on the Autism Diagnostic Interview--Revised (ADI-R) in pre-school children with autism: Implications for diagnostic classification and symptom stability. Autism 15:545-62

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