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(old)SK298 > Weeks 6-8 - Autism > Flashcards

Weeks 6-8 - Autism Flashcards

1
Q

What is meant by the term neurodiversity?

A

The range of individual differences in brain function and behavioural traits, particularly used in the context of autism

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2
Q

What is a neurodevelopmental condition?

A

A condition which reflects atypical development of the nervous system

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3
Q

What are the causes of neurodevelopmental conditions?

A

An interaction of genetic, neurobiological and environmental influences

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4
Q

What kind of changes arise due to neurodevelopmental conditions and how long do they last?

A
  • Functioning and behaviour
  • Across the lifespan
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5
Q

From what age may the signs of autism be detectable?

A

Two years old

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6
Q

What is meant by the term ‘critical period’ with regards to development?

A

Stages in the early development where the nervous system is especially sensitive to certain environmental stimuli, absence of which at the appropriate time may have long-term developmental effects

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7
Q

What is meant by the term heterogenous (especially when thinking of autism)?

A

No two people’s profiles are alike

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8
Q

What are the two main areas of difficulty that form the framework for identifying autism?

A
  • Social communicating
  • (Broadly) Non-social aspects of thinking and behaviour
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9
Q

What are the typical features of the variant of autism known as Kanner’s autism?

A
  • Social and communication difficulties
  • Often little or no speech
  • Markedly restricted and/or repetitive behaviour and interests
  • Intellectual disability
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10
Q

How many people with autism end up in paid, full time employment?

A

Only one in six

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11
Q

What medical problems often co-occur with autism?

A
  • Sleep disorders
  • Gastrointestinal problems
  • Epilepsy (30-50% occurrence, particularly those with more severe autism)
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12
Q

What neurodevelopmental problems may co-occur with autism?

A
  • ADHD
  • Dyslexia
  • Language difficulties
  • Learning disability
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13
Q

What mental health conditions often co-occur with autism?

A
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Schizophrenia
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
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14
Q

What is a biomarker?

A

A measurable biological, genetic, pathological or physical charactieristic by which a particular condition or disorder can be reliably identified

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15
Q

Are there any consistent or universal biomarkers for autism?

A

No

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16
Q

How is autism diagnosed?

A

Evaluation of behavioural characteristics

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17
Q

Which version of the DSM is currently in use?

A

DSM-5

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18
Q

Which version of the ICD is currently in use?

A

ICD-11, which was adopted from 2022

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19
Q

What is a notable change regarding autism in both the ICD-11 and the DSM-5?

A

Subtypes of autism, such as Asperger syndrome, are being phased out

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20
Q

What are the main classes of symptom for autism as per the ICD-10?

A

Problems in:
- Communication
- Social interaction
- Restrictive, repetitive behaviours and interests

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21
Q

What are the main classes of symptom for autism as per the DSM-5?

A

Problems in:
- Social communication
- Restrictive, repetitive behaviours and interests, sensory difficulties

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22
Q

Per the ICD-11, at what age must autistic symptoms have appeared for diagnostic criteria to be met?

A

For childhood autism, ‘functional impairment’ in social interaction, or in language use for communication, must have appeared by age 3 years (not applicable to Asperger syndrome)

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23
Q

Per the DSM-5, at what age must autistic symptoms have appeared for diagnostic criteria to be met?

A

Social communication difficulties and RRBIs (restrictive, repetitive behaviours and interests) must have been present in early childhood, however ‘functional’ impairment need not be apparent til later

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24
Q

In which western country is an autism diagnosis still very problematic?

A

France

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25
Q

What is receptive language?

A

The process of receiving and understanding language which is spoken or written by others

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26
Q

Difficulties with receptive language are common in autism. How might this manifest?

A
  • Difficulty in understanding vocabulary or grammar
  • Difficulty in distinguishing speech sounds and understanding the meaning of sentences
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27
Q

What is expressive language?

A

Language that a person produces, in written or spoken form

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28
Q

Difficulties with expressive language are common in autism. How might this manifest?

A
  • Spoken language may be sparse in vocabulary
  • Spoken language may be grammatically or syntactically incorrect
  • Difficulty putting thoughts into words
  • Using language appropriately in different settings
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29
Q

What is the ADI-R?

A

An interview designed for use with the parents of children or adults who are being assessed for an autism spectrum diagnosis

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30
Q

When was autism first formally identified?

A

1944

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31
Q

What is meant by the term ‘prevalence’?

A

An estimate of the number of people with symptoms which meet the diagnostic criteria for a medical or psychiatric condition, within a defined population, at a particular time

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32
Q

In the UK, what is the prevalence of autism?

A

98 individuals in 10,000

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33
Q

What is meant by the term ‘incidence’?

A

An estimate of the number of NEW people diagnosed with a medical or psychiatric condition within a defined population in any given period (e.g. day/week/month)

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34
Q

What might explain a lower prevalence of autism among ethnic minority groups?

A
  • Fear of stigma
  • Being unable to afford medical diagnosis / support
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35
Q

What is the rate of diagnosis of autism between males and females?

A

4 : 1 males to females, though raise as high as 9 : 1 if only ‘high functioning’ individuals are counted

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36
Q

What is a meta-analysis?

A

A research method that involves evaluating the existing evidence for a particular topic or theory by pooling and statistically analysing the pooled findings from all relevant research by other researchers

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37
Q

What is a systematic-review?

A

A research method involving evaluating existing evidence for a particular topic or theory by critical review of all relevant findings by other researchers

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38
Q

What psychiatric diagnosis is most commonly co-morbid to autism?

A

Anxiety

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39
Q

What is meant by ‘Theory of Mind’?

A

The ability to understand other people’s mental states - includes the ability to understand another person’s belief about an aspect of reality that may be different from one’s own

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40
Q

What is ‘protodeclarative pointing’?

A

The use of pointing to draw someone else’s attention to an object or item of interest, thus enabling an individual ot share their interest with another

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41
Q

What is meant by the term ‘Executive Function (EF)’?

A

A collective term for mental processes that control behaviour

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42
Q

What kind of tasks require Executive Function (EF)?

A
  • Initiation
  • Planning and organising
  • Working memory
  • Behaviour regulation:
    • self control
    • mental flexibility
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43
Q

What other condition may Executive Function problems occur in?

A

ADHD

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44
Q

What is the Behavioural Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF)?

A

A survey tool designed to measure executive function skills used in everyday settings and tasks

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45
Q

What is meant by the term ‘systemising’ (with regards to autism)?

A

A flair for or strong interest in approaching fields or topics in a systematic or rule-following way

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46
Q

What is the cognitive component of empathy?

A

Recognising other people’s thoughts and feelings

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47
Q

What is the affective component of empathy?

A

Being caring and responding with feelings

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48
Q

Which component of empathy do autistic people tend to express less well?

A

The cognitive component

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49
Q

What is monotropism?

A

A trait in autism where the individual focuses their attention on objects and topics that are of particular interest to them

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50
Q

Who were the two researchers who first described autism in the early 1940s?

A
  • Leo Kanner
  • Hans Asperger
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51
Q

What does the ‘twin method’ measure?

A

How frequently a particular condition or characteristic co-occurs in identical twins, compared with non-identical twins

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52
Q

What is meant by the term ‘concordance rate’?

A

A descriptor of the probability that pairs of individuals with shared genes will have the same trait or condition under investigation

53
Q

Children of fathers over what age are more likely to have autism, compared to those with fathers aged 20-24?

A

45

54
Q

If one identical twin has autism, what is the percentage likelihood that the other twin has it too?

A

80%

55
Q

What is a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)?

A

A DNA sequence variation that occurs when a single nucleotide (adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine) in the genome sequence is altered, and that particular alteration is present in at least 1% of the population

56
Q

What is a copy number variant (CNV)?

A

A CNV is when the number of copies of a particular gene varies from one individual to the next

57
Q

What are candidate genes?

A

Genes whose functions or locations on a particular chromosome indicate that they might be associated with a condition or disorder

58
Q

What is chromatin?

A

The complex of DNA and protein that is tightly coiled and looped to form chromosomes

59
Q

What function does the CHD8 gene perform?

A

It provides instructions for making a protein that regulates gene activity, by a process known as chromatin remodelling

60
Q

What happened to mice whose FMR1 (fragile X syndrome) gene was disrupted?

A

They showed structural and functional abnormalities to synapses

61
Q

What are key functions of glutamate and GABA?

A
  • Glutamate has an excitatory effect on post-synaptic neurons and is considered crucial in neural plasticity and in cognitive functions such as learning and memory
  • GABA has the primary inhibitory afffect on the brain
62
Q

In autistic people, excess growth is particularly noted in which areas of the brain?

A
  • Frontal lobe
  • Temporal lobe
63
Q

What is the approximate age range in whcih excess brain growth may be observed in children later diagnosed with autism?

A

Six months to four years

64
Q

Name two brain regions where excess growth is especially marked in people with autism, and one function which each region plays a role

A
  • Fontal lobes: executive function, logical reasoning/decision making, regulating social and emotional behaviour
  • Temporal lobes: long-term memory, processing and interpreting visual and auditory signals, language comprehension
  • Amygdalae: forming and storing memories for emotional events
  • Cerebellum: generation and coordination of motor movements, language, attention, mental imagery
65
Q

What is the ‘association cortex’?

A

Regions located within all lobes of the cortex that, through their interlinking, support high level integrative activities such as comparing sensory inputs to stored memories

66
Q

Where is the limbic system located?

A

Both sides of the thalamus, immediately beneath the medial temporal lobe

67
Q

What has disruption in the orbitofrontal cortex been linked to in autism?

A
  • Challenges in social interactions
  • Understanding emotions
  • Selecting activities to meet goals
68
Q

What does the orbitofrontal cortex play a key role in?

A

Decision making

69
Q

What difficulties in autism have altered function in the inferior frontal gyrus been implicated in?

A

Verbal/non-verbal communication

70
Q

What does the posterior parietal cortex play a key role in?

A
  • Spatial awareness
  • Controlling eye movements
  • Maintaining attention
71
Q

In autism, atypical activation of the posterior parietal cortex may have what effects?

A
  • Impede the flow of social interaction
  • Promote enhanced skills in visual tasks that call for focus on details
72
Q

Where in the brain is the cingulate gyrus?

A

Wrapped around the corpus callosum

73
Q

What does the anterior part of the cingulate gyrus play a role in?

A
  • Coordinating sensory stimuli with emotions
  • Emotional expression
  • Bonding
  • Regulating aggressive behaviour
  • Decision making
74
Q

What does the posterior part of the cingulate gyrus play a role in?

A
  • Spatial orientation of objects
  • Mediating between emotions and memories
75
Q

Altered function in the cingulate gyrus may have what effects in autism?

A
  • Social and emotional challenges
  • Repetitive behaviour
76
Q

What is the anterior cingulate cortex involved in?

A
  • Coordinating sensory stimuli with emotions
  • Emotional expression and bonding
  • Regulating aggressive behaviour
  • Decision making
77
Q

What is the anterior part of the superior temporal sulcus involved in?

A

Processing speech

78
Q

What is the posterior part of the superior temporal sulcus involved in?

A
  • Processing faces
  • Movement
  • Direction of gaze
  • Integrating audio and visual information
79
Q

What can atypical functioning in the superior temporal sulcus

A

Social and theory-of-mind difficulties in autism

80
Q

Where are the fusiform gyri?

A

They span the lower part of each temporal and occipital lobe

81
Q

What has atypical functioning of the fusiform gyri been linked to?

A
  • Prosopagnosia
  • Synaesthesia
82
Q

Which system is the bilateral amygdala integral to?

A

The limbic system

83
Q

In autism, what has atypical amygdala function been linked to?

A
  • Altered emotional regulation
  • Anxiety
84
Q

Atypical function of the hippocampus may lead to what effects in autism?

A
  • Enhanced memory for factural information
  • Difficulties recalling or acting upon personally salient events
85
Q

How does the hypothalamus perform its role in controlling emotional expression?

A

Triggering release of the pituitary hormones oxytocin and vasporessin

86
Q

Atypical functioning of the hypothalamus may lead to what in autism?

A

Social interaction and emotional difficulties

87
Q

The bilateral thalamus is a hub for what functions?

A
  • Processing and relaying sensory information to cortical areas
  • Relaying cortical feedback to movement areas
88
Q

Atypical functioning of the hypothalamus is related to what in autism?

A
  • Regulation of social behaviour
  • Sensory hyper- and hypo-sensitivity
  • Sleep disturbances
89
Q

Where in the brain is the cerebellum located?

A

Below the temporal and occipital lobes and posterior to the brain stem

90
Q

Aside from generating and coordinating motor movements, what else does the cerebellum play an important role in?

A
  • Vocalising sounds
  • Attention
  • Mental imagery
91
Q

In autism, what is atypical functioning of the cerebellum linked to?

A

Compromised development of social communication skills and executive function

92
Q

The pons is a part of which brain structure?

A

The brain stem

93
Q

What is the function of the pons?

A

It relays information to and from the cerebellum, cerebrum and spinal cord

94
Q

What are the basal ganglia involved in the control of?

A
  • Eye movements
  • Learning
  • Action selection
95
Q

Atypical function of the basal ganglia may lead to what in autism?

A

Impeded action selection, leading to repetitive activities and difficulty in engaging with others

96
Q

What is heterogenity?

A

The state of being diverse in character - e.g. the heterogenity of human populations

97
Q

In studies focussed on autistic groups with higher IQ, what does the rate of diagnosed females to males rise from and to?

A

From 1 in 4 to 1 in 8

98
Q

What does the ‘female protective effect’ suggest?

A

That females have a higher level of protection from the factors causing autism than males - this means that males need a lower level of genetic risk factors than females to develop autism

99
Q

On average, are males or females more severely affected by autism?

A

Females

100
Q

Define the term ‘camouflaging’.

A

The situation where individuals copy the behaviours of their NT peers and mask behaviours that would make them stand out as different

101
Q

What percentage of girls with autism are diagnosed before the age of ten, compared to that of boys?

A

Girls - 20%
Boys - 50%

102
Q

When was the first systematic review and meta-analysis of male/female prevalence differences in autism conducted and how many participants were in the study?

A
  • 2017
  • 14 million
103
Q

What is meant by the term ‘interventions’?

A

A technique or procedure to support and help autistic children/adults to engage with others and to thrive

104
Q

What is meant by the term ‘adaptive functioning skillls’?

A

The practical skills needed to function in everyday life, including the skills to effectively and independently take care of oneself and to interact with other people

105
Q

In regards to autism, what does the term ‘optimal outcome’ refer to?

A

A developmental outcome where an autistic person’s symptoms have modified or ameliorated to such an extent that the diagnostic criteria for autism are no longer met

106
Q

When considering a potential new intervention, what are the 5 main areas of consideration?

A
  • Rationale
  • Focus
  • Ethics
  • Method
  • Outcomes
107
Q

In the context of psychological studies, what is meant by the term ‘generalise’?

A

When the response of a result/study is applicable in a different context/situation outside of the one where it was measured

108
Q

What is a multiple-baseline study?

A

One wher individuals are observed before starting the intervention for different lengths of time to establish a baseline for the targetted behaviour

109
Q

What is the benefit of conducting a multiple-baseline study?

A

It makes it easier to ascertain that any change is due to the intervention itself

110
Q

What is a confounding variable?

A

One which can affect experimental and other scientific studies

111
Q

What is meant by the term ‘outcome measure’?

A

The measure that is defined at the start of a clinical trial as the measure that will be used to asses the impact of the treatment/intervention under investigation

112
Q

What are the advantages of a ‘treatment-as-usual’ group in a study?

A
  • It lowers the chance that participants will lack motivation to be involved
  • Helps address ethical issues: there’s a good chance everyone will gain some benefit from the study
  • Enables the new intervention to be compared with existing interventions
113
Q

What is the purpose of randomly allocating participants to experimental and ‘treatment-as-usual’ groups in a randomised controlled trial?

A

It avoids confounding variables which might bias the outcomes

114
Q

What does the term ‘randomised controlled trial’ refer to?

A

A systematic evaluation of a treatment/intervention where participants are randomly assigned to intervention or control groups

115
Q

What might be problem of evaluating effectiveness of outcomes for interventions in autism?

A

The heterogenity of autism

116
Q

What does TEACCH stand for?

A

Treatment and Education of Autistic and Communication-related handicapped Children

117
Q

What is the TEACCH approach?

A

A ‘whole-person’ approach to education which supports many aspects of functioning

118
Q

What types of aspects of functioning is the TEACCH intervention designed to support?

A
  • Learning
  • Behaviour
  • Social and communication needs
119
Q

What are some of the key principles of TEACCH?

A
  • Structure, including the person’s environment and clearly defined routines
  • Harnessing skills: tailoring support tools to a person’s skills
  • Evaluation of individual support needs regularly, including interventions
  • Empowering parents by encouraging full participation
  • Developing independence and generalising from learning experiences to master a range of situations
120
Q

Why might formal evaluations of TEACCH be difficult?

A
  • It is tailored to the needs of an individual so difficult to identify outcome measures which might be relevant for all participants in a study
  • Difficult to set up control groups
121
Q

What is Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA)?

A

A group of comprehensive behavioural interventions which employ operant conditioning and reinforcement to shape the person’s behaviour

122
Q

What is Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (EIBI)?

A

An intervention for preschool children on the autism spectrum using a range of techniques based on ABA principles

123
Q

What is meant by the term ‘naturalistic intervention’?

A

Interventions that support the development of target skills within a child’s everyday environment, or naturally occurring situations

124
Q

What is the best and most widely known naturalistic intervention?

A

Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)

125
Q

What is Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)?

A

An intervention where children are taught to communicate using pictures and other symbols

126
Q

What do antagonists do?

A

They bind to postsynaptic neuronal receptors, preventing the binding and action of neurotransmitters

127
Q

What behaviours is oxytocin related to?

A
  • Social engagement
  • Social reward
128
Q

What behaviours is just vasopressin linked to?

A
  • Social avoidance
  • Anxiety
  • Defensiveness
  • Aggression
  • Fear and freezing
129
Q

What behaviours are oxytocin and vasopression jointly linked to?

A
  • Love and bonding
  • Sexual behaviour
  • Parental behaviour

(old)SK298 (7 decks)

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