Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Department, Mental Health Services in Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
Institute of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
Autism Res. 2016 Dec;9(12):1328-1339. doi: 10.1002/aur.1630. Epub 2016 Apr 19.
The autism spectrum is characterized by genetic and behavioral heterogeneity. However, it is still unknown whether there is a universal pattern of cognitive impairment in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and whether multiple cognitive impairments are needed to explain the full range of behavioral symptoms. This study aimed to determine whether three widely acknowledged cognitive abnormalities (Theory of Mind (ToM) impairment, Executive Function (EF) impairment, and the presence of a Local Processing Bias (LB)) are universal and fractionable in autism, and whether the relationship between cognition and behavior is dependent on the method of behavioral assessment. Thirty-one high-functioning children with ASD and thirty-seven children with neurotypical development (NTD), comparable in age, gender and Intelligence Quotient (IQ), completed several tasks tapping into ToM, EF, and LB, and autistic symptomatology was assessed through parental and teacher questionnaires, parental interview and direct observation. We found that ToM and EF deficits differentiated the groups and some ToM and EF tasks were related to each other. ToM and EF were together able to correctly classify more than three-quarters of the children into cases and controls, despite relating to none of the specific behavioral measures. Only a small subgroup of individuals displayed a LB, which was unrelated to ToM and EF, and did not aid diagnostic classification, most likely contributing to non-diagnostic symptoms in a subgroup. Despite the characteristic heterogeneity of the autism spectrum, it remains a possibility therefore that a single cognitive cause may underlie the range of diagnostic symptoms in all individuals with autism. Autism Res 2016, 9: 1328-1339. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
自闭症谱系的特征是遗传和行为的异质性。然而，目前尚不清楚自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是否存在普遍的认知障碍模式，以及是否需要多种认知障碍来解释所有行为症状。本研究旨在确定三种广泛认可的认知异常（心理理论（ToM）障碍、执行功能（EF）障碍和存在局部处理偏差（LB））在自闭症中是否具有普遍性和可分性，以及认知与行为之间的关系是否取决于行为评估方法。31 名高功能自闭症儿童和 37 名神经典型发育（NTD）儿童在年龄、性别和智商（IQ）方面相匹配，完成了几项涉及 ToM、EF 和 LB 的任务，自闭症症状通过父母和教师问卷、父母访谈和直接观察进行评估。我们发现，ToM 和 EF 缺陷可区分两组，并且一些 ToM 和 EF 任务相互关联。尽管与任何特定的行为测量均无关，但 ToM 和 EF 可共同正确地将超过四分之三的儿童分为病例和对照组。只有一小部分个体表现出 LB，它与 ToM 和 EF 无关，并且无助于诊断分类，这很可能导致亚组中出现非诊断症状。尽管自闭症谱系存在特征性的异质性，但自闭症谱系中所有个体的一系列诊断症状可能都源于单一的认知原因，这仍然是一种可能性。Autism Res 2016, 9: 1328-1339. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
