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Thursday, May 7, 2009
Northwest Hall (Chicago Hilton)
3:30 PM
Background: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit early and pervasive abnormalities in attention. It has been suggested that impairments in modulation of attention may underlie the development of sociocommunicative deficits in ASD. We implemented the Attention Network Test (ANT) developed by Fan and colleagues (2002) to investigate three distinct attentional networks: alerting, orienting, and executive control.
Objectives: To examine the efficiency of alerting, orienting, and executive control networks using the ANT in children with ASD and typically-developing (TD) children. Additionally, we sought to investigate the relationship between sociocommunicative deficits and the efficiency of each attentional network.
Methods: Participants were 18 high-functioning children with ASD and 16 age- and NVIQ-matched TD children. Each trial began with a fixation cross presented alone for a variable duration (400-1600ms). With the cross remaining on the screen, a cue (no cue, center, double, spatial) appeared for 100ms, followed by a fixation cross presented for 400 ms. Finally, a target, i.e., an arrow pointing left or right flanked on each side by arrows either pointing in the same direction (congruent condition), the opposite direction (incongruent condition), or bars without arrowheads (neutral condition), appeared above or below the fixation cross. Participants’ task was to respond as to whether the center arrow pointed left or right. Three 96-trial blocks were administered. Alerting, orienting, and conflict attentional network scores were calculated by a series of cognitive subtractions following the analysis procedures of Fan et al. (2002).
Results: Groups did not differ in error rate. The ASD group evidenced significantly reduced efficiency of the orienting, but not the alerting or executive, network. Correlations for the ASD group revealed an association between the efficiency of the alerting and orienting networks and sociocommunicative impairments, as measured by the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS; Lord et al., 1999) and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS; Constantino & Gruber, 2005). In addition, efficiency of the executive control network was directly related to IQ scores in the ASD, but not the TD, group.
Conclusions: The results provide further evidence of an impairment in the visuospatial orienting network in children with ASD. Additionally, correlations between the alerting and orienting networks and sociocommunicative deficits suggest that domain-general impairments in attention may be associated with development of ASD symptomatology.
Objectives: To examine the efficiency of alerting, orienting, and executive control networks using the ANT in children with ASD and typically-developing (TD) children. Additionally, we sought to investigate the relationship between sociocommunicative deficits and the efficiency of each attentional network.
Methods: Participants were 18 high-functioning children with ASD and 16 age- and NVIQ-matched TD children. Each trial began with a fixation cross presented alone for a variable duration (400-1600ms). With the cross remaining on the screen, a cue (no cue, center, double, spatial) appeared for 100ms, followed by a fixation cross presented for 400 ms. Finally, a target, i.e., an arrow pointing left or right flanked on each side by arrows either pointing in the same direction (congruent condition), the opposite direction (incongruent condition), or bars without arrowheads (neutral condition), appeared above or below the fixation cross. Participants’ task was to respond as to whether the center arrow pointed left or right. Three 96-trial blocks were administered. Alerting, orienting, and conflict attentional network scores were calculated by a series of cognitive subtractions following the analysis procedures of Fan et al. (2002).
Results: Groups did not differ in error rate. The ASD group evidenced significantly reduced efficiency of the orienting, but not the alerting or executive, network. Correlations for the ASD group revealed an association between the efficiency of the alerting and orienting networks and sociocommunicative impairments, as measured by the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS; Lord et al., 1999) and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS; Constantino & Gruber, 2005). In addition, efficiency of the executive control network was directly related to IQ scores in the ASD, but not the TD, group.
Conclusions: The results provide further evidence of an impairment in the visuospatial orienting network in children with ASD. Additionally, correlations between the alerting and orienting networks and sociocommunicative deficits suggest that domain-general impairments in attention may be associated with development of ASD symptomatology.