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 #
5U19HD035468-07
Application #
6662476
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZHD1-MRG-C (10))
Program Officer
Kau, Alice S
Project Start
1997-06-01
Project End
2007-05-31
Budget Start
2003-06-01
Budget End
2004-05-31
Support Year
7
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$497,804
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Davis
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
047120084
City
Davis
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
95618
Hepburn, Susan L; Stern, Jessica A; Blakeley-Smith, Audrey et al. (2014) Complex Psychiatric Comorbidity of Treatment-Seeking Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Anxiety Symptoms. J Ment Health Res Intellect Disabil 7:359-378
Daunhauer, Lisa A; Fidler, Deborah J; Hahn, Laura et al. (2014) Profiles of everyday executive functioning in young children with down syndrome. Am J Intellect Dev Disabil 119:303-18
Buard, Isabelle; Rogers, Sally J; Hepburn, Susan et al. (2013) Altered oscillation patterns and connectivity during picture naming in autism. Front Hum Neurosci 7:742
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
Gadgil, Milind; Peterson, Eric; Tregellas, Jason et al. (2013) Differences in global and local level information processing in autism: an fMRI investigation. Psychiatry Res 213:115-21
Reaven, Judy; Blakeley-Smith, Audrey; Leuthe, Eileen et al. (2012) Facing your fears in adolescence: cognitive-behavioral therapy for high-functioning autism spectrum disorders and anxiety. Autism Res Treat 2012:423905
Lickel, Athena; MacLean Jr, William E; Blakeley-Smith, Audrey et al. (2012) Assessment of the prerequisite skills for cognitive behavioral therapy in children with and without autism spectrum disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 42:992-1000
Hepburn, Susan L; Moody, Eric J (2011) Diagnosing Autism in Individuals with Known Genetic Syndromes: Clinical Considerations and Implications for Intervention. Int Rev Res Dev Disabil 40:229-259
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

Showing the most recent 10 out of 33 publications